With God All Things Are Possible

Matthew 19:16-30

I preached this sermon a several years ago, but I wanted to revisit this today, for a refresher for us and myself. This account is in Mark 10:17-27, as well as in Luke 18:18-27.........

The question for today is..........What is your most prized possession? The most, the highest ranked possession? Honesty in answering this question is vital! Do not deceive yourself!

This rich young ruler, according to Jewish history, would of been anywhere around 25-40. That is the age that was considered “young” back in those times.

He was a ruler of a synagogue.

To be a ruler as a young man was not normal. This man must of been of high character. We know he was rich, so, he must have had influence.

He was extremely rich.

Some say this was probably family money. Not for certain, but his possessions were great and if they were lost it would effect his whole family.

Putting those things together, we have a pretty good guy approaching Jesus. How he approaches Him is interesting and to see that let’s parallel the different accounts.

Mark’s account has him running to Jesus and kneeling.

This has an impression of desperation.

For a ruler to do this would of been way out of character, especially it being Jesus he ran to.

The young man starts off with a greeting........Most commentators agree that this young man, much like Nicodemus, knew that Jesus was connected to God, in some way.

No one in that time period, especially a Jew, would refer to someone as “good”.......God alone was good and no one else was worthy of that salutation!

So, for that young man to refer to Jesus as good indicates that he knew that Jesus was someway connected with God.

This young man had some urgency in this approach and the recognition that Jesus was “good” would mean that this man was serious enough about his search for “eternal life” that he went, in his view, as close as he could get to the source.

The question...… “what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?”.........This question seems to expose that there was doubt in his mind. This young man wasn’t sure.........Again, for him to approach Jesus in the manner that he did and for him to call Jesus “good” gives us the idea, that something was missing in this young man’s life and he did not know what was missing. It was evident by his haste to get to the Good Master.

Also, The idea of eternal life cannot be brought down to a simple “living forever” thought. It is way greater than that, living forever with God. One writer believed that this ruler knew he was missing this relationship with the Father. He seemed to try and do all the things right, but there was something missing.

Jesus responds to this young man’s question.....First thing you need to know that Jesus knew this young man’s heart and mind before he even approached Jesus, so what He will do now is expose this rich young ruler.............If you will enter into life.......Keep The Commandments.

The response was “I have done that”........In this account, the young man asks, but what do I lack.........In Mark and Luke’s account Jesus tells him that he lacks this.......

Sell all your possessions and give them to the poor......then you shall have treasure in Heaven! We will come back to the last point, to come and follow Jesus..........

2 things Jesus exposes in this young man, that seems to have condemned him.........Jesus exposes his heart! If we look merely at the action of the 2 things Jesus told him (commandments and selling all and giving) then we could say that outward acts can earn us eternal life. On the contrary, what every human on the planet needs is an expose of the heart and that is what Jesus did! That is what the Word of God does Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

The first of this expose of the heart is being self-righteousness, by all external views of this young man it seems that he was qualified for Heaven.

Jesus exposed it at the very beginning of this meeting...… “why do you call me good? there is none good but God!”

Mere outward actions does not qualify you for Heaven!

Self-righteousness means self-importance, this is what Jesus is exposing!

It seems from the young man’s response that he felt qualified for Heaven. Jesus knew he wasn’t and so exposed his heart! Jesus exposed what the man really loved! The 2nd expose was his possessions......sell them all and give them to the poor.......

Right away we learn that this rich young ruler was not able to do that.....he went away for he had great possessions!

Great was his possessions.....they mattered more to him than “eternal life”......The trust in his possessions was greater than his desire for God (following Christ)!

It is hard to rely on God completely when you are relying on your good works and earthly possessions!

Jesus even goes farther than just this young man.......saying that it is hard for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God!

How well thought of you are, does not merit anything eternally

How many commandments you keep does not merit Heaven

How much you have is no evidence of eternal reward

Eternal Life is a matter of the heart........Your actions, your possessions have no value, God the Father, God the Son......all revealed in the Law, the prophets and the Gospel, is the value!

Matthew 13:44 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.”

So, valuable that it is worth everything that he owns!

Jesus is our example of this......This is how He and His Father loves us.......Philippians 2:5–8 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Jesus’s rightful place, at the Right Hand of the Father, was not held onto so tightly that Jesus was not willing to leave His rightful place to go save humanity!

What was so powerful within the Father and the Son.......For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son!

Paul states for us to let this mind be in us as it was Jesus Christ!

I believe we mix this up, just the same way that this young man does!

Sometimes, in our view or maybe in some so-called christian views, self-importance and what I can gain from Jesus can get in the actual way of knowing Jesus!

It is more about us, than it is Him!

Matter of fact, some have created a false Jesus, so they can worship themselves.......

The act of selling all that you have and giving it to the poor is a matter of self-importance, but when you add to come and follow Jesus.......That is the treasure of Heaven.........Matthew 6:19–20 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:”

Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” ........You see that is what Jesus exposed in this young man and in many of us!

The disciples asked who then can be saved.........Which we can all here today ask the same when our desperate situations in this encounter with Jesus are exposed!

Man has no power within him to gain the eternal, with God eternity is always possible!

Mind you the value of eternal life, is to be with God our Father in Heaven! That is the value!

I believe the question the young man had was how do I qualify to make it to escape hell, rather than desiring to know God.

I want to know the requirements so I can get in.

This seems be the nature of all ages.......The real question goes back to what is your treasure? Jesus told Him that if he kept the commandments then his treasure would be in Heaven........

That is just it God has spoken in the OT on a few occasions, that He has grown weary of their sacrifices, etc. Because their hearts were not right.

The treasure was not in God Himself, but more about what benefits them! Where your treasure is there is your heart also

The sad reality is, we see what the rich young rulers treasure was, he went away from Jesus in sorrow because his treasure was not God!

Colossians 3:1–2 “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.”

Now, I believe that we can all say we have trouble with our treasures.........Who then can be saved? This is the easiest to understand but harder to trust.......Not holding onto our earthly things, ways, ideas, loves, so tightly that we are not willing to let go for Jesus!

How difficult is it? ........As hard as it would be to thread an actual camel through the eye of a sewing needle. Some have tried to minimize this statement by Jesus, so to give a little relief to rich folks, some thing by camel Jesus meant camel hair. I have even used this about a gate called a needle gate in Jerusalem, but it turns out that this gate was about 10 yards from the entrance gate. Jesus meant exactly what He said!

The trust in his possessions was greater than his desire for God (following Christ)! It is hard to rely on God completely when you are relying on your good works and earthly possessions! The good ground, the ground prepared for the seed (Word of God) to receive and take root.

It stirred the disciples up and they asked who then can be saved? “The admission of human impossibility, however, opens the door to divine possibility: “What is impossible with human beings is possible with God.”

The demand seems great and the devil has done a good job of painting a picture of this world, that is hard to let go of. Are you willing to follow Jesus anywhere are you willing to abandon all that you have to follow Jesus!

The young man’s family would have disowned him if he sold all that he had and followed Jesus!

With God through Christ all things are possible.............We must let Him be our treasure, so much that we are not gripping so tightly to anything under Heaven and trusting that we have the Treasure of knowing/loving our Father God!

Turn with me to Philippians 3:3-11.........

Jesus exposed his heart. In order to get to the truth of this divine meeting, let us look at someone that seemed to be somewhat in the same boat as this rich, young ruler......Paul......

The last word in verse 6 there “blameless”. This is how the young man thought of himself and Paul also thought of himself.

Romans 7:9 (KJV 1900) “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.”

He doesn’t mean an ignorance or lack of concern for the law, but a purely external, imperfect conception of the law.

When he realized that he was dead spiritually (inwardly), he began to look elsewhere...... Paul had an encounter with Jesus and his problem with the law was revealed.

The young man ran into Jesus too, but there is a stark contrast in his response verses Paul’s response.....Philippians 3:7-11..... This is the perfect response to God and Jesus, our relationship with God and Christ is one where nothing else matters and you are willing to give up everything or whatever to be near the Father in Christ!

Paul found himself blameless at one time, the treasure was in his work, but when he actually met Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), everything changed.......2 questions Paul asked at this glorious meeting

Who are you Lord?

What would you have me to do?

After, that encounter and time spent with Jesus, learning the Gospel, you read what Paul’s treasure is now.....… “That I may know Jesus and the power of His resurrection......”

To know Jesus is to know eternal life......John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Maybe, the better question, is “Who are you Lord?”.....then you will get to “what would you have me to do?”

The limitless power of God circumcises the heart.......He cuts away the fat that entangles us in this world and after His cutting away, the affections are turned as Paul’s was.......to treasure God and Christ!

Paul was a willing recipient of this trimming of the heart......Are you willing?

Are you willing because........Jesus taught about His 2nd coming........He described in Luke 17.......to narrow it down for us right now....

He compared His 2nd coming to Noah’s day....Luke 17:27 “They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”

The way of escape was given to them, but the loved the world more than God........

Jesus in this same chapter compared His coming to the Sodom and Gomorrah. This place was riddle with sin and evil ways.....

God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot and his family only escaped.......however, Jesus compares that judgement and destruction of the cities, to when He comes so, in the same chapter in Luke 17:31 “In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back.”

There is more to the story of Lot and his family....God told them to get out and not look back or they would be destroyed like those cities.......but one did.....So, Jesus reminds us of who it was Luke 17:32–33 “Remember Lot’s wife. Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.”

She became a pillar of salt......destroyed just like the city that she loved more than God!

Do not hold on so tightly to this world and the things of this world so tightly that you are not willing to let it go to follow Christ! This is the question for all of us........God has done it, the question is where is our heart, what are we desiring from God?