Which Kingdom will you Serve

Scripture

Luke 18:18–30 NKJV

18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” 22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. 24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25 For 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.” 26 And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?” 27 But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.” 28 Then Peter said, “See, we have left all and followed You.” 29 So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

Sermon

Humans are wired to seek after God. It is built into our DNA.

We also know that God is good. Goodness doesn’t just mean moral goodness. It means everything that is beautiful, wholesome, peaceful, wise, productive, joyful.

When the wine is balanced, we say, “Good wine”.

When the steak is cooked perfectly, we say, “good steak”

When the apple is the perfect cross of sweet and tangy and the crisp is just right, we say, “Good apple.”

We say, “Beautiful woman, beautiful song, beautiful art. Beautiful meadow. Beautiful man.”

In the bible, Beautiful and good are the same word.

But in all of these things, something is missing. Solomon looked at all of those things - and he said, “Vanity of vanities. All is vanity.”

Our DNA is wired to seek after God. That shows itself in our desire to seek after things that are good, that are beautiful, that are peaceful and cause us joy.

God’s good creation

Idolatry is when we seek good in the creation, rather than the creator.

Romans 1:20–21 NKJV

20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

When God created the world, he said again and again that it was good. It was beautiful. Everything reflected his invisible attributes, his wisdom and beauty, his holiness and his love. But the creation was not God. There is only one who is good. That is God. Creation reflects the goodness of God, but has no goodness in itself, for goodness apart from God does not exist.

When we say that an apple is good, or that a wine or a steak is good, we mean that they meet a requirement outside of themselves that we would call “good”. Tangy, sweet, balanced, cooked with skill.

Or a human being - he is kind, generous, faithful. He is good.

But we do not mean that when we say that God is good. Goodness is God and God is goodness. They are identical, not two separate things. Who God is is good. What good is, is God.

Everything on this earth we call good because they reflect the creator’s goodness. Without fellowship with God, there is no such thing as good.

When Eve saw the fruit that it was good, she separated the fruit from the gift of God, and sought the goodness of the fruit without considering that there is only one who is good - God himself.

She saw. She took. Adam took with her, and mankind fell.

Creation became subject to futility, to vanity. It is still upheld by the providence of God, but now God’s face is hidden by a veil. After the fall, God gave creation over to the power of death and hell.

So there is on the one hand goodness, for God is still the creator. But on the other hand, ugliness, futility, death and misery entered.

Riches corrupt. Thieves steal. Moths eat. Vandals vandalize. Murderers kill.

The wine gives you a headache. The steak gives you heart disease. The apple wilts and gets a worm. And over everything is the pall of change, decay, death.

And still the longing for God, for that which is pure and holy, clean and beautiful - that which is good - consumes the heart of mankind.

That which we lack

But now we are fallen, and seek good in that which can never satisfy.

Isaiah 55:1–2 NKJV

1 “Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. 2 Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance.

The response of the rich man, representing the hearts of each one of us born of Adam, is this - if I only had a little more, that might be enough.

And so the rich man comes to Jesus. Matthew calls him a young man. He was in the flush of youth and beauty, he had money, he had the world before him.

According to the law, like Paul he was “blameless”.

He was also a “ruler” - an “archown” A general term for a leader, an official, an important man.

Young, powerful, wealthy, blameless.

And yet he comes to Christ. “I need something more. What more do I need to do to inherit eternal life.”

If he was truly satisfied, why did he come to Jesus? He either needed reassurance, or instruction, or simply to satisfy his curiosity. Either way, he came to Jesus to get something that he lacked. And he felt that lack in himself.

A discourse about good

Jesus, of course, knew what he lacked. It is what we all lack. We are created to dwell with God, bathing in perfect beauty, loveliness, goodness, in his presence, naked and unashamed.

But we are living in a kingdom of death, brokenness, ugliness - and trying to fill that void by making better choices, buying more stuff, networking with the right people, and getting the right appointments - or the relentless pursuit of the party, sex, wine, debauchery. All in the pursuit of good.

It won’t work.

“Why do you call me good? There is none good, except God.”

Those who do not believe that Jesus is God seize on this verse as proof, but they miss the point.

Jesus is calling on the man to think about what he believes about goodness. Why are you using that term?

Do you believe that goodness exists apart from God? That there is any such thing as beauty and goodness and peace without restored fellowship with the creator?

Think very carefully. If you are coming to Christ so that he might show you a better way to live in this world, or for you to have more money, a better marriage, a happier child, a better education, pleasure, reputation, acceptance, or to bring about a more just society - you won’t get what you think you are going to get.

Because without restored fellowship with God, there ultimately IS no goodness. That which we see on this earth is only a shadow, a glimpse, a fading memory of Eden. It will soon be washed away with fire.

1 Corinthians 6:13 NKJV

13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body.

Jesus is not at all denying his deity or his goodness. In fact, before this conversation is over, he offers himself as the only thing that will satisfy this man’s desires. But first, he has to lead him there.

The law

So he tells him, “You know the commandments”…and rattles some of them off.

The law was given as a diagnostic of our problem. There is something drastically and dreadfully wrong with our world, and the philosophers, theologians, artists, and poets are seeking to put their fingers on what the problem is.

But this is why the law is given.

From where do you know your misery? Out of the law of God.

The law requires us to love God with our whole heart, and our neighbor as ourselves.

We pretend that this is the case, but the ten commandments expose us for who we really are. We are prone by nature to hate God and our neighbor.

This man says, “I have kept these from my youth.”

Jesus says, “Really? OK. If you love your neighbor as yourself, give him all of your goods. If you love God with all of your strength, sell everything and follow me.”

The young man had no idea just how broken the world was and just how broken HE was. He thought he could fix the problem by doing just a bit more, adding a bit more, buying a bit more. He was on the relentless quest to quench his thirst on the earth, but Jesus was offering rest.

“I need something more. What more do I need to do to inherit eternal life.”

“You don’t need more. You need to exchange everything you have for that which is real.”

The law was given to cut through the excuses so that we will come out of the bushes and stand before God exactly as we are. No pretense. No blustering. No excuses. No shifting the blame.

The man was focused on the outward performance, on conformity. Jesus was exposing the heart.

But he wasn’t just busting the guy’s chops. Mark says that Jesus looked at him and loved him.

He offered him treasure in heaven. He was offering rest. But you cannot serve heaven and serve mammon. They don’t mix. You have to let go of the one, or the other. Mammon drives the heart relentlessly. You must always have more and more. Jesus offers everything, and gives rest.

Kingdoms

This takes us to a discussion about kingdoms.

The kingdom of God was lost in Eden. Satan usurped the kingdom and sin and ugliness reigned.

The line of Cain immediately made themselves at home. They built cities and mastered technology. Eventually, their spiritual children would build the tower of Babel.

But, as I have said before, somebody has to make the bricks. Behind the hanging gardens of Babylon the criminals are impaled, the dungeons are full, the soldiers prepare for war. To reach heaven, the tower has to be bigger, stronger, more and more relentless, and all dissenters must be crushed. And it is never done. Because it is in opposition to God, it can never offer that which is good.

The contrast to Babel is the promise of the kingdom to Abraham. It would come by promise, not by the flesh.

This is what Jesus came to do. Not to give us another law to fulfil, or some better teaching, or a better society, or a better motivation to good living. He came to conquer the kingdom of the devil by his sufferings, death and resurrection, and to plunder that kingdom and to give us himself.

A king has ascended into heaven and will come again in power. A people are being gathered OUT of the kingdoms of this world, and a place is being prepared - a new heavens and a new earth.

The point is NOT that Jesus is giving this man another work to do, but that he is drawing him to open his eyes.

No matter how much he buys, how much he accomplishes, how much he adds to his stature and reputation, the day will come when he will die, go into the ground, and be eaten by worms.

Matthew 6:19–21 NKJV

19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The passage of the Rich Young Ruler has been hotly debated - is Jesus teaching salvation by law, or pointing him to justification by faith?

Of course, without justification by faith, there is no way that we can follow Jesus or be restored to fellowship with God.

But I think this passage goes deeper.

“What do I need to do”.

You are missing the point. You are in a fallen world, governed by rust, moths, decay, change and death. And no matter what you do, that will still be the case.

What you need to do is understand that, open your eyes, hold very loosely to those things that you think are so important, and follow me.

The ends of all the ages has come. The kingdom of God is here. Death and hell are about to be destroyed forever and a new era is going to dawn.

The Holy Spirit will be poured out and a new age will begin. This old order will fade and die.

Follow me, Jesus says.

Nothing else matters. What good is your life if you fall short of the glory of God?

Follow me, and you will have unimaginable treasures in heaven.

And If he calls us to give up our lives here; if he calls us to lose our jobs here; if he calls us to stand before judges, and suffer exile and prison here; if he calls us to lose friends, lose family, lose livelihoods - none of that is worthy to be compared to the treasure that he has in store for us.

We have been trained to think that Christianity is about changing culture, about proper order in the home, about political parties, about the causes of the elite and the shrill, about being right and about making ourselves worthy of God’s begrudging favor. We find ourselves never resting, never able to see beauty, never able to stop being afraid and angry - because we serve the wrong kingdom.

And we hold so tightly to those opinions that we refuse to open our eyes and see beauty. We refuse to be loved, because we are so enamored with being right.

This is what Jesus was leading this young man, and all of us, to see.

Follow me. Use everything you have to reflect God’s beauty to an ugly world - but never think that this world is your home or that your goodness will somehow impress God.

There is only one who is good.

And there is only one way there.

John 14:6 NKJV

6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

You can convince the world to vote for your party. You can convince the world that you are right.

You can gather to yourself all of the power and money and pleasures that you can imagine.

You can fix your spouse and your kids and your work and your community. You can do everything right....

(unreal conditions)

But you still won’t find the goodness that you are searching for - until you quit searching for it in the things of this world, and learn to follow Jesus.

You can’t bring forth good fruit unless you are a good tree, and a tree can only be good if it is grafted into a good branch - follow Jesus, for God alone is good, and he sent his only begotten son to become flesh so that we might live. He alone is good.

But you can only be grafted into Christ if you are first taken out of the tree of this world. You can’t serve two masters, you can’t belong to two trees.

But this young ruler understood what Jesus was asking of him.

If he gave up his wealth, he would lose his identity, his place in the community, his standing, his reputation. No one listens to the poor man.

No one asks the poor man to sit on the boards of the synagogues and the guilds.

No one asks the poor man what he thinks about the latest discourse from Rabbi Gamaliel.

The poor man is alone, despised, outcast, homeless...

The rich man knows what is being asked of him.

And it is too much. He goes away very sorrowfully.

Jesus says,

Luke 18:24 NKJV

24 And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!

Our natural bent is to look for status, goodness and salvation in our own resources. We are incapable of looking outside of ourselves to the goodness of another, the righteousness of another, the beauty of another.

But that which is impossible for men is possible for God.

We don’t know what happened to this young man. Perhaps he was filled with the spirit in the book of Acts.

Paul could have been this man.

Philippians 3:4–6 NKJV

4 though I also might have confidence in the flesh. If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

What more do I need?

To count it all as dung that you might win Christ, and know him and the power of his resurrection.

For you will have treasure in heaven.

Jesus tells Peter

Luke 18:29–30 NKJV

29 So He said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”

When you follow after Jesus through the dark valleys, eating with the sinners that he eats with, walking with the wounded that he walks with, bearing witness to the good news that he has conquered sin and death and misery - there will be loss, for the world hated him and the world will hate you.

But he has overcome the world. And the greatest treasure on this earth, as well as the greatest hardship, are not worthy to be compared to the treasures of restored fellowship with God.

So we follow. We go to the cross. We suffer. We rise. We ascend. We reign with him forever and ever, sitting with him on his throne

Revelation 2:7 NKJV

7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’