Give it Away | Mark 10:17–22

ME

I've been a Dad for almost 11 years now, and there's nothing I enjoy more than teasing my kids.

At this point, Brayden just laughs or jokes back with me, Ava rolls her eyes or hits me.

But Elena is two, so she will do one of two things when I tease her: laugh hysterically or cry.

Elena has this little pink blanket that she just can't live without when she's tired.

When she gets this blanket, immediately her thumb goes straight in her mouth and naptime is on.

*Blanket pic*

When it's time for her afternoon nap and she's not feeling it, I take that blanket (also know as "bankee") put it up to my face and begin to suck my thumb.

Little mama gets JEALOUS over this.

She starts to pucker her lip, whine and cry for her "bankee," and when she gets it she's ready to conk out.

This may seem like a cruel trick to you, but it's effective!

And don't judge me until you have kids of your own...

WE

Just like my little girl doesn’t want to give up her blanket, there’s things that we don’t want to give up in life.

*Diabeetus pic*

Many of us don’t like to give up sweets so we get cavities or the “diabeetus.”

*Squid Wars pic*

We don’t won’t to give up watching Squid Wars and we quit doing homework and fail algebra.

Or we don’t feel like giving up the sin in our lives and miss out on a close relationship with Jesus....

GOD

*Title Slide*

Many think that they want to follow Christ, maybe because they think Jesus will be a “good addition” to their lives.

But when it comes to giving up what they love the most, they often turn away from Him.

Check out this story of a rich 20-something dude who wanted to follow Jesus:

Mark 10:17–22 ESV

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?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 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.’ ” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” 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.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

Good

This guy calls Jesus “Good” and Jesus asks Him why...

Mark 10:17–18 NCV

As Jesus started to leave, a man ran to him and fell on his knees before Jesus. The man asked, “Good teacher, what must I do to have life forever?” Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good.

This guy is complimenting Jesus, and instead of being flattered by it, Jesus asks him why he said that...

Jesus isn’t being an unappreciative jerk here… He just wants this guy to think about what he’s saying...

“If you call me good you must also acknowledge that this is a confession of my identity”

“Only God is good.”

And Jesus is the one true God in human form.

Obedient

And with that settled, Jesus moves on to answer this guy’s question:

Mark 10:19–20 NCV

You know the commands: ‘You must not murder anyone. You must not be guilty of adultery. You must not steal. You must not tell lies about your neighbor. You must not cheat. Honor your father and mother.’ ” The man said, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these things since I was a boy.”

Jesus reminds this guy of the commandments that God gave to Moses.

These are commandments that he was familiar with and would have heard all the time in this ancient Jewish culture.

All great ideals to live by and kind of seems like what all nice people in our society live by today.

We all know it’s bad to kill people, for married people to cheat, you shouldn’t be stealing stuff or lying, don’t cheat on your test and listen to what Mom and Dad say.

This stuff seems like common sense, but it all originates with God’s commandments.

So this rich dude lets Jesus know that he’s good with all this stuff… he’s already bout that life.

But Jesus knows His heart, and inside that heart there is one thing that’s holding him back...

MONEY

Mark 10:21–22 NIV

Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Jesus looks at this young guy like a father looks at his son that he loves dearly, and then he tells him to give up just one more thing...

And that one little thing is what has tripped up so many people ever since it was invented: MONEY.

Jesus asks him to give up the one thing he loves more than anything else, and it crushes him.

This was the last thing he expected to hear, and he walked off with a heavy heart. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and not about to let go.

He was open to hearing truth, but when he heard it, he could not get himself to follow the truth because he was attached emotionally and spiritually to his stuff and the status it gave him.

Nothing on earth should have a greater hold on a disciple than the values practiced by Jesus or contained in the gospel.

-David Smith

TO FOLLOW CHRIST I MUST LAY DOWN MY LIFE

All of it. Not just a part so I can feel better about myself. But everything given over to God. Otherwise, I’m a disciple of myself and not of Jesus.

YOU

*Stalker movie pic*

What do you want? This is the question asked at the end of the 1979 Soviet sci-fi film Stalker. In the film, two men follow a guide through a postapocalyptic world, through the Zone, to the very center, where the Room lives. In the Room the characters will find their heart’s desire—yet the closer they get to their destination, the more hesitant these two men become. The Room doesn’t show you what you think you wish for; the Room shows what you actually most deeply desire. The two men are confronted with the frightening idea that what they have “chosen” as their deepest desires are not, in fact, what they deeply long for. What if they are not who they think they are?

As a Christian you may find yourself in the same situation. You know the right answer—what you should say about what you really want—and you could be genuinely convinced of the truth of your statement. But would you still want to step into the Room? Are you truly confident that what you love aligns with your innermost longings? If you say you love Christ, are you actually willing to give up all you have to follow him?

“What do you want? It is the first and fundamental question of discipleship because you are what you love.But here’s the thing: “you might not love what you think”

Do you love Christ and say that you’re His follower?

If that’s really true, then you will show it by your actions.

Matthew 7:21–23 (NCV)

*Title Slide*

If you want to follow Jesus, you have to give up anything that you’re placing above Him in your life.

If not, then you’re not following Him at all.

But when you give that one thing up, what you gain is greater than you can possibly imagine.

*Prayer*

WE

What if we all gave up the one thing that’s keeping us from following Jesus?

Being in church would be more important than sports, band, and everything else.

It wouldn’t be something we do when all that other stuff isn’t going on.

We wouldn’t care what other people think and would live boldly for Jesus Christ.

We would do exactly as our Father in heaven wants, because Jesus would be our #1 focus in life.

And lives would be changed forever.

That’s what Jesus wants church...

*Response cards*

*Small group intro*