Inside Out 1

Intro

Students!

We are starting a new series today called “Inside Out”

This is a three week series where we will look at what happens when Jesus changes our lives

We know that Jesus saves us and forgives us of our sins, but what does that translate for us today?

How does that change who we are and what we are called to do?

Today we are going to look at the fact that when Jesus changes us we are called to be generous

To do this I want to look at two different examples of Jesus calling people

Rich Young Ruler

The first person we will look at is the rich young ruler — we see this in Luke 18

Luke 18:18 ESV

18 And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

It starts out with the ruler asking Jesus — what must I do to inherit eternal life?

This ruler was must likely a part of either the Sanhedrin or an official in the local synagogue

Either way — he was a big deal

And he comes to Jesus and calls Him “good”

Luke 18:19–20 ESV

19 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ”

Jesus in verse 19 tells him why call me good? Only God is good

Essentially identifying Himself as God

Then He gives him the answer — follow the commandments:

Don’t commit adultery

Don’t murder

Don’t steal

Don’t bear false witness / lie on people

Honor your parents

Listen to how he responds:

Luke 18:21 ESV

21 And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”

The man probably isn’t lying about this

We may see it as prideful, and it probably is

But he also might be completely telling the truth

This leads Jesus to respond:

Luke 18:22 ESV

22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Jesus gave the man the final thing he needed to do in order to inherit eternal life — follow Jesus!

Give up all he had, give to the poor, and follow Jesus

Jesus’ reasoning was clear:

One must keep the law perfectly to inherit eternal life

Only God was good — perfect

Therefore you cannot inherit eternal life by following the Law

So follow Jesus!

Yet this doesn’t resonate well:

Luke 18:23–25 ESV

23 But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. 24 Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth 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 person to enter the kingdom of God.”

The man leaves the encounter with Jesus discouraged and far from God

He cares more about his wealth than he does about God / eternal life / Jesus

You can’t follow Jesus and be greedy

This leads us to our first point tonight

We can’t be greedy and follow Jesus

Jesus looks at the rich young ruler, a man who is Jewish, kept the Law to the best of his abilities, and tells him that if he wants eternal life he must sell His possession and follow Jesus

Jesus is looking at us saying — you must care about Him more than you care about your stuff

I mean listen to Jesus in Matthew 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.

You cannot serve God and money

You cannot love both your possessions and your stuff

To follow Jesus is the willingness to give up what we have to go after Him

This is a stern warning for us — because we live in a culture that is always telling us to get more

I have a friend that is pretty successful

He has jumped from job to job to job, moved states for a job all in the pursuit of money

He views money and wealth as the most important thing in life

We were at lunch one day after he moved back to NC and were just catching up and I asked him question that I had been thinking about:

How much money is enough money

He couldn’t tell me

He didn’t have a dollar amount

And if we are honest — none of us have a dollar amount

It’s always about getting more and wanting more

We need more

We have to have more

Jesus looks at this rich man and said if you want to follow me yo must get rid of your greed and follow me

It’s not about the M’s in your back account!

Zacchaeus

The second example we are going to look at comes in Luke 19

Luke 19:1–4 ESV

1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.

In Luke 19 we see that Jesus is coming through Jericho

We see that there is a man named Zacchaeus

We find out a few things about Zacchaeus — he’s a tax collector, rich, and Jewish (vs. 9)

We also find out he’s short which I always find funny

Zacchaeus wants to see Jesus so he runs ahead of the crowd and climbs a tree to see Jesus

He most likely heard the miracles and stories about Jesus and wants to see Him first hand

Luke 19:5–6 ESV

5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.

Jesus already knew Zacchaeus and called down saying I must stay at your house

Zacchaeus immediately came down and accepted Jesus joyfully

There was nothing that could make Zacchaeus more joyful than to be in the presence of Jesus

Luke 19:7 ESV

7 And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”

Seeing this the crowds grumbled against Jesus and Zacchaeus

“Don’t you know he’s a sinner???”

Luke 19:8 ESV

8 And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

Unbothered by those around, Zacchaeus expresses his faith and trust in Jesus

Becoming Jesus’ disciple does not necessarily mean one must give up everything one owns (cf. Luke 12:33; 14:33; 18:22; Acts 5:3–4), but it does mean that riches are no longer one’s treasure (Luke 12:15–21) and that one gives generously to others

This section of Scripture finishes by Jesus telling us:

Luke 19:9–10 ESV

9 And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jesus declares that Zacchaeus faith is genuine, salvation has come to him, and the purpose of Jesus coming on earth:

Seek and save the Lost

Following Jesus means living generously

This leads to our second and last point:

Following Jesus means living generously

Zacchaeus gives us the reality that to follow Jesus we must live a generous lifestyle

Everything that we have must be held with an open hand

Willing to give and serve and help anyone

Zacchaeus literally looked and said “half my money is going to the poor — the other I’m refunding anyone I’ve wronged”

THINK ABOUT THAT!

James tells us in chapter 2 that faith without works is dead

And Zacchaeus here shows us what that looks like!

If you follow Jesus you must live a life that is generous

It is expected that we are the first people to go and meet needs, give money, and help

My immediate thought when I think about this is the Western NC flood

When it first happened you had churches, national organizations, and random people trying to help

But just a few weeks later there were fires in California that caused another mass problem in the US

National organizations moved on to help the next fire — pun intended

But you know who didn’t move on?

The Christian churches that saw brothers and sisters in need and stepped in to help

We — REVO — sent multiple teams to go to Western NC to help

We donated $1,000s of dollars in relief funds

I know people that are still planning trips to help out

Why? — because if we follow Jesus we are expected to be generous

How to live generous

As we close I want to answer the question: How to live generous?

Because salvation does not mean you have to sell everything and give it all to the poor, live on the street in the name of Jesus

Zacchaeus while he gave a lot, didn’t go broke

So how do we live generous?

Treasure

Live generous by: giving of our money

This is the most obvious way — its the one that both passages hit on, and what Zacchaeus modeled

But we must live generous with our money

We cannot live with a closed fist never helping

But instead we must use it to help those that are in need

Time

Live generous by: giving of our time

We must learn that being generous means stewarding our time well

Paul tells us this:

Ephesians 5:15–16 ESV

15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

We are told as believers to live generous with our time — quite literally make the best use of it

Don’t waste the time that God has given you

Our life is called a vapor — here for a moment and gone the next

Therefore we must be generous with our time:

Seek the Lord

Serve the poor

Help disciple believers

Just a few examples

Talent

Live generous by: giving of our talent

The last we are expected to live generously is with your talent

1 Peter 4:10–11 ESV

10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Peter makes it clear that God has given people different gifts and abilities

It is our responsibility to use them generously

Rather you have the ability to teach, sing, encourage others, or something else entirely

Conclusion

When we accept Jesus as Lord and savior he changes us from the inside out

Part of that means we are called to no longer be greedy, but instead live a life that is marked by generousity

We are called to live generously with our treasure, time, and talent

Discussion Questions

What are some practical ways you can evaluate if you are living generously with your finances?

How can you identify any areas of greed in your life that may be hindering your relationship with Jesus?

What steps can you take this week to be more generous with your time towards your friends and family?

How might you use your talents to serve others in your community or school?

Can you think of a situation where you chose to prioritize money over helping someone? How can you change that in the future?

How can you encourage your friends to join you in living a more generous lifestyle?