What do you worship?
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Scripture Reading
Psalm 1 “How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. The wicked are not so, But they are like chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the wicked will perish.”
INTRODUCTION
We are moving into the story about the rich young ruler today. We are skipping the teaching on marriage and divorce because we covered that in a sermon prior to this sermon series through Matthew.
The rich young ruler may be the only person who came to Jesus for salvation and left without it.
The man’s problem was not His approach, but his idolatry.
He worshiped the god of money, and when Jesus pointed this out to him, he made the choice to keep his money and forfeit eternal life.
What is idolatry? It is anything that we put over God. And it does not have to be money.
God made us to be people who are worshipers.
And everyone is worshiping something.
Jesus gave this man a test to allow him to choose God or his idol and consequently he chose his idol.
And our test may not be money it may be something different.
Some worship fame and power.
Others may worship themselves.
Others worship looks and their bodies.
Some worship drugs and alcohol.
And the list goes on and on.
But those who worship Jesus Christ will inherit eternal life.
The Question to us from this passage is: What do you worship?
Matthew 1
Matthew 19:16–17 (NASB95)
And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may obtain eternal life?” And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good”
This man asks the the greatest question that has ever been asked. “What shall I do to obtain eternal life?”
The Bible asks this question in many ways, but all come down to the same thing: LIFE AFTER DEATH
How much of what we hear today tries to make us forget about death all together?
Funerals are now called celebrations of life
We do not say someone has died, but that they passed away
Ecc 3:11 “He has planted eternity in the human heart”
God has put the reality of life after death in every human heart
And this world constantly teaches us not to think about it.
Yet it is the most important question that will ever be asked.
Notice what the nature of this man’s question: “What good thing can I do?”
This man’s idea of being saved is all wrong.
He thinks that be doing something good he can be saved
He thinks that good deeds will somehow give him the promise of heaven
And that is still a common misconception in the church today
People think because they are good, that God will accept them
But notice how Jesus responds:
“There is only One who is good”
Why did He say that?
Because Jesus wants him to turn from his way of thinking and to focus on God because only God is truly good
And apart from God’s goodness there is no salvation!
Until we turn from our self, and turn to God there is no hope for us
Until we turn from our self, and turn to God there is no hope for us
There is no amount of good that we can do to earn the right to be saved.
Last week we went out witnessing
The last house I talked to, a man answered the door and I could smell the alcohol as soon as he opened the door
And this was a Sunday afternoon around 3:00
And I asked the man if he knew the Lord and his answer was this: I go to church every Sunday
What was this man’s idea of salvation?
That by his attending church, he was right with God
He was relying upon his deeds
Eph 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God”
No man can save himself!
No man can earn his way into heaven!
It is God who grants salvation!
It is God who admits entrance in His Kingdom!
It is God who saves sinners!
It is the goodness of God that saves us!
That is why jesus said, there is only One who is good!
We need God’s goodness because our goodness is not good enough!
No matter how much we do, it will never be enough!
Somehow we need God to make us good and that is what Jesus was telling this man!
Matthew 19:18–20 (NASB95)
but if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. Then he said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother; and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept; what am I still lacking?”
Now I want you to notice the wording that Jesus uses: “enter into life”.
This young man wanted to possess it, he wanted to have it for his own
BUT Jesus said you must enter it
Salvation is not something that you take hold of and keep in your possession under your authority such as a $20 bill.
Salvation is something that you must enter into.
And you can only enter into it through obedience to God’s Word!
“keep the commandments”
And I want you to understand what Jesus is doing here
He is challenging the man to consider his own life
We know from Scripture that no one can keep the commandments
Rom 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
The commandments were never meant to save, but to point us to our need of God
rom 3:20 “for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.”
God did not give us to 10 commandments so that we could earn salvation by obeying them!
God gave us the 10 commandments so that we would see that we are hopeless, and turn to him for mercy!
So does that mean when we get saved, we no longer need to follow the rules? Since they cannot save us doesn’t that mean we can discard them?
NO!
The Law is perfect, holy, righteous and we look to it for sanctification, but it will never save us!
We must come to Christ for salvation, and then He points us back to the law for sanctification!
“All these I have kept, what am I still lacking”
Its an amazing thing here that this man truly believes he has kept the law, but yet still knows something is missing inside
What am I still lacking
I cannot tell you how much I resonate with that in my own life
I Believed foolishly my whole life I was saved, yet knew deep down in my heart something was still lacking
I did not understand it, I did not know what it could be, I just knew something wasn’t right
And if thats you this morning, knowing deep down that something just isn’t quite right, don’t let it go!
Do not ignore it and push it back down! You do just like this man and bring it to Jesus and ask Him, what is it that I need?!
I can’t answer that for you!
Only God knows your heart, and you must come to Him and ask Him to expose the deep inner layers of your and show you what is still lacking
And notice what happens when the man asks Jesus that question:
Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
How many of us would love to have someone come and ask this question? “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
What would you tell them?
What would your response to this man be?
There is such an important lesson here on leading someone to Christ that we must not miss it.
What did Jesus do?
Did he ask him to accept Him into his heart?
Did he ask him to say a sinners prayer?
Did he ask him to raise his hand if he wants to be saved?
NO
He tells him to abandon his idols, turn from this world, and follow Jesus.
He tells him to count the cost!
He tells him to get rid of the very thing that is keeping him from Christ!
Application
We must be sure in our witnessing to tell the whole truth about coming to Christ!
It cannot be a half gospel!
It is not a prayer!
It is act of self sacrifice to the will of God despite the costs!
To this man it was all his possessions!
And Jesus was right to tell the man to sell it all because that is what he worshiped!
Notice how the all seeing eyes of God expose what this man does not even see himself
He thinks he has been faithful to God
He claims to have kept the commandments
He knows deep down something still isn’t right, but he does not know what it is
And Jesus exposes the problem: he worships money
We will know what we worship by what we are not willing to give up for Jesus
We will know what we worship by what we are not willing to give up for Jesus
Now your thing may not be money, it may be something else
Your job (putting work over God)
You children (Putting children over God)
Your self (not allowing God to rule your life)
Your money (believing that you own EVERYTHING in your possession)
a spouse or girlfriend
The list goes on and on
Most often THE VERY THING we want to hold on to the most is our idol that is keeping us from Him
Most often THE VERY THING we want to hold on to the most is our idol that is keeping us from Him
Its not cruelty, it’s grace
But to ignore it is fatal!
“And come, follow Me”
Notice that the man had to get rid of his idol before he was ready to follow Jesus
Why?
Because his money was his god
He worshiped it, and served it, and obeyed it
matt 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Application
What if Jesus said those same words to you?
Sell EVERYTHING and come follow Me
Jesus knew exactly what the man was worshiping and that is exactly what He asked for
He said hand over the false gods no matter how essential you think they are to your life, and come follow the true God!
God told the Israelites, it is foolish to worship idols, because idols cannot save you!
They are things made from hands!
They have no power to deliver us!
Yet we live in a world that worships idols
And Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I say to you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. “Again I say to you, 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.” When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
Jesus gives some insight about the power of money
It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to go into heaven
Let me say this: This does not mean it is impossible for a rich man to be saved, but that it is very very difficult
Money has the ability to be a great force in our lives that controls us
Many people have sold their soul for a dollar
Many people would rather keep their money than follow God
Many people turn into devils when it comes down to Money
Money will cause a deacon to rob an offering plate
It will cause a pastor to preach heresy
It will cause an ordinary person to devote their lives simply to its accumulation
Why is it so hard for a rich man to enter heaven?
Because the more one has in this life, the harder it is to give up because they think they have more to lose.
Because money has become their source of security and dependence
They would have to transfer that reliance from money to God
The one who comes to Christ must relinquish all ownership of everything on earth and be willing
Only God can break that overwhelming power of idolatry
Only God can break that overwhelming power of idolatry
“All things are possible with God”
‘The disciples are blown away
If is that hard for a rich man to enter, then the rest fi the world is doomed!
They saw riches as God’s blessing upon that person. And if the blessed man would have trouble going, then who would make it?
Only God can break the power of sin over our lives.
Only the one who is is relying upon God, will be freed from idolatry
If you want to be feee from your sin, you must bring it to God!
You must come to Him, and ask Him for deliverance!
With men it ai impossible, but with God ALL things are possible!
That means every idol
Every generational curse!
God can break them all!
Then Peter said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?” And Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, that you who have followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life. “But many who are first will be last; and the last, first.
Can anyone relate to Peter?
Peter says, what will the reward be for us who have left it all behind?
Now we do not serve God for rewards, we serve Him in response to His salvation
But deep down we still wonder, what will there be for us
“You who have followed Me”
The rewards will only be for those who truly follow Him
These are talking about heavenly rewards
But Mark speaks of earthly rewards as well
Jesus promises MANY TIMES as much as we have given up in this life
I do not comprehend what that means exactly
But I do believe it with all my heart
And I can testify from my own life, that the things Jesus gives are so much better than I could ever give myself.
Jesus said, The first will be last, and the last first
Those who seek to be on top in this life, will suffer the greatest loss eternally
Those who are willing to give it all up and follow Jesus will certainly end up on top!
CONCLUSION
What do you worship?
You will know if there is no limit you are willing to go if God asks.
What would you not be willing to give up if he asks?
Where is your heart Devoted to?
~PRAYER~