The Rich Young Ruler - Mark 10:17-31 (Type 1)

Introduction:

My name is Ethan Morton and I am a child of God as well as the youth and young adult pastor here at Westside Christian Church. Thank you for being here and I am grateful to be with you all this fine October morning. If you haven’t already guessed it by all the younger faces, today is Youth Sunday. Most of our youth serve on a regular basis, but today is special because most of the service is lead by the youth. This provides an incredible opportunity for us to recognize the church as multi-generational and what God is doing in the lives of our youth. On the other side it gives our youth the opportunity to express gratitude toward there church family and all the folks who have poured into their lives, mentored them, and raised them up in the Lord. As I have gotten a few years older, I have personally recognized all the ways in which my home church loved on me and discipled by teaching me about Jesus. Though I learned more from their hearts of devotion towards God more than any of their lessons that I would likely soon forget.

Father, we acknowledge that without your Spirit it is impossible to hear you this morning. We ask that you open our hearts and minds to listen to what you speak through your Spirit concerning your Son, Jesus Christ. Humble us, place us under your truth and guidance, lead us in this journey this morning. Amen.

The reporter

I want you to imagine yourself this morning as a reporter who travels to heaven to interview several people. You've been assigned to write a story about heaven, but specifically from the vantage point of those who are already there. What did they do on earth that was so spectacular that they ended up in God’s throne room? What did they get that everyone else missed? The main question, however that your trying to ask is “What does it take to get into heaven.”

The Child

So your wondering about how I got here. Let me adjust this real quick. It’s a good question. See when I was just a child, I began talking with Jesus. While others said that I didn’t know enough about Him, Jesus told me that all I needed to do was know Him and trust Him for my every need. So I did, I relied on Jesus for my every need and He took care of me. That didn’t mean I was never sacred or afraid of the monsters in the closet, it just meant that when I was close to Him I knew I was safe. Jesus was the only way I knew, and He told me that knowing Him was enough.”

“Haha, yeah, I didn’t understand either. I remember when I was six years old, my grandma told me a story about Jesus:

English Standard Version Chapter 10

13 And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” 16 And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them.

“As I got older there was a lot in my life that began to distract me from simply knowing Jesus and being in his arms. I became busier, I my own family to take care of, and my job become more and more stressful. But in some of the most quiet moments of my life, I could still here Jesus calling me to come back into his arms, to know his love. I spent most of my life trying to spend as much time in the arms of Jesus as I could, it was the only way I knew how to truly live. And then one day I just showed up here. And it’s felt like Jesus has been holding me in his arms ever since.”

Bart

“Is this thing on… oh good, my name is… Bart, but that doesn’t really matter, what does matter is that I called out to Jesus and he saved me. Most people recognized me as a poor person with dirty clothes. A blind man who was doomed to be a beggar on the side of the road forever. But when Jesus asked me that question. “What do you want me to do for you” I could help but to ask for recovery of sight. I had faith in Jesus that he was the Son of David. Jesus had mercy on me, but I didn’t expect the healing to go beyond the just my eyes. I realized my life was broken and I was using that as an excuse. After Jesus healed me, I left my old life behind and didn’t turned back. I left the few possessions I had and went to follow Him with the rest of his disciples. There was nothing left for me here once Jesus became my everything. I followed Him into Jerusalem. First the crowds were cheering for Him but in a few days they were chanting to crucify Him. They put Him on the cross. Really we all did. Three days later he rose from his grave. Jesus truly was God’s Son, our Savior sent to save us from ourselves. Jesus willing took mine and everyone else sin, just so that we could be free from our old selves and selfish ways of living. In the cross of Christ, I was healed from both my physical and spiritual sickness. And yet I still had to want to be healed, but it was his power that healed.

Peter

“Funny you should ask me such a question. I remembering asking a similar question to Jesus himself. It was just after he had this interaction with this young man. The young man had run up and knelt before Jesus asking what he needed to do to inherit eternal life, you know get here. The poor man addressed Jesus as good teacher, which Jesus was fast correct saying that only God was good. Anyways, Jesus answers his question with a ironic remark, “you know the commandments, right: Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false testimony, do not defraud, honor your mother and father.” The young man nodded at Jesus, exclaiming, of course I’ve kept them since I was a little boy. All of us disciples look at Jesus with a bit of skepticism, like really. But then Jesus looked at the man, in love as if he was about to say something really hard, or give him bad news. Jesus told Him that he had lacked one thing, “At which John turned to me and said yeah humility, which I thought was funny coming from John.” But no Jesus said that he needed to go and sell all his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor, and come and follow Him. It wasn’t so long ago that Jesus told us to pretty much do the very same thing. That was tough, I really liked fishing, but Jesus was way better.

But this man was taken a back, his face turned kind of pale and gloomy, sadness washed over him and with his head bent towards the ground he walked away without saying a single word. Just when we thought that it was over Jesus turned to us and said “Children how difficult is it to enter into the kingdom of God!” He continued to say that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. Me and the other disciples kind looked at each other just stunned. Camels are like bigger than donkey’s okay, there like huge, essential what Jesus said was that heaven was impossible to get into. So we were like, “Then who can be saved?” But Jesus wasn’t finished talking, he explained that with man it is impossible, but not with God, with God everything is possible. This got me thinking, we did leave everything to follow Jesus, our homes, families, job, money, even extra pairs of clothes. I spoke up on behalf of the group “See Jesus, we have left everything and followed you.” I was going to say more, but then Jesus was really honest for a second and told us “There is no one who has left his house, brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel who will not receive a hundred-fold of these vary same blessings as well as persecution, both in this age and the age to come.” he paused and said “But many who are first will be last and the last first.” And boy was Jesus right, we went on to lose pretty much everything in on earth, even to the point of death.

But since I’ve been in heaven I realized that God’s presence was always with me, not just while I’m before his throne, but when his Spirit was with me on earth. These blessings were worth giving up everything on earth, most days it didn’t feel like losing much, probably because life in Jesus was all I needed. Everything else belong to God anyways. That’s when I realized it, “God’s kingdom belongs to the world’s losers.” “God’s kingdom belongs to the world’s losers.”

Conclusion

“What does it take to get into heaven?” This is a sincere and vulnerable question, that many of us have probably asked during different seasons of our life. Perhaps the question is vulnerable because it acknowledges that death is apart of our existence. Something that society is rather silent on most days. We don’t like thinking about death, and when we do it’s usual in a solemn and cold manner. Like when your watching a movie and the words the end come up on the scene, “It’s over already.” I was hoping for a bit more. As Christians we profess that there is a bit more actually. We believe in that the after life isn’t make believe. So do many other religions, so what is so different about Christianity. We believe that heaven is the eternal kingdom of God, where he is on the throne, where pain and sin is absent, and his children get to run free in his loving presence forever. This hope or anticipation should be embraced in the trials of everyday life. We would do well to meditate on heaven more often.

When you hear how God heaven is maybe you want a taste. Maybe your ready to step out of your brokenness and pain that you have experienced on this earth and into God’s grace. But like the rich young ruler you ask “What does it take to get into heaven?” The road to heaven is a path that we could not pave. Heaven is not something that you can earn. Working harder won’t get you there. Neither will a good pair of roller skates. While you and I were still messed up and broken, God loved us. Though we broke his heart, in his Son, God reconciled our relationship with Him. Now whether or not we want to admit were hopeless and need Jesus in our lives to heal our brokenness and bear the consequences of our guilt, that’s up to us. But God desires you to know his love in Christ Jesus, to be saved from the mistakes that you made, to heal your brokenness, and to experience eternity with Him in heaven. Jesus became like a servant and died on the cross in order that we could be saved. And in a moment if you want to confess your belief in Jesus and be saved you can come up to the front and we will pray with you and baptise you into the family of God. Worship team.

That’s the good news of the gospel. Where we no longer serve ourselves, the very thing that got us into trouble, rather we come and follow Jesus as our king. It’s a higher calling that if you choose to accept you no longer place your security and trust in earthly things. Whether it be a bank account, a relationship, an education, the american dream, a job, a house, what ever it be we consider it all to be garbage in comparison to the life we gain in Christ and the treasure we will receive in heaven. We were thirsty, but now were satisfied. We hungry, but now were full. We were sick, but now were healed. This transformation may seem a bit odd to some, radical to others, we will likely experience persecution verbally and maybe even physically, our families might forsake us, but we come and follow Jesus no matter the cost. Knowing that God’s kingdom belongs to the world’s losers. God’s kingdom belong’s to the world’s losers.