Many years ago, a very wealthy man invited Pastor George A. Truett to a dinner on his Texas ranch. After the meal, he took his pastor to a place where they had a good view of the surrounding area.
The rich man pointed north to the oil wells punctuating the landscape and boasted, “25 years ago, I had nothing. Now, as far as you can see, it’s all mine.”
Then he turned around to the south and viewing the sprawling fields of grain, he said, “That’s all mine.”
Turning east towards huge herds of cattle, the rich man bragged, “They’re all mine.”
Then pointing to the west and a beautiful forest, he exclaimed, “That too is all mine!”
The rich man paused expecting his pastor to compliment him on his great success.
But Pastor Truett just placed one hand on the man’s shoulder, and pointing heavenward with the other, said, “How much do you have in that direction?”
The rich man just bowed his head and confessed, “I never thought of that.” (Bible Illustrator #2812-2815, 2/1993.14)
Well, my friends, let’s think about that this morning? How much do we really have in that direction? And how do we get rich in those heavenly things? How do we get rich in the things that really matter not just now but for all eternity? How do we gain an inheritance that lasts forever?
It’s a question a rich man had for Jesus; and if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Mark 10, Mark 10, where Jesus answers that question?
Mark 10:17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (NIV)
Now, this is in stark contrast to the children who came to Jesus in the previous verses (Mark 10:13-16). They in simple faith simply received our Lord’s blessing, and Jesus said, “The kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” On the other hand, this man wants to know what he can DO to inherit eternal life.
He is a self-made man, relying on himself. He worked hard to become rich in this world’s goods. Now He wants to know what work he must do to become rich in the next world. So what does Jesus tell him?
Mark 10:18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. (NIV)
This man had addressed Jesus in a way that no other Jewish teacher was addressed in that day. Most people simply addressed their teachers as “teacher.” This man called Jesus, “GOOD Teacher.”
So Jesus picks up on that and asks the man, “Why did you call me GOOD? No one is GOOD except God alone.” In a backhanded way, Jesus affirms his deity here, but more than that, Jesus begins to put this man in his place. You see, it will become very evident that this man believes he is good too. But Jesus makes it very clear, “No one is good except God alone. There is none righteous, no not one. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” In other words, none of us are good enough for heaven. Jesus continues:
Mark 10:19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’” (NIV)
These are right out of the 10 commandments, the Law the Lord gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. And that same Law stated, “Keep my decrees and laws, for the man who obeys them will live by them” (Leviticus 18:5). In other words, if you want to live forever, then keep ALL the commandments ALL the time and never ever break a single one of them.
Now, who of us in this room would dare say, “I have kept ALL the commandments ALL the time and have not broken a single one?” None of us would, but look at what this man says.
Mark 10:20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”
I.e., from the day of his Bar Mitzvah at age 12. From the day he became a son of the law – legally responsible for his own actions – from that day, he claims, he has kept every single commandment perfectly. Now, this is no boast on this man’s part. In his mind, it’s a statement of fact. He really thinks he is good. He really thinks he is blameless, but Jesus knows he is not.
Mark 10:21 says, “Jesus looked at him” – I.e., Jesus looked right through to the core of his being. It’s the same word used in Luke 22, where Peter denies the Lord three times. There it says, “The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter… And he (i.e., Peter) went outside and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:61-62). It was a penetrating look. It was a look that saw way beyond the surface.
Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (NIV)
There was one law this man had failed to obey, and that was the first commandment, the most important one – “You shall have no other gods before Me.” Money was this man’s god. It was more important to him than having a relationship with Jesus Christ. So…
Mark 10:22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. (NIV)
He was unwilling to give it ALL to be with Jesus, and who of us would do the same? Who of us would sell EVERYTHING we have and give it ALL to the poor? MOST of us might be willing to give SOME of what we have, and SOME of us might be willing to give MOST of our possessions. But I dare say that NONE of us would actually give it ALL to the poor, because we need some of that stuff to live on, don’t we?
Do we? Is Christ not sufficient? Who needs a house? Who needs a car? Who needs money in the bank when you have Jesus? The point is: None of us would do what Jesus asked this rich man to do, because none of us (in and of ourselves) are that “good.”
In June of 2006, Warren Buffet, the world's second-richest man at the time, announced that he would donate 85 percent of his $44 billion fortune to five charitable foundations.
Commenting on this extreme level of generosity, Buffet said: “There is more than one way to get to heaven, but this is a great way.” (Associated Press, “How Do You Spend $1.5 Billion a Year?” as reported on www.cbsnews.com, 6-27-06; www.PreachingToday.com)
No it isn’t! Not according to Jesus. Buffet would have to donate 100% of his fortune and have kept all of the commandments all of the time, and keep on keeping all of the commandments all of the time, in order to get to heaven.
No matter how good we think we are, none of us are that good. None of us are good enough to save ourselves, and that’s exactly the point Jesus makes with his disciples.
Mark 10:23-24a Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” [And] the disciples were amazed at his words. (NIV)
Why were they amazed? It’s because they believed this man was the best man among them. In the Jewish mindset, God blesses the righteous with material wealth, and God curses the wicked with poverty. Therefore, if you’re rich you must be righteous. And if you’re really rich, you must be really righteous. That was the automatic conclusion of most Jews in Jesus’ day. So Jesus blows His Jewish disciples away when He says, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” Then He says it again!
Mark 10:24b-25 Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
Now, did you ever try to thread a camel through a needle? It’s hard enough trying to get a piece of thread through the eye of a needle, but a camel? Well, maybe if you got one eyelash through, the rest of the camel would follow. You think so? No way! And yet Jesus says you might as well try threading a camel through the eye of a needle as try getting into heaven through your own good deeds. It’s impossible!
Mark 10:26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other, “Who then can be saved?” (NIV)
In other words, if the best among us cannot enter the kingdom of God, then who can? If the best among us cannot save him or herself, then who can be saved?
Mark 10:27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” (NIV)
We cannot save ourselves, but God can! Therefore, if we want to inherit eternal life, if we want to enter into God’s Kingdom, then…
WE CANNOT RELY ON OURSELVES.
We dare not depend on our own good deeds. Instead…
WE MUST RELY ON THE LORD.
We must depend on the God who can do the impossible. We must depend on the lord Jesus Christ who alone can save sinful people. My friends, when you come to Jesus, don’t come like this rich man who thought he could DO something to inherit eternal life. Come like the little children, in verses 13-16, who simply accepted the blessings He gave.
During the Spanish-American War, Clara Barton was overseeing the work of the Red Cross in Cuba. One day, Colonel Theodore Roosevelt came to her wanting to buy food for his sick and wounded rough riders, but she refused to sell him any.
Roosevelt was perplexed. His men needed help and he was prepared to pay out of his own funds, so he asked somebody why he couldn’t buy the supplies. That person told him, “Colonel, just ask for it!”
A smile broke over Roosevelt’s face, because finally he understood. The provisions were not for sale. All he had to do was simply ask and they would be given freely. (J. Vernon McGee, Bible Illustrator #2812-2815, 2/1993.14)
That’s the way it is with eternal life. All we need to do is ask, and God gives it to us freely. We could never earn God’s blessing. We can only receive it as a free gift like the children did when they came to Jesus in simple faith (Mark 10:16).
My friends, if you’ve never done it before, why don’t you do it today? Just ask Jesus to give you eternal life, and He will give it to you freely. Then like a little child in simple faith, simply receive His blessing on your life.
It’s the only way any of us ever get into heaven. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). If you want eternal life, simply believe in the Savior. And…
DON’T BOAST ABOUT YOUR SACRIFICES.
Don’t brag about how much you’ve given up. Don’t make a big deal about what it cost you to follow Jesus. That’s what Peter did.
Mark 10:28 Peter said to him, “We have left everything to follow you!” (NIV)
I don’t know about you, but I detect a note of self-congratulation here. Peter overhears what Jesus said to the rich man, and he says, “Hey Jesus, WE did that. We left EVERYTHING to follow you. That makes us better than most people, don’t you think?”
Mark 10:29-30 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. (NIV)
I can see Jesus putting his arm on Peter’s shoulder and saying, “Yes, Peter, I’ve noticed the sacrifices you made, and truly you will be rewarded. Those who lose their family and their homes for my sake will gain a larger family, the family of God. They will have many siblings. Yes, there is going to be some suffering, but in the age to come there is salvation! There is eternal life, which will make the sacrifices and sufferings of this life pale in comparison.
Mark 10:31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.” (NIV)
In other words, when you boast about how wonderful you are, when you boast about how you should be first because you made the greatest sacrifice, then don’t be surprised if you end up last; don’t be surprised if you end up with the least reward.
That’s what Jesus said to Peter, and that’s what Jesus would say to us today. I can see Jesus putting His arm around each of us and saying, “Hey, I appreciate your sacrifices and I will reward you, but don’t make a big deal about it.” In other words, “Don’t boast about your sacrifices.”
In his book The Prodigal God, best-selling author and pastor Timothy Keller tells the story of a gardener who “grew an enormous carrot. So he took it to his king and said, “My Lord, this is the greatest carrot I've ever grown or ever will grow. Therefore I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you.”
The king was touched and discerned the man's heart, so as [the gardener] turned to go the king said, “Wait! You are clearly a good steward of the earth. I own a plot of land right next to yours. I want to give it to you freely as a gift so you can garden it all.” And the gardener was amazed and delighted and went home rejoicing.
But there was a nobleman at the king's court who overheard all this. And he said, “My! If that is what you get for a carrot—what if you gave the king something better?” So the next day the nobleman came before the king and he was leading a handsome black stallion. He bowed low and said, “My lord, I breed horses and this is the greatest horse I have ever bred or ever will. Therefore I want to present it to you as a token of my love and respect for you.”
But the king discerned his heart and said thank you, and took the horse and merely dismissed him. The nobleman was perplexed. So the king said, “Let me explain. That gardener was giving me the carrot, but you were giving yourself the horse.” (Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God, Dutton, 2008, pp. 60-61; www.PreachingToday.com)
Sometimes our sacrifices are not really for the Lord; they’re for ourselves. We want people to notice and perhaps get a few extra “brownie points” from the Lord Himself, but when we give for that purpose there is no reward. Jesus said to those who give for that reason, “You have no reward from your Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:1).
On the other hand, when we sacrifice and give from the heart, not because we want recognition, but simply because we love the Lord, then there is great reward!
So if you want to be rich in the things that really count, don’t rely on yourself; rely on the Lord. Simply believe in the Savior like a little child, and don’t boast about your sacrifices. Then you will not only inherit eternal life, you will be first in God’s Kingdom.
The recent floods in our area have reminded me of a flood that took place in Grand Forks, North Dakota, a little more than 16 years ago (April 1997). The residents of Grand Forks had to abandon their possessions to the rising river. Record snowfalls had melted into record spring floods. Weeks later, the flood receded and Grand Forks was waterlogged – the air filled with a peculiar, river smell. Homeless and disheartened, the city began the daunting task of cleaning up the mess.
The flood may have ruined their homes, but it didn't ruin their sense of humor. Homeowners propped up signs in their front yards with comical handwritten messages on them: “Basement apartment, $10 a month, indoor pool...,” “Revenge of the nightcrawlers,” and “We know we're lucky – please stop praying for more good fortune.”
One sign had a very thought-provoking message… “We are not what we own.” The editor of the local Herald agreed, “If we were what we owned, we'd be far less than we were before the flood.” The truth is: we are worth far more than our possessions. Our personal wealth does not indicate our personal worth. (Greg Allison, from the files of Leadership; www. PreachingToday. com)
How true that is. Whether we’re rich or poor doesn’t really matter. What really matters is our faith, our relationship with the Lord and the family He gives us right here all around us in this church and around the world.
Lord, thank you for blessing us so richly, and like little children, we simply receive your blessing again today. Forgive us for those times when we think we must DO something to earn your blessing, and help us to live and give in light of your blessings already so freely given to us. Father, we give ourselves to you anew and afresh this morning. Use us for your glory this week, and help us to be a blessing to others. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
