He Ask For Everything
The Problem With Following God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
Handout
This morning my heart is burdened.
If I am honest, I do not know how I am going to preach this message twice today.
Here is what I know. This sermon series was not an accident. it was not a fluke. this was an assignment from God.
But perhaps that is fitting, because our series has been all about the fact that following God is not easy.
We’re wrapping up “The Problem with Following God.” series this morning.
Over the past three weeks we have walked with Abram, with Joseph, and with Job.
With Abram we learned that God does not tell us everything.
With Joseph we saw that sometimes it gets worse before it gets better.
With Job we discovered that God does not always answer when we want Him to.
Yet in every case, Abram and Joseph and Job still trusted God.
They did not always understand.
They did not always see what God was doing.
But they stayed with Him.
They kept walking with Him.
Today we come to the final and perhaps the most important problem with following God.
Problem #4 with following God is He ask for everything.
Pray
I have no clever intro this morning.
No story to share.
I just want to preach this morning.
I hope that’s okay.
Go with me to Mark chapter 10.
We are about to look at the story of a man who came to Jesus seeking eternity but left with his hands still full of the earthly.
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
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.”
This story starts strong.
There is a young man who is eager.
He runs to Jesus. He kneels down in front of Him.
He asks a question about eternal life.
He is eager to know God.
If we were watching this unfold live we would be pumped.
This is the dream scenario.
A young, wealthy, influential person is coming to Jesus. He is moral. He is successful.
He looks like he has it all together, and now he wants discipleship.
Every pastor would want this guy in their church.
Every disciple-making movement would say, “Here’s the one. He’s going to be a difference-maker.”
But already something is off. He calls Jesus “Good Teacher,” and Jesus pushes back.
“Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”
It’s as if Jesus is gently exposing that the man doesn’t fully understand who he is talking to.
He thinks Jesus is another teacher to add to his résumé, another step on his journey of self-improvement.
Does this feel familiar?
We live in a culture that is obsessed with me.
How can I get healthier? How can I get richer? How can I get more followers?
How can I get my kids into the right school, land the right job, buy the right house?
Everywhere you turn it is me, myself, and I.
The gym ads tell you it’s all about you.
The self-help books tell you to put yourself first.
Social media teaches us to curate the perfect version of ourselves for the world to see.
Even the motivational speeches all boil down to one word: I.
And we love it.
We eat it up.
We scroll for it, we spend money on it, we build our schedules around it.
We are a culture addicted to the next fix for me.
John the baptist says something powerful that is so countercultural that most of us miss it.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
In other words, I stop living for me. I let Jesus do the living through me. He drives. He speaks. He leads. He saves. He rules.
Not I. He.
Not my way. His way.
Not my name. His name.
Not my glory. His glory.
He must increase. I must decrease.
That is the exact opposite of the spirit of our culture. And that is exactly what the rich young ruler could not do.
“He must increase, but I must decrease.” That is what John said.
But let me ask you this.
When was the last time you allowed yourself to decrease so that someone else could see Jesus?
When was the last time you put aside your comfort so that His love could be seen?
When was the last time you swallowed your pride so that His grace could shine?
When was the last time you gave up your preferences so that His name could be lifted higher?
When was the last time it was not about you, but about Him?
Because that is the call of discipleship. It is not about me. It is about Him.
Because that is the call of discipleship. It is not about me. It is about Him.
But this rich young man comes to Jesus with a completely different posture.
It is all about me.
Look at all I’ve done. Look, I’ve kept this command. And this one. And this one too.
I’ve made a name for myself.
I’ve done good things.
I’ve worked hard. I’ve built my résumé. Jesus, look at me.
And if we’re honest, we know that voice.
We know what it is to stand before God with a list in our hands.
God, I went to church.
God, I gave some money.
God, I raised my kids right.
God, I prayed when things got hard.
God, look at me.
All those I’s but still empty….
All those accolades yet still empty…
The rich young ruler had more money and status than probably anyone in this room.
And you know what I find interesting?
He still came to Jesus, because deep down he knew he still wasn’t enough…
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
He lacked nothing on earth. He was good by the world’s standard.
But listen to his question: “What must I still do?”
He knew something was missing.
He knew all the money, all the morality, all the status still hadn’t given him eternal life.
So Jesus gives him the checklist he’s looking for, right?
“Come on, you know the commandments… Don’t murder. Don’t commit adultery.
Don’t steal. Don’t lie. Honor your father and mother.”
And you can almost hear the excitement rise in the young man’s voice.
A glimmer of accomplishment.
Finally, something he knows he’s done.
Finally, a chance to prove himself.
20 And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.”
Jesus, I’m good!
I’ve done all of that for so long.
I did it. I’m going to make it.
Wow, look at how great I’ve been since I was a kid.
But then Jesus points out that he has a flaw…
All of the things he has….yeah there is one that he doesn’t.
There is one thing that he lacks…
21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
This one… this is the one right here.
Hey, all that status. All those accolades. All those things you’ve stacked up for yourself. Yeah, you have to let them go.
And don’t miss this. Jesus doesn’t give him a suggestion, He gives him a command. “Go. Sell all that you have and give it to the poor.”
Jesus isn’t saying, “It might be good if you…” He isn’t saying, “Think about it, pray on it, see if you feel led.”
That’s our favorite word in the church, isn’t it? “I feel led.” “I don’t feel led.” “If I feel led, I’ll do it.”
But let’s be honest. Most of the time when we say, “I don’t feel led,” what we really mean is, “I don’t want to.”
Most of the time “I don’t feel led” is just church language we use to cover up our hesitation or our disobedience.
Jesus never said, “If you feel led, deny yourself and take up your cross.”
He never said, “If you feel led, forgive your enemy.”
He never said, “If you feel led, go make disciples of all nations.” He commands it.
And that is exactly what He is doing here. He is not inviting the rich young man to consider it. He is commanding him to obey.
Jesus does not request of you. He demands of you.
He does not politely ask for a corner of your life. He demands the whole thing.
He does not request a slice of your heart.
He demands your heart, your soul, your mind, your strength.
He does not ask to be part of your story.
He demands to be your Lord, your King, your everything.
But it’s not because He wants to be tyrannical.
Look how verse 21 starts…
21 And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
He demands to be your Lord, your King, your everything. But it is not because He wants to be tyrannical. Look at how verse 21 starts: “And Jesus, looking at him, loved him.”
That word “looking” in the original language is emblepsas. It does not mean a quick glance.
It means to fix your eyes on someone, to see them deeply, to look into their soul. Jesus did not just see a wealthy young man. He saw a searching, empty heart.
And then it says He “loved him.”
The word there is agapaō, from the word agape.
That is the deepest kind of love.
Selfless.
Sacrificial.
The same word used in John 3:16: “For God so loved the world.”
Here is what amazes me.
This is the only time in the entire Gospel of Mark where it says Jesus specifically loved an individual.
And who does He love? Not Peter. Not John. Not Mary. Not Martha.
A man who is about to reject Him.
A man who will walk away.
Jesus looked at him. Jesus loved him.
And Jesus told him the truth.
And Jesus told him the truth. That is agape love.
I want you to look at me. Sparing feelings is not love.
Real love tells the truth, even when it hurts.
Real love risks offending if it means saving a soul.
Real love says, “I care too much about you to let you stay blind to what is destroying you.”
Listen to me.
Hell is going to be filled with people whose feelings were spared.
I do not ever want the reason someone is in hell to be because I was too worried about their feelings.
Because I was afraid they might get upset.
Because I wanted them to like me.
Here is a wild thought.
What if the Holy Spirit is actually powerful enough to minister to someone even if they get offended?
What if God can still work in a heart that is cut by the truth?
What if their moment of offense is the very thing that wakes them up to the love of Jesus?
Eternity over feelings. Every. Single. Time.
That is what Jesus models here. He loved the rich young ruler enough to offend him.
He loved him enough to say the one thing he did not want to hear.
He loved him enough to demand surrender, because nothing less would save him.
and look at the response:
22 Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Mark says the man was disheartened and went away sorrowful.
The word for disheartened is stugnásas.
It means his face fell, his whole countenance darkened, like a storm cloud covering the sun. He was visibly shattered.
And the word for sorrowful is lypoumenos. That is the same word used to describe Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane when He said, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death.”
This young man felt the same deep, crushing grief in his soul that Jesus Himself felt before the cross.
Here is what this tells us. What God calls us to should create turmoil in our flesh.
If it never stirs something in us, if it never costs us, if it never feels like a death, then maybe it is not really surrender.
The call of Jesus is always going to collide with the idols of our heart.
It is always going to pull against the part of us that wants control, comfort, and security.
Following Him will feel like loss before it feels like life.
That’s why Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross.”
And when the young man refused, Jesus turned and made it clear to His disciples what was at stake.
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.”
I want you to understand something about this moment in scripture.
Jesus didn’t care he had money.
He didn’t care he had status.
This was not about What this young man had.
This was about what had the young man.
And that is where this story speaks directly to us.
For one person it may be money. For another it may be control. For another it may be comfort.
For another it may be reputation.
The list can go on and on.
Jesus is not just addressing wealth.
He is addressing anything that takes hold of your heart and keeps you from fully surrendering to Him.
And then Jesus uses this image: “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.”
Now some people think that phrase just means literally trying to get a giant camel through the tiny hole of a sewing needle, which is impossible.
Others, and this is where I land, believe Jesus was talking about a small gate in Jerusalem called the “Eye of the Needle.”
It was so narrow that a camel could only get through if it got down on its knees and had all its baggage stripped off its back.
Either way do you see the picture?
For a person to enter God’s kingdom, the same has to happen.
You have to humble yourself.
You have to get on your knees.
And you have to lay aside the baggage you are carrying.
You cannot squeeze through carrying your pride, your wealth, your status, or your sin.
This is the part of the story that is interesting to me. That frankly we don’t talk about enough.
It goes from verse 22 straight to verse 23. Clearly there is a verse missing.
Because if you know Jesus, if you know His heart, you know He would not just let this man walk away.
He would chase after him.
He would say, “Wait, wait, let’s not be extreme. Why don’t you just sell a little?
Why don’t you just give ten percent and we’ll call it good?
Why don’t you just serve a little more?
Maybe make food for the small group
maybe show up to help on a Sunday
maybe do a few more good deeds.
Why don’t you just volunteer some time, keep your comfort, hold onto your wealth, and tack me on to what you are already doing?”
That is the Jesus we think we know.
A Jesus who negotiates.
A Jesus who bargains.
A Jesus who lowers the bar so it feels manageable.
So when I read this story, I almost want to say, “There must be something wrong with my Bible.
A verse has to be missing.
Where is the Jesus who cuts a deal?
Where is the Jesus who softens the blow?
Where is the Jesus who makes this easier?”
But there is no verse missing. Jesus let him walk.
Can I give you a tough theological pill to swallow?
God demands surrender, but He refuses to force surrender.
He could have stopped that man in his tracks.
He could have chased him down, bent his will, and broken his pride.
But that is not how the kingdom of God works.
God calls.
God commands.
God demands.
But He does not force.
Because love cannot be forced.
Faith cannot be manufactured.
Obedience cannot be manipulated.
God will not drag you into the kingdom kicking and screaming.
He will ask for everything, but if you walk away, He will let you walk.
This goes against everything we think we know about Jesus. We love the Jesus who leaves the ninety-nine to go after the one. But we ignore the Jesus who lets the one leave.
Both are true. He is the Shepherd who pursues. He is also the Lord who will not negotiate His terms.
He will run after the lost sheep who knows it is lost.
But He will let the self-sufficient, self-satisfied, self-secure walk away if they will not surrender....
The disciples begin pick up on the heart of what Jesus was saying to them about the whole eye of the needle thing and surrender….and they become concerned….
26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?”
That word “exceedingly astonished” in the Greek is perissōs.
It does not just mean they were surprised.
It means they were utterly overwhelmed, struck out of their minds, shocked on top of shock.
And here is why.
It is not only that they thought wealth was a sign of God’s blessing.
It is that they knew the human heart is always driven by status.
We all want more.
More money, more security, more respect, more power, more comfort.
That is what drives us.
And if that is the case, then who can be saved?
Who can escape the pull of wealth and status?
Who can get through the eye of the needle when every human heart is weighed down with baggage?
This was not just their question. It is our question too.
Jesus answers it…
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
That word “looked” is the exact same Greek word used back in verse 21 when Jesus looked at the rich young ruler.
It is not a quick glance. It is a deep, penetrating gaze. In verse 21, Jesus looked at the man and loved him.
Here in verse 27, Jesus looks at His disciples the same way. He sees their desperation. He sees their confusion.
He sees their fear that nobody can be saved. And into that moment He speaks hope: “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”
The same eyes that saw the ruler in his refusal now see the disciples in their desperation.
To the ruler, those eyes said, “You lack one thing.” To the disciples, those eyes say, “You have me.”
Look at what peter says next…
28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.”
Do you hear the contrast? The rich young ruler said, “I.” I have done this. I have kept that. I have achieved. I have earned.
But Peter says, “We.” We have left everything. We have surrendered together. We have followed You.
The ruler’s life was built on “I.” The disciple’s life is built on “we.” We together, following Jesus, with nothing left in our hands but Him.
This series we have addressed four problems with following God. We saw Abram. We saw Joseph. We saw Job. And now we see the rich young ruler.
But what do you notice is different about this one compared to the other three?
Abram obeyed.
Joseph endured.
Job trusted.
But the rich young ruler walked away.
What are you gonna do?
That’s the question of this series…
What will you do?
Following Jesus is costly, but it’s always worth it. don’t take my word for it…
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.”
Do you hear it? Jesus is saying, “Yes, there will be problems. Yes, there will be persecution. Yes, there will be loss.”
But He is also saying, “The reward is greater than the loss. The reward is eternal. The reward is Me.”
This week I have been burdened. Wednesday night I laid on the floor of my living room and I wept.
On Wednesday we all saw it. Charlie Kirk was murdered.
Some people want to frame it as politics, but let’s call it what it really is.
It was spiritual. Darkness striking at the light.
Evil lashing out at truth.
The enemy raging against Christ Himself.
And our culture is so numb to evil that the video got passed around like it was just another piece of news.
Few stopped to realize what was really happening.
Charlie was unapologetic about Jesus.
He didn’t flinch.
He didn’t pull back when it got uncomfortable.
He stepped into the hard places with boldness.
His mission was to show people Jesus, and he did. And that courage cost him his life.
I want to challenge anyone that wants to dismiss the Christian part of this.
Listen to what he actually said.
Charlie once said, “I’m nothing without Jesus. I’m a sinner. I fall incredibly short of the glory of God. We all do. I gave my life to the Lord in fifth grade, and it’s the most important decision I’ve ever made and everything I do incorporates Jesus Christ.”
He also said, “Jesus defeated death so you can live.”
Now, we may disagree on some of the things he said politically. That’s fine.
Let’s be honest, none of us in this room agree on everything each other says either.
But those words… those words point to Jesus. Those words point to a man who knew who his Savior was.
And here is what I know. This will not be the last.
But the enemy still does not understand.
The gospel cannot be silenced.
It cannot be killed.
That was settled when Jesus walked out of the grave.
What the enemy intends for evil, God turns for good.
We are standing on the edge of something greater.
I believe we are going to see a move of God. I believe revival is coming, revival like we have not seen in a long time.
The gospel is not stopped. The gospel is propelled.
Paul said it this way in Ephesians 6:12. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
And hear me on this. Christians are not called to lean left.
Christians are not called to lean right. We are called to stand on the Word of God.
We are the hope of the world, because Christ in us is the hope of the world. And it is time we make the choice.
Choose this day whom you will serve.
And so we come back to the question of this series.
Abram obeyed even when he did not know where God was leading.
Joseph endured even when life went from bad to worse.
Job trusted even when God gave him silence.
And the rich young ruler walked away.
Jesus asks for everything.
So here is the question. What are you going to do?
In 1860, a man named Rodney “Gipsy” Smith was born in a Romani tent.
He grew up in poverty.
He never had the chance to go to school. He even spent time in prison on a false charge. B
y every measure, he had no education, no influence, no position.
By the world’s standards, he had no right to be used by God.
And yet God used him to shake nations.
He preached to crowds of a million people before microphones even existed.
He prayed with presidents. He lectured at Harvard University twice. How? Because he was wholly devoted to God.
Christians once asked him, “Gipsy, what is the secret to revival?”
Here is what he said:
“Go home. Take a piece of chalk. Draw a circle around yourself. Then pray, ‘O Lord, revive everything inside this circle.’” - Rodney (Gipsy) Smith
That is the choice in front of you. Revival does not start out there. It starts in here. It starts with you.
So Jesus asks for everything. What are you going to do?
We have to choose…
In Joshua 24, Joshua reminds Israel of what God has done for them and he leaves them with a decision to make.
14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord.
15 And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Ladies and gentlemen, we are at our “choose this day” moment.
Draw the circle.
Ask God to revive everything inside that circle.
Make the choice. Choose this day whom you will serve.
