Rescue Palm Sunday

Announcements

Holy Week

6:00 PM Good Friday

7 AM Sunrise Service

8 AM Breakfast

10:30 Sunday Service

Call To Worship

Say: Let us now begin to worship the Father the Son, the Holy Spirit, Our Call to worship Comes to us from Reading

John 12:12–13 ESV

The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”

Introduction

Cotton Mather, New England Puritan pastor, founder of Yale University said many things, but one of which is “Religion begat prosperity, and the daughter devoured the mother.” Mather didn’t know that he was propchyied the future of his country. New England is arguably one of the most important pieces of real-estate on planet earth. Today it is in a state of apostacy, it is the least Christian part of America, the famous colleges, including Yale are no longer functionally Christian.

I won’t read the whole statement, but this is a bit from the about Yale Divinity school from the dan of the school

We are an ecumenical Christian community that welcomes all, including those of different faiths and those who claim no particular faith. We are deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion—a commitment manifest in the work we do to make YDS a welcoming community where all can experience a true sense of belonging. We are committed to justice. Our students and faculty regularly engage in conversations around issues such as immigration, climate change, women’s and LGBTQ rights, health care, and racial justice. These conversations compel many of our students to take action while they’re at YDS and in their lives and careers after graduation.

In the entirety of his statement he doesn’t mention Jesus once!

Like the rich young ruler who said he kept the law

Mark 10:19–20 ESV

19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ” 20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”

They keep the modern commandments, but miss the mark which is Christ. Just to make sure I was being honest to the school I listened to an introduction video about the school and they mentioned Shake Shack’s proximity to the school about 6 times, Dunkin dounts twice in 5 minutes and didn’t mention Christ once!

The prosperity has devoured the religion. That is the risk let’s look at the text.

Text

Mark 10:23–31 ESV

23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, “Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 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.” 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” 27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” 28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is 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, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

Observation

Pay attention to the Bible

When you study the scripture one of the things that is a great idea todo is to notice how people respond to what God is doing. The word amazed in the ESV and Astonished in the NKJV. When Jesus expands on the point they are “greatly astonished.” It’s like somebody pulled the carpet out from underneath them!

So the question is why. What is Jesus saying that leaves them shocked?

His revelation that it is harder for a rich man is completely against the grain of their culture.

Application note:

think about what you are reading. Look for these things that God is saying. What will happen is that it will help you to quote the scripture be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves. Don’t be passive in your reading or listening. It will help you be a better Christian, husband, wife, parent, and friend. Actively participate in the reading.

So what did Jesus say, what’s the controversy?

In that time as it is today. To be rich is to be seen as blessed!

Matthew, Volumes 1 & 2 Who Then Can Be Saved?

The disciples’ reaction of astonishment certainly suggests that Jesus needed to dislodge some settled but flawed opinions. In the Old Testament, wealth commonly signified God’s favor. So many great men of faith also had great wealth: Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, David, Solomon, Hezekiah, and Job, to name a few. If the wealthy, who seem to enjoy God’s favor, cannot be saved, they wonder, “Who then can be saved?” Can anyone be saved (19:25)?

The issue for the rich young ruler is that he because of him loving his wealth was breaking the commandments. Jesus in Mark 10:19

Mark 10:19 ESV

19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’ ”

Omits the very verses this young ruler was breaking!

One God, no Idols, honor the sabbath, though shalt not covet! So when the ruler says I’ve done these things he Is showing that he has missed the main issue.

Wealth, which is an amazing tool is also a blinder if used wrongly.

Wealth is a blessing but it is also very dangerous.

Matthew, Volumes 1 & 2 Who Then Can Be Saved?

It is easy to fall in love with riches; wealth brings such obvious benefits: fine food, clothing, housing, entertainment, and health care. Wealth brings security. Or more accurately, it brings more temporal security than the poor ever experience. Of course, real security is another matter, as Solomon puts it in a pair of paradoxical proverbs:

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.

The wealth of the rich is their fortified city;

they imagine it an unscalable wall. (Prov. 18:10–11)

We could paraphrase this way: “The LORD is the strong tower of the righteous—in truth. Wealth is the fortified city of the rich—in their imagination.”

Wealth does not get you in to heaven. The old joke is that hurses don’t have trailer hitches.

Your wealth can be a glided cage, false courage, false hope. That isn’t to say you should be poor, but if it leads you astray you must pluck it out.

Application:

Don’t highly esteem money or moneyed people to much.

Henry Ford was famous for saying he’d rather be a mechanic then own Ford, because it always lead to him having more problems.

Maintence of money is a full time job. Mammon is a jelous God if you start to worship it.

MAmmon, the love of money looks really good to your peers. You can see this everywhere. Blue color guys will get the nice knew trucks, my father n’law felt he had to drive a nicer car because he was an attorney to fit it in young in his career.

See money for what it is, a tool. Use it to build up your family and your faith.

The risk of the young ruler

Mark 10:20 ESV

20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”

The hardship of blessing is that it can make you think that you’re a really good person. Culture will also make you think you’re a really good person.

When you look at the rich young ruler he was so consumed with his blessings that he did the right things but he forgot the God of those things.

when I looked at the Yale website they’re so consumed with doing what is culturally good that they’ve dropped Jesus.

when Jesus says that he needs to sell his goods astonishing the disciples, it was because they came from a culture that saw material blessing as identifying a faithful man.

what Jesus is saying to us and them is that we have put the cart before the horse and eaten the horse. That which drives the blessings, belief in Christ, is what secures the material blessings. Like the young ruler we got so consumed with the Goods in the cart that we thou nothing of the horse.

the blessings make us think we’re moral and good like the rich young ruler, but we’ve thrown out Jesus.

you can see this in Families. So consumed with getting ahead every one gets left behind.

i saw this in the church this week. A major church in the Carolina’s will not mention the blood atonement so that they can get lot of people to come on Easter Sunday.

Do I even need to explain how you see this in America also? We’ve thrown out Christ and we wonder why our blessings are running out, foreigners overrun our lands, children disobey parents and so on.

Our blessings we exchanged for the worship of the true God and we lost both in the mix.

We act moral, thinking it will help and these work’s don’t deceive God.

The old covenant believers in Yahweh had a penchant for breaking the covenant, so do we as members of the new covenant.

We have become as the church in Laodicea who have become Lukewarm and need to repent Wealth can make you blind make you slack, make you spiritually complacent.

Revelation 3:17 ESV

17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.

So what are we to do?

Application:

repent, don’t have metanoiaphobia, repent, don’t just back off or change messaging, repent. If you have been taken captive by your wealth, if you thik by your wealth you are really his better then you must repent.

As Jesus said to the wealthy in the Laodicean church

Revelation 3:19–20 ESV

19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

The Reward

Mark 10:28–31 ESV

28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is 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, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”

For you Christian the reward of faith is greater then you can imagine.

This reward is based on those that give up these things for Christ. That isn’t teaching walk away from your loved ones or so on. It is saying that these things must be as nothing compared to the Lord. How many are like the man who refused to walk with Jesus until after his inheritance.

Application

Follow Right Away

How many are waiting until marriage or till they have kids or until they’ve sowed their oats to follow God?

Jesus is promising you actual blessings. For Following him. So don’t delay

Using what you have to receive 100 fold

No one wants to hear about money, but this is a section about money. Money is as we have seen dangerous.

It will rule over you Mt. 6:24

Matthew 6:24 ESV

24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.

It can replace God as your source of trust if you allow it

1 Timothy 6:10 ESV

10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

just to name 2 things.

So I would say to you send it ahead of you in a place in which you will be able to handle it without sin.

How, well plan to bless your children and grandchildren which is the command of scripture.

Proverbs 13:22 (ESV)

22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,

This I would argue is your primary mission field. Christian schooling and so on. Money spent for God’s means and ends.

We are to love or nieghbors and you’re to love because you are human, the closest humans to you, which will be your family are the ones you are to love first. This is the order of loves.

2nd Send it ahead of you by partnering with God’s mission. Develop a mission by prayer to God as to how you’re going to serve God with his treasures he allows you to have. Again by order of Loves, you should love the things closest to you, your church, your town, your state, your country, then the world.

So give to partner with our mission, give to one more child, to the medical pregnancy center, to annie armstrong. Know that God will multiply it 100 fold.

HEaven is a real place and we will recive real crowns, real treasures. so will you obey Christ and plan accordingly with your blessings? Or will you walk away from him as the rich young ruler.

The second half of Proverbs 13:22 will come to fruition if you handle your money in sin

Proverbs 13:22 (ESV)

but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.

God will do with it as he wishes. So why not instead plan to use it in his ways?

Who Can Be saved?

This is key the disciples see the issue then that if the rich can’t be saved, who would have the most resources, then who can?

Mark 10:26 (ESV)

26 “Then who can be saved?”

We must couch ourselves witht he disciples. they knew they were rich because of their presence with God. We in America have blessings beyond compare.

This cannot save you only Christ.

Mark 10:27 ESV

27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

You cannot save yourself but God can. (Goive the gospel)

Benediction

Say: As we close our service of worship dear brother and sister please stand for our benediction and receive by faith this blessing from God

1 Thessalonians 5:23–24 ESV

23 Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.