LUKE 18:18-30 “I’D RATHER HAVE JESUS THAN HAVE RICHES UNTOLD”
A) A wealthy man was moving into a new house and his next door neighbor just happened to
be a Quaker … The Quakers, as you know, believe in simplicity and plainness of life!
* The Quaker neighbor watched as the movers carted in numerous pieces of furniture, a great
deal of clothing, and many more decorative pieces.
* Then he walked over to his neighbor and said in his quaint, Quaker way, “Neighbor, if thee hath
need of anything, please come to see me and I’ll tell thee how to get along without it.”
B) Jesus would have agreed with that advise, for He said one day in Luke 12:15, “A man’s
life does not consist in the abundance of things which he possesses!”
* When Jesus made that statement, it dropped into the crowd like an atomic bomb.
* Some of the people ridiculed Him and laughed out-loud.
* Of course a man can be measured by his wealth, everybody knows that … How else would you
determine how much a man is worth?
C) Well, if wealth and possessions are the measure of a man, then Jesus is out of the running!
* He was born in a stable to a humble Jewish mother, who was married to a poor carpenter.
* He Himself said in Matt. 8:20, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have …”
D) He left no safety deposit box when He died!
* If happiness and success depended on things, then Jesus was miserable and defeated.
* But He wasn’t … No man experienced greater joy than He did in spite of His sufferings.
E) And no man ever accomplished a greater piece of work than He did on the cross!
* A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses.
* Jesus preached that … He practiced it … And His life proves that it’s true!
JESUS KNEW THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS A MAN SIMPLY HAS TO HAVE
A) Matt. 6:32 “… for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”
* Men need food, clothing and shelter … These are needs.
* God created THINGS to be used for the benefit of mankind.
* He did not create things to be worshipped as gods, and this is where the problem lies today!
B) Too many people think that life can be built on the things that money can buy and they
forget about the things that money cannot buy!
* It’s wonderful to have the things that money can buy provided you haven’t lost the things that
money can’t buy.
C) Story about a lady whose home was breaking up …….
* She wore expensive clothing, but underneath was a broken heart.
* She had a valuable diamond ring on her finger, but there was no love attached to it.
* She lived in a beautiful house, but for years, there had been no home.
D) Her life had been built on things that money can buy (Prices, not values) …….
* And now everything was about to slip right through her fingers.
* Let me make it clear … There’s nothing wrong with enjoying good things God has given us,
provided they don’t become substitutes for the best things in life.
E) One of the mistakes of our society today is that of living on substitutes!
* Many people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.
* They have a false sense of security and a counterfeit feeling of satisfaction …….
* Like a child eating cotton candy at a carnival … These people are enjoying the taste of life, but
getting nothing substantial to really live on …….
* Then when the storms of life start to blow, they topple over like trees without roots.
THE BASIC PROBLEM IS THIS …….
A) Instead of making God the center of their lives, they’ve made things!
* Instead of worshipping God, they’re worshipping things!
* And the Bible has a name for this particular sin … It’s called “idolatry.”
* A man can bow down to his bank-book just as easily a pagan can bow down to his idols of
wood and of stone.
B) Our U.S. currency and coins carry the motto, “In God We Trust,” but I fear that this motto
does not really express our nation’s faith!
* “In money we trust,” might be a more accurate expression!
C) Jesus said in Matt. 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his …”
* In other words, “Things, the good things that God wants us to enjoy are not the center of life, but
rather are the extra benefits we receive when God is given the rightful place in our hearts.”
* The man who lives for things and ignores God will lose both …….
* But the man who puts God first will have God and the good things that God wants us to enjoy!
D) This does not mean that every obedient Christian will become rich!
* But it does mean that he will receive the things that God wants him to have in his life.
* It seems to me that this is a very fair contract … God says, “Give Me first place in your life,
and I will supply all of your needs.”
* When God is at the center, He gives us a deep satisfaction that nothing else can give, and
particularly not the world.
* We stop living on substitutes and start enjoying a daily experience of reality.
WELL, THINK ON OUR TEXT FOR JUST A MOMENT …….
A) A rich young ruler came up to Jesus one day and asked Him how to receive eternal life!
* He wanted to have his sins forgiven … He wanted to go to heaven.
B) This thought ought to be the desire of every man!
* Jesus gave him a strange answer … “Sell all that thou hast and distribute unto the poor …”
* Instead of obeying Christ, the young man turned his back on Him and went away very unhappy.
* The reason? … He was rich and he would not give up his riches – v.23.
C) There is a good lesson here … What was Christ teaching?
* Nobody was ever saved by selling out and giving to the poor.
* A man is saved by trusting Jesus Christ as his Savior.
* But this young man trusted his riches, and Matt. 6:24 says, “No man can serve two masters …”
D) Jesus told him to give away his money, not that he might be saved, but that he might see
the sinfulness of his own heart!
* His god was his money, and it’s impossible to trust money and trust Christ at the same time.
I HAVE OFTEN WONDERED WHAT THIS MAN MISSED BY LIVING FOR THINGS!
A) He missed sharing in the victory of Calvary and in the glory of the resurrection!
* He missed fellowshipping with the risen Christ and he missed praying with the apostles and
receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost at Pentecost.
* Sure, this young man had more of life’s riches than all the apostles put together … But they
had riches that would last for all eternity!
* Jesus was at the center of their lives and if the center is right, everything else will be right.
* A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things which he possesses
B) Then what does life consist of, Preacher?
* Jesus tells us in John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”
* Phil. 1:21 “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
* John wrote in 1 John 5:12 “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son …”
* Life is not found in things that fade and decay and lose their value … Life is found in a Person,
and that Person is Jesus Christ, God’s Son!
C) Jim Elliot, one of five martyred missionaries wrote in his diary … “He is no fool to give what
he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose!”
* Paul said in 1 Tim. 6:7 “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can …”
D) To live for things is to miss one of the most exciting experiences possible …….
* The day by day experience of trusting Christ and making Him the center of our lives …
* The experience of seeing God add to our lives the things that we need just when we need them …
* The experience of claiming God’s promises and seeing Him fulfill His Word.
CLOSE
A) Of what does your life consist?
* Suppose that tomorrow morning all the things that mean so much to you were taken away …….
* What would you have left?
B) Or suppose you become very ill and had to lie in a hospital bed for weeks …….
* In what would you find your joy and satisfaction?
C) Is it possible that you are living on substitutes?
* If so, then I pity you, because when the substitutes are gone, your life will go with them, and
you will have nothing worth living for.
D) Why not trust Christ and start living for true riches … Riches that will last for all eternity?
* Trust Christ, and He will give you something worth living for!
* I’d rather have Jesus than riches untold!!!
