Learning Evangelism From Jesus: What Has Your Heart?

Luke 18:18–30

Big Idea: Jesus lovingly reveals what we trust in so that we can see our need for Him.

Introduction

▸ Have you ever cleaned out a garage, closet, or junk drawer? You pick up something you have not used in ten years and suddenly say, “I might need this someday.”

▸ You don't even know what it is. It is missing parts, probably doesn't work, but now that someone wants to throw it away, it has become priceless.

▸ Sometimes we do not realize how attached we are to something until we are asked to let it go. That is what happens in our passage today.

▸ A young man comes to Jesus asking, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” He has wealth. He has position. He has religion. But Jesus sees something in his heart that he does not fully see himself.

▸ So the question is not just, “What did he have?” The deeper question is: “What had him?”

▸ And maybe that is the question we need to ask too: What has my heart? So before Jesus deals with what this man has, He first deals with how this man thinks.

1. A Good Question Can Reveal a Deeper Problem

▸ This man appears sincere. Last week, a similar question was asked to trap Jesus. This man seems to be genuinely searching.

▸ The young ruler calls Jesus the “Good Teacher.” But what does he really mean by good? Does he think goodness is simply about being respectable, religious, and obedient?

▸ Jesus responds: “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”

Jesus is not denying His own goodness. He is challenging the man's definition of goodness.

The young ruler seems to think goodness is something you accomplish. Jesus raises the bar: goodness is measured not by our performance, but by the holiness and character of God.

The issue is not simply: “What good thing should I do?” The deeper issue is: “Do I really understand what goodness is?”

▸ This also teaches us something about evangelism.

Jesus does not rush to give an answer. He asks a question that causes the man to examine what he believes.

Sometimes the best evangelistic conversation begins by listening before speaking.

Jesus has challenged the man's idea of goodness. Now He moves deeper—from what the man says to what actually has his heart.

2. Jesus Helps Us See What Is Really in Our Hearts

▸ The young man tells Jesus that he has kept the commandments from his youth.

He sees himself as basically good. Jesus doesn't immediately argue with him. Instead, Jesus gives him a challenge that exposes the truth: “Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

Jesus puts His finger directly on the one thing this man cannot surrender. His wealth is not simply something he possesses. His wealth possesses him.

It is kind of like a boat. A boat belongs in the water. There is nothing wrong with the water being around the boat. The problem comes when the water gets inside the boat.

The same is true with the things of this world. There is nothing necessarily wrong with money, possessions, success, or comfort. The danger comes when those things get inside our heart and begin controlling us. The problem is not always what we have. The problem is when what we have begins to have us.

▸ An idol can be anything that takes the place in our heart that belongs to God.

Money.

Success.

Comfort.

Approval.

Power.

▸ So we have to ask ourselves: What is the thing I believe I cannot live without?

Wealth itself is not evil. The problem comes when the blessing becomes more important to us than the One who gave the blessing.

Jesus isn't simply trying to take this man's money. Jesus is trying to take back his heart.

▸ The man believes he has kept the commandments, but Jesus is showing him that he has not understood what true obedience to God really requires.

Imagine standing before a judge because you were caught speeding and saying: “Judge, I stopped at every red light. I wore my seat belt.” The judge could simply respond: “That doesn't erase the law you broke.”

That is why keeping the commandments cannot save us. The Law can show us what is right and reveal where we have failed, but it cannot remove our guilt.

And this is where we have to talk about sin. Sin is not simply the bad things we do. Sin is anything in us that falls short of the holiness of God and anything that takes His rightful place in our heart. That is exactly what Jesus is exposing in this young man.

He may have believed he had kept the commandments, but his wealth had become more important to him than following Christ. The Law reveals the problem.

Sin separates us from God, and we cannot fix that separation on our own. Only Jesus can do that.

Jesus has now exposed the idol and revealed the deeper problem of sin. The next question is whether this man will surrender what has his heart.

3. Jesus Lovingly Calls Us to Surrender

▸ Mark gives us an important detail about this conversation: “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” Don't miss that.

▸ Jesus challenges this young man because He loves him. Love does not ignore the things that are keeping someone from Jesus. But neither does love attack them.

▸ Jesus gives us both:

Truth without cruelty.

Grace without compromise.

▸ Revealing the character of God and His holiness does far more to lead someone to Christ and to total surrender than any scare tactic or condemnation ever could. People are changed when they see who God is, recognize their need for Him, and respond to His grace.

▸ Jesus is asking this young man to detach himself from the thing that has taken God's place in his heart.

▸ When Jesus says, “Come, follow Me,” He is not asking for part of us. He is asking for all of us. That kind of following requires surrender. That is consecration.

▸ E. M. Bounds describes it this way:

“Consecration is the voluntary set dedication of one's self to God, an offering definitely made, and made without any reservation whatsoever. It is the setting apart of all we are, all we have, and all we expect to have or be, to God first of all.”

▸ That is exactly what Jesus is asking from this young man: Will you trust Me enough to give Me everything—not just your morality or religion, but all of you? That is what it means to leave all and follow Jesus.

Sometimes the simplest way to understand surrender is to look at our hands.

I want you to make a fist for a moment. Grip it like you are holding onto something you do not want to lose.

A closed fist says:

“This is mine. I need this. I cannot let this go.”

Now open your hand.

Which position feels more natural?

An open hand says:

“God, this belongs to You. My plans, my possessions, my future, my whole life.”

That is really what Jesus is asking this young man to do: Not simply to lose something, but to open his hands and trust that what Jesus offers is greater than what he is holding onto.

▸ And surrender changes the way we live. It can loosen anxiety, bring peace into our relationships, and teach us contentment because everything no longer has to rest on us.

▸ Surrender is not losing everything—it is trusting everything to God. And sadly, this young man cannot.

▸ The young ruler walks away because he is unwilling to release what already has his heart.

▸ Jesus then tells His disciples how difficult it is for those who trust in riches to enter the Kingdom of God.

He describes a camel going through the eye of a needle. The point is impossibility. The disciples ask: “Then who can be saved?” And Jesus answers: “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

▸ The young ruler began the conversation asking: “What must I do?” Jesus ultimately reveals: You cannot save yourself.

Salvation is not about becoming good enough, keeping enough commandments, or doing enough good things to outweigh the bad. It is recognizing that we are not good enough and coming to the One who is.

What is impossible for us is possible with God. Only Jesus can save us.

Learning Evangelism From Jesus

▸ So what can we learn from the way Jesus evangelized the rich young ruler in this encounter?

Jesus listens. He pays attention to what the man is really asking.

Jesus asks questions. He helps the man think more deeply about what he believes.

Jesus gets beneath the surface. He exposes the real issue of the heart.

Jesus speaks truth with love. He is honest without being harsh.

And finally: Jesus invites. “Come, follow Me.”

Matthew 4:19 ESV

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

▸ He does not force or manipulate him.

Our job is not to force a response. Our job is to listen well, speak truth with love, help people see their need for Christ, and invite them to follow Jesus. The results belong to God.

Takeaway for the Week

Jesus is not just asking what you have—He is asking what has your heart.

Conclusion: What Has Your Heart?

▸So the question is not simply, “What do I have?” The better question is, “What has me?”

▸This week, prayerfully identify one area where you know Jesus is asking for surrender, and take one tangible step to open your hands to Him.

▸Open your hands, surrender it to Jesus, and trust Him to help you let go—because He is still calling: “Come, follow Me.”