Latest / Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago / The Rich Young Ruler | Mark 10:17-22 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series)

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The Rich Young Ruler | Mark 10:17-22 | Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Gospel of Mark Bible Study Series) · Bible Study with Pr. Daniel Batarseh | Verse by Verse Series | Maranatha Bible Church - Chicago

• 0:00
  It's a joy to be with you, and I ask you to invite me in God's
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  Word in Mark chapter 10 as we look at a very common portion of
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  Scripture that I pray and hope would bring fresh desire and
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  love for the person of Jesus Christ.
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  Mark 10 and meet me in verse 17, and let's read together.
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  And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt
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  before him and asked him, good teacher, what must I do to
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  inherit eternal life? And Jesus said to him, why do
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  you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
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  You know the commandments. Do not murder, do not commit
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  adultery, Do not steal, do not bear false witness, Do not
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  defraud. Honor your father and mother.
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  And he said to him, teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.
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  And Jesus looking at him, loved him and said to him, you lack
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  one thing, go sell all that you have and give to the poor and
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  you will have treasure in heaven.
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  And come follow me. Disheartened by the saying, he
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  went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
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  Today I want to speak to you about the poor young slave.
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  That might sound like a strange title for a passage that is
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  famously known as the rich young ruler.
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  But as you and I examine carefully this amazing
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  conversation between a seeker and the Savior, I'm sure you
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  will understand where I'm coming from.
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  Because what you and I will discover very quickly is that
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  this young, rich, ambitious ruler is something else.
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  Beneath the surface is something quite different than what we see
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  here. Plainly, Mark, as you just
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  heard, does not refer to this man as a ruler.
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  Luke does, and Luke 1818. And we do not know the nature of
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  this man's position, but we do know that it was a prominent
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  one. It was one that gained much
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  respect from society. And the idea of him being young
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  does not come from Mark either. That is something that Matthew
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  notes, and something that Matthew actually emphasizes.
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  In chapter 19, verse 20, Chapter 19, verse 22, we are told there
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  that he was not just a man, he was not just a ruler.
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  He was young. And it is all the synoptic
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  gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke who under score that he was
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  exceedingly wealthy. He was prosperous.
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  He was very successful, unusually successful as a young
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  man. This individual is interesting
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  to say the least, and he has found in three out of the four
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  gospel accounts for good reason. But before we even dissect and
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  breakdown this story, our hearts should already be impressed.
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  What I mean by that is simply looking at the simple biography
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  of this man should teach us something quite valuable about
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  the human heart. Again, he is wealthy.
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  Again, he is young. Again, he was a ruler.
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  And yet with all of this, clearly, as we just heard, there
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  was something disturbing him. He was unsettled.
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  There was something nagging down deep inside of his soul,
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  because, yes, he was rich, but there was something that he
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  realized that money could not buy.
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  He was missing something. No matter what he had in his
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  bank account, no matter what kind of things you can access
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  the snap of a finger, he could not reach this thing.
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  And sure, he had the admiration and the respect and the honor of
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  his fellow man, and from those who have heard of him,
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  concerning his prominent status. But there was a fear.
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  There was a fear that this man had of being rejected or
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  accepted by so many others, rejected by God.
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  He dreaded that thought, What must I do to inherit eternal
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  life? And yes, he was somebody who was
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  young, somebody who had his whole life ahead of him, so many
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  dreams yet still to be accomplished, though he had done
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  already so much. There was so much yet territory
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  to conquer, ideas to innovate, things to accumulate.
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  And yet, still inside of his heart, he realized that there is
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  more to this life. There is more to this life.
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  There is eternal life. I want to know how I can have
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  it. I want to know how I can secure
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  it. And so this finely groomed man,
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  this respected individual, finds himself on his knees in the
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  dirt, desperately pleading and inquiring about the things that
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  this world cannot offer. You know what that teaches me
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  right at the outset of this message?
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  That you can have the wealth and you can have the respect and you
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  can have the popularity, and you can have youthfulness, and you
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  can have strength, and you can have energy.
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  And you can have so much promise ahead of you and still feel
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  incomplete and still feel as though something is missing.
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  I mean, you see this man. You think this is what many
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  aspire to be? Rich, respected, youthful.
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  What do you mean, youthful? I mean, everybody is trying to
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  not age, right? And he had all of that, but he
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  was still missing something. Ah, I know what he's missing.
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  This, this fellow is missing some religion.
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  That's all he needs. He has everything in this life.
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  He just needs some spirituality sprinkled on his existence.
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  Well, did you forget he had that too?
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  Did you hear it as it was read when Jesus confronted him with
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  the commandments of God? He says.
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  I have kept all these things from my youth.
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  That's so fascinating. Here is a man who was ritual
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  keeping, law abiding, temple attending and yet still with his
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  observance, with his self respect, with his religious
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  dignity. He still feels like something is
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  wrong. He still feels like something
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  isn't right. You know, I have to say this
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  because there is a growing this might shock you, but it's true.
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  Just tune in a little bit into the culture and you'll realize
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  it. There is a growing attraction to
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  religion these days saying how can that be?
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  I get I know what what's taking up on the headlines.
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  I know what's what direction this nation is headed to do with
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  the decline of the West. But because of the decline of
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  the West, you have a remnant, not of those who are believers,
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  but a remnant people in this crazy culture who are now
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  realizing what happens when a culture rejects God and they
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  want nothing to do with it. And so now there's a growing
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  allurement towards objective truth, some guidelines in life,
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  some do's and don'ts. People are not talking about
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  this in podcast. And now you have people, even
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  these days, having growing interests in things like Islam
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  and traditional Christianity. Why?
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  Because they see what's happening in the world and
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  they're thinking to themselves. I don't want that for myself.
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  I don't want that for my children.
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  So let me get some religion. This man had religion.
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  So what else is missing? You got the money, you got the
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  future. You got the respect, You got the
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  popularity. You got the status.
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  You got the religion. Everything is missing.
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  Everything is missing except Christ.
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  Everything is there except the most needed thing.
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  You can have everything, but if you don't have Christ, you have
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  nothing. And here's this man who is now
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  coming to the person of Jesus Christ, and he realizes that
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  perhaps this man has the answers for me because only the person
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  of Jesus Christ can offer certainty about eternity.
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  Only the person of Jesus Christ can offer wholeness in this
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  world. Only the person of Jesus Christ
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  can fill that gap in your heart. And if you don't have him again,
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  you'll always be a wanderer. You will always be searching.
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  You will always be traveling from 1 broken cistern to the
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  next, sipping from this and sipping from that, only having
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  your mouth more dry than it was before.
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  And so this man comes to Jesus, seems like he has everything,
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  but he's not a rich young girl. He's a poor young slave.
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  And now let's read this together.
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  In verse 17. As he was setting out on his
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  journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, good
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  teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
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  We're told that Jesus and his band of men are making their way
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  toward Jerusalem, and as they're walking, something suddenly
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  happens. There's a panting arrival of
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  this strange person, at a distance at least, and he comes
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  to Jesus and interrupts this journey.
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  And though this event seems to be disconnected from the
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  previous episode, it is beautifully contrasted with it.
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  What did Jesus just finished saying?
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  What we learned last week. This is one of the beauties of
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  reading God's Word systematically.
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  When you read it in order. God has a specific way of saying
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  things and the way He's organized his texts, and you
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  will know excellence in your experience if you just honor the
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  flow of thought. The last thing Jesus just taught
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  that you and I heard last week, was that he gave an analogy of
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  what it was required of us in order to enter into eternal
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  life. You must be like a child to
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  receive eternal life. Again, a metaphor to describe
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  the admission that is required for us.
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  And seeing that we cannot acquire the requirements of
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  righteousness and holiness, we must simply receive it.
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  As a child receives so much, you must simply accept it with
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  simplicity and humility. And so Jesus lays this truth,
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  soul saving truth, so plainly. And that's the backdrop.
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  And now we continue to read, and immediately, suddenly this
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  individual crashes into the story.
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  And what does he ask? What must I do to inherit
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  eternal life? Does that sound like the
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  language of someone who can't fend for themselves?
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  No. This is the actual opposite
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  attitude of what Jesus presented as a standard for what you and I
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  need to do to receive eternal life.
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  So Jesus says you must be like a child.
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  A child is simply helpless and receives.
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  And here's this man who comes, a young man, and does he act like
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  a child? Does he interact with the truth
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  like a child? No.
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  He comes and he asks, what do I need to do?
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  This man did not come to Jesus as his savior.
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  This man came to Jesus to know how he can save himself.
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  And there are people who approach Christianity, and they
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  approach our faith in the same way.
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  Jesus does not give you guidelines for you to have a
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  better shot at heaven. Jesus comes and he rescues you
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  from yourself. You know, it's as ridiculous as
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  seeing someone who is drowning in the ocean calling for a
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  lifeguard. And upon the arrival of the
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  lifeguard, this man, who barely has any breath left, says, how
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  do I get myself out of this? Can you give me some
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  instructions to make my way to the shore?
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  That's not what a lifeguard does.
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  You call for this lifeguard, He comes, he sees you in your
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  destitute case, and then he rescues you.
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  That is the essence of Christ, and this man is starting off on
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  the wrong foot. He seems eager.
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  He seems humbled, right. He seems like he wants to do
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  this the way it should be done, but he is in fact approaching it
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  the wrong way already, and Jesus is about to address that.
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  But before Jesus addresses about what he needs to do, he touches
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  on something else that was mentioned, and perhaps this man
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  didn't understand the implications of what he said.
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  Good teacher. And Jesus pauses, looks at him,
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  and before dealing with this issue of eternal life, ask Why
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  do you call me good? Why do you call me good?
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  You know, there are many who want to cast doubt and 'cause
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  people to deny the divinity of Christ by using this as a proof
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  text to their erroneous views. You see, Jesus is rejecting any
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  misconception about him being God.
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  When he was called good, He denied him being good.
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  And he said that prerogative, that title belongs to one person
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  in this universe alone. And that's God.
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  And I'm not him. Apparently, that's what he's
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  saying. But if you're honest and if
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  you're careful in reading what Jesus saying, you realize that
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  it's the opposite of that conclusion.
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  When Jesus says and ask why do you call me good, does he say I
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  am not good? You know what he says in John?
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  He says I am. Does he say I am the shepherd?
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  No, no, no, He says I am the Good Shepherd.
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  He calls himself good. He acknowledges that he is good,
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  and he does not deny that he is good.
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  Here he simply asks the question for the sake of this
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  individual's reflection. Why do you call me good?
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  In other words, do you realize the implications of such a
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  greeting? Do you understand that there is
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  no one in this whole universe who is absolutely good except
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  God alone? And you are ascribing that to
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  me. So what are you trying to say?
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  Do you understand what you're actually trying to say?
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  This is what he is pressing against the heart of this rich
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  young man you call me. Good.
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  What does that really mean? Do you know what that really
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  means? In fact, this is Christ
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  confirming his deity more than anything else.
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  This is Christ confirming it and asking this man who's using the
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  word good very loosely to do the same.
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  If anything, Christ is inviting this individual to realize that
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  by calling him good, he is uniting and identifying him with
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  the only one who is good. So to use this as a text to try
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  to deny Christ being God is a great mistake.
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  And if you think about it further, when Jesus looks at
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  this man and he says, why do you call me good?
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  There is no one who is good except God He is.
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  He's challenging this man to rethink his conception of
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  goodness altogether. Do you realize what you're
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  saying by calling me good? Do you realize that God alone is
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  good because, you know the essence of his inquiry Is this?
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  How good do I need to be in order to be accepted by God?
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  How good do I need to be? And Jesus saying only God is
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  absolutely good? If you meditate on the goodness
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  of God long enough, then you'll realize very quickly that there
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  is nothing you can do to reach his standard of goodness.
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  And the way you and I understand goodness is ultimately by
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  looking to God. And if you understand who God is
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  in His goodness, you're going to understand who you are.
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  And when you understand who He is, you understand who you are,
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  and then you understand what he requires of you.
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  So Jesus highlights only God is good.
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  Reconsider your concept of goodness.
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  Let me remind you who ultimately is good.
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  And this man had to understand this from the beginning, but he
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  doesn't seem to understand it. And so, with that being visited
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  now, Jesus patiently is going to continue and give an answer to
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  this desperate question. What must I do to inherit
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  eternal? What do I need to do?
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  What do I need to do? What would you do if somebody
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  asks you that question? What must I do?
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  And here's Jesus, ready to answer.
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  And you know what you might you might think, and what I might
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  think of reading this for this first time especially, surely
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  you're going to revisit what you just taught Jesus.
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  That you need childlike faith, you need self abandonment, you
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  need to deny any work based mentality, and you need to
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  receive Christ freely. You need to receive salvation as
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  a gift. Maybe Jesus will answer this the
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  way he answered in another place.
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  You remember when a crowd who just experienced Jesus multiply
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  food in the wilderness, they ended up asking him in John
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  chapter 6, what must we do to be doing the works of God?
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  And you remember what Jesus said to them in John 629.
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  This is the work of God, that you believe in him, who he has
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  sent. That's that's what's required of
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  you believe in him who he has sent.
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  OK, Lord, you're going to ask. You're going to you're going to
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  give that as an answer, aren't you?
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  This is what you're going to you're going to you're going to
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  remove all confusion. You're going to just get right
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  to the issue and you're going to clarify what you just finished
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  teaching not too long ago. And what do you read instead?
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  You know the commandments. What?
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  You know the commandments. What commandments?
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  You know the commandments. What do you mean, Lord?
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  Are you affirming a self producing holiness, a self
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  achieving righteousness? No, no, no, no, no, no.
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  Jesus is brilliantly strategic. You see, this rich young man not
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  only had a limited view of the person of Christ, he had a
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  limited view of himself, not just of Jesus, of himself.
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  So Jesus is going to take the mirror of the law and he's going
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  to show it to this man, this very ambitious man, this very
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  pure hearted man, at least on the surface.
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  And he wants to reveal to him just how far he is from actually
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  winning his justification. You know, often times before
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  people can hear the invitation of the cross, they need to be
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  introduced and then rejected by the law before they can hear the
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  sweet call of the cross. Many, many people first need to
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  be rejected, denounced, condemned by the law before they
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  find themselves at the foot of the mercy of Christ.
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  And this is what Jesus Christ is doing.
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  He's going to give him the law first, and based on how he will
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  respond to the law, will determine if he will receive the
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  gospel. And So what does Jesus say?
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  Do not murder. Do not commit adultery.
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  Do not steal. Do not bear false witness.
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  Do not defraud. Honor your father and mother.
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  He goes to the Big 10, the Decalogue, and he doesn't
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  mention all ten. He focuses on the second table
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  of the law, the ones that deal with our relationship with
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  others. And so he presses on this man
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  what God demands in terms of our experience and our interactions
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  with other people created in the image of God.
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  But if you're a careful student of the law, then you'll realize
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  that something doesn't seem right with these commandments.
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  And if you're at the conference a few months ago, you'll you'll
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  remember that this was mentioned in one of the sessions.
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  You look at this again, you realize everything seems to be
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  right. Do not murder.
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  Do not commit adultery. Do not steal.
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  Do not bear false When is. Do not defraud.
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  Honor your father, mother. They may not be necessarily in
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  order, but they seem to all be there.
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  They seem to mirror exactly what is there in Exodus 20, but
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  something is not lined up. There is actually one of these
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  commands that Jesus gives that is not found in Exodus 20, and
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  not only is it not found in Exodus 20, it eclipses one of
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  those commands in the second table of the law.
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  Do you know which one it is? Do not defraud.
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  Go to Exodus 20. If you don't believe me, you're
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  going to realize that Do not defraud is not in the Big 10.
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  Does Jesus insert something to the word of God?
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  You have many people here who try to be academic and try to
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  argue that Jesus slipped up here.
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  And no, no, Jesus knows exactly what he's doing.
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  Do not defraud. Why is the Lord saying that to
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  this man? You know why?
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  Because the Lord is getting to the heart of the matter.
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  In this man's life, the Lord is pinpointing the besetting sin
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  that this rich young ruler was struggling with.
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  He was rich. He was very wealthy.
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  Does it make you wonder by Jesus bringing this up that he knows
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  how this man accumulated his wealth, how he was able to
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  attain such success? And so the the Lord here is not
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  changing the law, he is just making it more personal.
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  Because if you think about it, defrauding is a manifestation of
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  what commanded it, cover, coveting, coveting, coveting
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  specifically. And so you see here that there
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  is a manifestation of coveting that is known as defrauding,
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  that in your desire for something you will cheat people,
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  You will manipulate whether your desires for greater wealth or
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  whether your desires for greater power.
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  So this is really an applicational equivalent to
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  coveting, to defrauding, defrauding here is this in
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  action, coveting in action. So the Lord is not changing
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  anything, he's just making it more specific.
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  And he's telling this man he's trying to awaken his conscience.
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  In the middle of this list, he says do not defraud, do not
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  defraud. So the Lord is being very
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  surgical here. He knows exactly who he's
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  dealing with. He very likely knew the history
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  of this man, and he's trying to expose it in a very gentle but
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  wise way. He wants this man to see his
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  sin, not just the concept of sin, but his sin.
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  Do not defraud. The Lord is absolutely majestic.
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  He is impressive. He is so clever in a holy way
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  and so he says do not defraud. And you would think, OK, this is
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  this is going to do it. Here's this man now confronted,
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  and even not just with a general sense of God's demands, but even
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  more precisely concerning his life, showing him that he he
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  failed in a certain area. So what does he do?
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  The rich young ruler has a staggering response to what
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  Jesus says he says here in verse 20.
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  Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.
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  All these I've kept from my youth.
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  What do you mean, all these things you've kept from your
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  youth? You know, instead of seeing the
• 23:48
  law as something that doesn't pave the way to eternal life,
• 23:52
  instead of seeing it the way should be seen leading the way
• 23:56
  and paving the way to the arms of the Savior, this man double S
• 23:59
  down. This man is so convinced that
• 24:04
  he's actually righteous, and so he tells the Lord, I've done
• 24:09
  this. You know what this is?
• 24:11
  This is deception. This is spiritual blindness.
• 24:15
  This is an individual here who has convinced himself, and he's
• 24:17
  even attempting to convince Christ that he has done all that
• 24:22
  he can, and he's done it well to satisfy the divine commands of
• 24:26
  God. And unfortunately, this way of
• 24:30
  thinking is not inching him closer to eternal life.
• 24:32
  It's only dragging him further away from it, because the very
• 24:36
  thing that is required for eternal life is what you heard
• 24:39
  last week and what I learned last week.
• 24:41
  Helplessness. But you can't get to
• 24:44
  helplessness until you have humility.
• 24:47
  Humility precedes helplessness. And then helplessness when you
• 24:51
  realize who's the helper brings you to that place of saving
• 24:54
  faith. This man is sorely lacking in
• 24:56
  humility. I've kept these things from my
• 25:00
  youth. OK, according to what standard?
• 25:02
  The Sermon of the Mount Standard.
• 25:06
  OK, so you haven't murdered. Did you hate your brother in
• 25:09
  your heart? You haven't committed adultery?
• 25:11
  Did you look at something on the screen that you weren't supposed
• 25:13
  to last night? According to which standard?
• 25:19
  The Pharisee Standard or God's standard?
• 25:23
  And this man's self deception should remind us of a church,
• 25:26
  the last church that Jesus wrote to in the Book of Revelation,
• 25:28
  who also felt very strongly believed very, very convincingly
• 25:33
  about their own condition, though they were false, and
• 25:35
  their assessment of who they were.
• 25:38
  You remember what Jesus said to the Church of Laodicea.
• 25:41
  Let me remind you one of the scathing statements he makes to
• 25:44
  this local church. By the way, this is a church.
• 25:47
  What what you're about to hear is Jesus Christ, the head of the
• 25:50
  church, saying to his own body and Revelation 317.
• 25:55
  He says For you say this is what the church was saying, this is
• 25:58
  the whole church. For you say I am rich, I have
• 26:02
  prospered, and I need nothing. I need nothing.
• 26:10
  And then Jesus says, not realizing that you are wretched,
• 26:15
  pitable, poor, blind and naked. Strong words from Jesus.
• 26:23
  Very strong words from Jesus. Do you want to know what are the
• 26:26
  two most cutting words in that statement?
• 26:29
  What? You think it's wretched,
• 26:30
  pitable, poor, blind, Naked. No, It's when he said, not
• 26:34
  realizing, not realizing. Here's a translation.
• 26:39
  You do not perceive reality. You do not perceive reality.
• 26:45
  I can't think of a most the a more miserable place to be than
• 26:48
  that. Think about it.
• 26:49
  What can be more miserable than being convinced something to be
• 26:52
  true when in fact the opposite is true?
• 26:55
  What could be more earth shaking, heart rattling, than
• 26:59
  realizing that you believe something for so long only for
• 27:02
  it to be completely false? And Jesus tells this church you
• 27:07
  have this sense of confidence about your spiritual condition.
• 27:12
  And I want to let you know that you're dead wrong.
• 27:16
  I read that I thought to myself, Lord, Lord, how do I escape an
• 27:22
  inaccurate self-assessment of my own standing and my
• 27:27
  sanctification? How do I how do I avoid this
• 27:31
  mistake? You know what the answer is?
• 27:33
  You always go with the Lord's evaluation.
• 27:36
  Always. God hasn't concealed his mind or
• 27:38
  his will. God has given us exactly what we
• 27:41
  need to know, to know what we need to know.
• 27:44
  It's so clear. And listen, here's the problem
• 27:47
  with many people. They go with what they feel.
• 27:49
  They go not just with what they feel, because feeling is one
• 27:52
  thing. They go with what they're
• 27:53
  comfortable with in their minds and their convictions and their
• 27:55
  beliefs in their own observation.
• 27:57
  They go with what is right to them instead of going to the
• 28:04
  Lord and saying Lord, what do you think this rich, young ruler
• 28:10
  is kind of like? An individual, individual
• 28:12
  expression of the pollution that has come over this church?
• 28:17
  Yeah, he wasn't a believer. But the same issue at heart.
• 28:23
  I've kept these things from my youth.
• 28:25
  You ask a Sinner these days, are you a good person?
• 28:28
  What's the answer? Usually.
• 28:30
  Have you ever encountered somebody who said I'm not a, I'm
• 28:33
  a wretched, miserable no, Rarely you ask anybody on the street.
• 28:39
  Do it today. Go to the mall.
• 28:40
  Go to the restaurant. Ask.
• 28:42
  Hey, are you a good person? What do you get?
• 28:44
  Usually, Yeah, I'm a good person.
• 28:48
  Are you good enough to go to heaven?
• 28:49
  Yeah, I think I am. Yeah.
• 28:52
  And then you bring God's word into it and the opinion changes.
• 28:55
  If they're honest and not very shortly, Whose standard are you?
• 28:58
  Good according to? OK, that's the world.
• 29:03
  Jesus spoke to a church. You asked some Christians today.
• 29:08
  They are as lukewarm as lukewarm can be.
• 29:11
  Maybe you're lukewarm here today.
• 29:14
  Anyway, you've been lukewarm for a while, and guess what?
• 29:16
  You don't even realize it. No.
• 29:20
  No. You're comfortable.
• 29:21
  I need nothing. I'm good.
• 29:25
  I stayed awake this Sunday Service.
• 29:26
  I didn't fall asleep. I'm good.
• 29:32
  Are you good? According to who?
• 29:36
  Well, I feel good. OK, great.
• 29:38
  What does Jesus feel? Have you asked him recently?
• 29:42
  Oh, no. That's right.
• 29:42
  You haven't talked to him for months.
• 29:46
  I'm good. I'm good.
• 29:49
  OK? But Jesus has a different
• 29:51
  opinion. Is it possible to be in the
• 29:54
  good? Sure.
• 29:55
  I don't want to condemn everybody here.
• 29:57
  It is possible to to be in this sweet place of fellowship with
• 30:00
  the Lord where you are in your conscience, knowing that you're
• 30:02
  walking with Him, loving Him, worshiping him, that he has
• 30:04
  priority over all. But it's possible for an entire
• 30:08
  church to think that they are good, not realizing.
• 30:12
  Well, how do you realize? Just come to His word constantly
• 30:15
  and consistently saying, Lord, is my heart right with you?
• 30:18
  Lord, is there anything in my heart?
• 30:19
  Can you scan my heart and see if there's anything that needs to
• 30:22
  be removed? That's how you're doing.
• 30:23
  You live that that way. And he is faithful always to
• 30:26
  nudge you and to convict you and to comfort you and to lead you.
• 30:32
  And so be reminded today that the Lord He has a will.
• 30:36
  He has His word, and it's supposed to be engaged with
• 30:40
  constantly. And this man, this man here,
• 30:46
  thought he was good. And we would think, like, OK, if
• 30:51
  this individual here is kind of like, again, an individual
• 30:55
  expression of the Church of Laodicea, then he's about to get
• 30:58
  it. The same Jesus who wrote those
• 31:01
  words to that church is ready to unleash, ready to unleash on
• 31:07
  this guy. He has no idea what's coming.
• 31:09
  Prepare, prepare, prepare. What is he going to call him?
• 31:12
  Pitable. What does he call him?
• 31:13
  Poor. What does he call him?
• 31:14
  Bankrupt. What is he going to say?
• 31:16
  What is the Lord going to say to wake him up?
• 31:17
  And then what do you read in verse 21?
• 31:20
  And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, loved him.
• 31:33
  That word love is none other than the strongest expression of
• 31:37
  the word love in the Greek language, Agapeo.
• 31:41
  He loved them with the strongest love that you can have for
• 31:45
  somebody else. You know why that's so moving to
• 31:48
  me? Because Mark didn't say Jesus
• 31:50
  loved him after the man accepted him.
• 31:54
  He loved him while he was in darkness.
• 31:57
  He loved him While he thought that he was actually good when
• 32:03
  he wasn't. He loved them when he had a very
• 32:05
  skewed understanding of salvation.
• 32:07
  He loved them when he had a very poor theological perception of
• 32:11
  the person of Jesus Christ. He loved him even though this
• 32:16
  man loved something else more than him.
• 32:19
  That's when he loved him. OK, what's the conclusion?
• 32:22
  Jesus loves sinners. Jesus loves sinners.
• 32:28
  Ready for the shocking statement?
• 32:29
  While they're sinning, while they're rejecting, while they're
• 32:34
  running in the opposite direction of his arms and his
• 32:37
  heart, Jesus still loves them. Jesus loved this man.
• 32:43
  And you know, Mark is the only one who mentions that.
• 32:46
  Matthew doesn't mention it. Luke doesn't mention it.
• 32:50
  Why is Mark mentioning it? Well, it shouldn't be a surprise
• 32:52
  to us. We've been studying Mark for the
• 32:54
  past few months. Mark depicts Jesus Christ as a
• 32:57
  perfect servant of God, and by highlighting that Jesus loved
• 33:00
  this man as the perfect servant of God, he's modeling for us how
• 33:04
  you and I, in serving and engaging with the lost, should
• 33:06
  also do and how we should do it. You love the lost.
• 33:12
  You love sinners. Let them know that even as
• 33:16
  you're ministering to me, even as you're transferring the
• 33:18
  truth, that you love them. You know, a few few months ago,
• 33:21
  I had a chance to be online in an informal debate with a
• 33:24
  Muslim. And this Muslim just invited
• 33:27
  people to come on his channel to debate about the deity of
• 33:30
  Christ, and if Christ is really God in the flesh and all these
• 33:32
  things. And so we just had a chance to
• 33:34
  do it and it would turn out to be a few minutes, actually end
• 33:37
  up being a few hours. And then at some point in that
• 33:43
  conversation going back and forth, and then other people
• 33:45
  were included in the conversation on his side.
• 33:48
  It was very hostile, very intense.
• 33:51
  Yeah, I was just thinking to myself, going back and forth
• 33:53
  with the Bible, with the Karana. And I thought to myself, I hope
• 33:56
  they're seeing where I'm coming from here.
• 33:59
  And so in the middle of that, I just paused and I says, can I
• 34:01
  tell you something? Can I just tell you something
• 34:03
  Before we move on? Do you know why I'm doing this?
• 34:08
  Do you know why I'm spending my Sunday evening where I could
• 34:11
  have done so many other things, doing this with a complete
• 34:13
  strange. Can I tell you why I'm not here
• 34:15
  to win a debate? I'm not here to win an argument.
• 34:18
  I'm not here to get an adrenaline rush of proving
• 34:21
  somebody wrong. I want you to know Jesus Christ.
• 34:26
  I want your soul to be saved. I want you to come to the
• 34:28
  sweetness of the gospel, to realize that you can have
• 34:31
  everlasting hope in His name. That's why I'm doing this.
• 34:35
  And there was just silence for a few moments.
• 34:42
  OK? Wherever this goes, at least
• 34:43
  they know my heart behind this. Who cares if you win an
• 34:47
  argument? Who cares if you look like a
• 34:48
  better man? Who cares if you look
• 34:49
  intelligent? Who cares if you can quote this
• 34:51
  and quote that? Do we love the lost?
• 34:56
  Jesus loves sinners. And so looking at him, I wonder
• 35:02
  if the love ooze that of his eyes.
• 35:09
  I wonder whoever helped mark Penn this gospel account, which
• 35:12
  is very likely Peter. I wonder if Peter saw this
• 35:15
  interaction. Here's this man on his knees,
• 35:17
  and here's Jesus speaking to him, but after telling him about
• 35:22
  the commandments and this man claiming that he is satisfied in
• 35:24
  Jesus, what did? What did Peter see in that face?
• 35:28
  What radiated out of that face for him to say he loved him?
• 35:32
  He loved him not just to show us how we are to serve the loss and
• 35:37
  reach the loss and engage with the loss, but also in
• 35:40
  preparation for what Jesus is about to say.
• 35:44
  You know how some people understand love.
• 35:47
  If they haven't read this before, they might think in
• 35:49
  verse 21 that it would continue in the following manner.
• 35:52
  And Jesus looking at him, loved him and said to him, you know
• 35:56
  what, you're a good guy, you have a good heart.
• 36:03
  I can see that. You know, I know doctrine can
• 36:05
  get complicated and there's a wide spectrum of beliefs and but
• 36:10
  it seems like you're very earnest.
• 36:11
  It seems like you're very interested in spiritual things
• 36:15
  and seems like you're really sincere.
• 36:18
  I have a hunch that God understands, So be at peace and
• 36:22
  go your way. That's what some people
• 36:26
  understand. Love.
• 36:28
  Is that love? No, that's dangerous and damning
• 36:32
  compromise. Jesus didn't look at him, love
• 36:37
  him, and then lower the standard.
• 36:40
  Jesus didn't look at him and love him and then alter the
• 36:43
  message. Jesus looked at him and loved
• 36:46
  them and did the most loving thing you can do with somebody
• 36:47
  who's in darkness. Give them the truth and love.
• 36:53
  He looked at him, he loved him, and he's going to say something
• 36:57
  very heavy. Why?
• 37:00
  Just just to play with him. Why?
• 37:02
  So that he can show him that he can never become one of God's
• 37:06
  children? No, because the truth sets you
• 37:08
  free. No matter how much it hurts in
• 37:10
  the moment, no matter how much you feel uncomfortable with this
• 37:13
  introduction in your life. Jesus is about to say something,
• 37:17
  and it is all in love, and it is because he loves you know?
• 37:24
  Sometimes you hear people from something called the pulpit, and
• 37:29
  many people in their strategy to try to seem loving will dilute
• 37:33
  their message. That's the most unloving thing
• 37:35
  you can do. At the same time, those who
• 37:38
  would present the truth, even the the harsh truth, the not
• 37:42
  easy to receive truth, you got to do it in love.
• 37:46
  You know no matter how intense you are, no matter how much your
• 37:49
  voice is elevated, no matter how much you don't smile as much as
• 37:52
  another preacher smiles. People can tell if you love
• 37:57
  them, even if you preach the truth to them.
• 37:59
  They should be able to, at least.
• 38:02
  But then there's the opposite strategy that is so dangerous,
• 38:06
  and that's to not give them what they need to hear so people can
• 38:09
  leave cheerful and happy. Jesus doesn't do that.
• 38:13
  This man is about to leave disheartened and sorrowful.
• 38:16
  You know, that's possible for a Sunday service.
• 38:20
  It's possible for after a Sunday service to for the people to
• 38:22
  dodge the pastor at the door because they were offended.
• 38:25
  You know what Jesus doesn't do after he gives what he's about
• 38:27
  to say. He doesn't run after the guy.
• 38:32
  I know, I know, I know. That was a little harsh.
• 38:34
  But, you know, I was just, It's just the way my it's my
• 38:36
  personality. Let's reconsider what I said.
• 38:40
  He doesn't do that one because he's the perfect communicator.
• 38:44
  I'm sure that some preachers have to do that at some point.
• 38:46
  Maybe. But you never apologize for the
• 38:49
  truth. You never apologize for the
• 38:52
  truth. That's not love.
• 38:55
  So what does Jesus say? Jesus looking at him, loved him
• 38:58
  and said to him, you like one thing.
• 39:01
  You like one thing goes. Sell all that you have and give
• 39:03
  to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come
• 39:05
  follow me. It seems like the Lord is
• 39:08
  compounding on this concept of a workspace salvation, right?
• 39:12
  Because you can read that at face value and think, OK, if I
• 39:15
  want to be numbered among the redeemed that I got to sell
• 39:18
  everything, give it to the poor. Be careful taking this
• 39:20
  particular case and making it as a universal call for all
• 39:23
  seekers. You can't take this command and
• 39:27
  make it a gospel appeal to everybody.
• 39:30
  Not everybody is called to sell everything that they have and
• 39:33
  give to the poor. What Jesus is doing here,
• 39:37
  though, is he's making a personal call, drawn from the
• 39:42
  objective principle of what it means to be saved.
• 39:45
  Make Jesus your Lord. Can I say that one more time?
• 39:50
  What Jesus doing with this man is that he is giving a
• 39:54
  personalized call, drawn from a principal, from the overarching
• 39:59
  objective truth of what it means to be saved.
• 40:02
  Make Jesus your Lord. And making Jesus your Lord will
• 40:08
  cause each of our repentance to look differently.
• 40:12
  And in the case of this rich young ruler, his repentance look
• 40:16
  like surrendering the God of money, repenting from a superior
• 40:25
  love, a love greater than his love for God.
• 40:29
  And that is his wealth. Jesus was able to scope exactly
• 40:34
  what it was. I was hindering this man from
• 40:35
  coming to saving faith. And it was his love for mammon,
• 40:40
  his love for treasures, his love for possessions, the security in
• 40:43
  it, the thrill of it, the pleasure that it offers.
• 40:47
  And Jesus says give it all up. Follow me.
• 40:54
  That's what repentance is. Faith really looks like when
• 40:56
  it's fleshed out, you know, accepting Jesus is not saying,
• 41:00
  You know what? I think I have room in my life
• 41:01
  for Jesus. And so let me add Jesus here
• 41:04
  with these competing and rival desires of mine.
• 41:08
  No, accepting Jesus is taking a dynamite to all of your life,
• 41:13
  blowing it up and let Jesus take over blank canvas.
• 41:19
  Lord, do what you want with my life, that it's what it means to
• 41:21
  makes Jesus Christ Lord. And so he says here, give up
• 41:26
  everything. Again, that's not the protocol
• 41:28
  for salvation. It's a test for this man, a test
• 41:31
  to see if he is willing to do what is required of anybody who
• 41:34
  would follow Jesus Christ. Are you willing to surrender
• 41:36
  anything I ask of you? If you can't surrender
• 41:40
  everything, if you can't surrender anything that Jesus
• 41:43
  asked of you, then he's not Lord.
• 41:44
  And if he's not Lord, then he's not your savior.
• 41:46
  It's very simple. And so that's what Jesus is
• 41:48
  bringing before this man. And you know, for something to
• 41:51
  come to this passage, to try to prove that Jesus is not God is
• 41:55
  making a terrible mistake for many reasons.
• 41:59
  And one of those reasons is this.
• 42:00
  Do you realize that Jesus, when he gave those commandments to
• 42:03
  the man, only gave the last six? Where were the first four?
• 42:06
  Did you ever think about that? Why didn't you quote from the
• 42:10
  beginning? Why did you give the last six
• 42:13
  and not the first four that deal with our relationship with God?
• 42:18
  What's the first one? You shall have no other gods
• 42:20
  before me. Correct.
• 42:21
  Did this man have a God before the true God?
• 42:24
  Yes, the God of money and Jesus is indirectly applying those set
• 42:30
  of commands to this man. Your God is money and your love
• 42:34
  for it is greater than your love for the true God.
• 42:36
  But you know what Jesus doesn't do?
• 42:38
  He doesn't quote the first commandment to him.
• 42:42
  He could have. He could have said you should
• 42:44
  have no other gods before me. But he doesn't do that.
• 42:47
  Why instead? This is so fascinating.
• 42:50
  This is absolutely mind blowing. Instead of quoting the 1st and
• 42:55
  2nd commandment, he says give up everything, follow me, give up
• 43:03
  everything, follow me. Now on what level does Christ
• 43:07
  place himself to make make such a statement?
• 43:12
  If this man's problem was idolatry, then the law that
• 43:17
  applies to him is the first two for sure.
• 43:20
  But what does Jesus do? Jesus calls this man to follow
• 43:26
  him, to abandon his idols and follow him.
• 43:29
  What does that make Jesus God? Any other man who would dare to
• 43:35
  say that would be blasphemous. Any other man who would dare say
• 43:39
  that would be a heretic and be worthy of death according to the
• 43:43
  Old Covenant. But Jesus can say because Jesus
• 43:46
  is Yahweh. Follow me.
• 43:49
  Wow. Banning your idols.
• 43:52
  Oh, that's right. And then and then.
• 43:54
  Follow you. Yeah, follow you.
• 43:55
  Follow me. Mind blowing.
• 44:01
  And here's what this man is registering.
• 44:05
  Give up everything and follow you.
• 44:11
  What's his response? Joyful.
• 44:14
  Did he find a treasure in the field?
• 44:15
  Went back? Sold everything to buy that
• 44:17
  field? Isn't the gospel good news?
• 44:21
  It is good news, but it's ultimately up to you if it's
• 44:26
  good news or not. Disheartened by the saying, he
• 44:32
  went away sorrowful for he had great possessions.
• 44:38
  I wonder what that looked like. Imagine here's Jesus on a road.
• 44:42
  Here's this man. Pristine, popular, well combed,
• 44:48
  perfumed. And he's in the dust.
• 44:51
  And here are the disciples looking at this interaction and
• 44:54
  just pure silence and awe. Listening to this man, listening
• 44:58
  to Jesus. Listening to this man.
• 44:59
  Listening to Jesus. And Jesus says give everything,
• 45:05
  follow me and this man. I wonder if he picked himself
• 45:11
  up. Dust his knees.
• 45:18
  I wonder if you even had the audacity to look him in the
• 45:19
  eyes, head down, heart heavy, and turns his back and walks
• 45:30
  into the horizon. And there's Jesus looking at
• 45:36
  him. And there are disciples looking
• 45:39
  at him too, I'm sure. And we'll get to what Jesus will
• 45:43
  say next week. But consider verse 22 and
• 45:47
  compare it again with verse 17. What does verse 17 say in the
• 45:51
  introduction of this man? And as he was sitting out on his
• 45:55
  journey, a man ran up and knelt before him.
• 45:58
  And what do we see in verse 22? He gets up and walks away.
• 46:06
  What do we see again here in verse 17, knelt before him and
• 46:10
  asked him, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal
• 46:14
  life? Why do you call me good?
• 46:20
  Verse 22, disheartened by the saying, he walks away.
• 46:25
  Clearly he wasn't good enough. Oh yeah, in the beginning he was
• 46:30
  good. But then when you realize what
• 46:32
  he's asking of you, you're good. But there's something better.
• 46:40
  My possessions And there are many people who say many things
• 46:45
  about Jesus. Many things.
• 46:48
  He's God, He's Lord, He's savior.
• 46:50
  It's it's OK, it's wonderful to say it, but it's ultimately
• 46:54
  proven by lived out conviction. Many people who say many things
• 46:59
  about Jesus, many praiseworthy things.
• 47:06
  But those things are just vapor if they don't manifest in taking
• 47:11
  his words in and saying you're so good to me.
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  Not just in theory, not just in my ideas of who you are, but
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  because of who you are and your totality.
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  I will do anything you tell me. I'll do anything.
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  That's how good you are. You want me to get rid of the
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  possessions? I'll do it.
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  You want me to relinquish my righteousness?
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  I'll do it. You want me to come to you like
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  a child? I'll do it.
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  You want me to forgive my enemies?
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  You want me to pray for my enemies?
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  OK, I'll do it. I'll do it.
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  How do you identify a Christian? Simply like this.
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  Whatever he says, I'll do. It's simple.
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  Let's not make it complicated. You want to memorize creeds?
• 47:53
  Go ahead and memorize all the creeds you want.
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  You want to stuff your library with theological literature?
• 47:59
  Stuff it away. But what happens to you when he
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  says something to you? How weighty is his authority in
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  your life? That's what determines this man
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  went away sorrowful, you know. You know how great this
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  invitation was. Think about it.
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  We understand the idea and the invitation for all men to follow
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  Jesus. But it could be that when Jesus
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  said follow me, follow me, that this man could have followed him
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  physically. He could have been part up to
• 48:33
  some extent, the traveling band and even rejects that.
• 48:40
  Like that's what he rejected. For what?
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  For possessions. I wonder if he regrets it now.
• 48:50
  I'm sure if he hasn't changed after this moment, he went away
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  sorrowful. You know what's so amazing?
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  You can have great possessions and still be sorrowful.
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  That's the lesson there. You can walk away with your own
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  bank, never mind a bank account, and still be depressed and still
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  feel like something is not right because only Christ can complete
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  you. You know this, right?
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  I know I'm preaching to the choir.
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  I know that this room is filled with people who know that truth,
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  but oh how we need to be reminded of it, especially you
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  young people. Listen very carefully.
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  I know you have your whole life ahead of you.
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  I know you're young, you have strength and you have dreams and
• 49:36
  hopes and all these ideas. But never forget.
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  Only Christ will complete you. Only He will satisfy you.
• 49:43
  Only He will soothe you. Only He will give you an
• 49:45
  unshakeable peace. Only Him.
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  Money has kept a lot of people out of heaven.
• 49:54
  Money, though neutral in itself, has been the means for many
• 49:59
  people to be an everlasting separation from a holy and good
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  God. And we will talk about next week
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  how hard it is for the rich to enter into eternal life.
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  But for now, I hope your heart and hearing this is not
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  sorrowful. I hope your heart can rejoice.
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  Because you know that though you have nothing, you have
• 50:20
  everything because you have Jesus.
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  I hope you feel that way. I want that.
• 50:25
  What just happened there? I just want it to be fuel on
• 50:27
  that fire. That's right.
• 50:29
  I have everything because I have Christ.
• 50:32
  That's right. Here's a man who's been, who's
• 50:34
  been printed on Holy Writ to remind generations to come that
• 50:38
  you can be young, you can be rich, you can have status, you
• 50:41
  can have religion. But if you don't have Christ,
• 50:43
  you don't have life. You have life because you have
• 50:48
  Christ. So rejoice, rejoice in knowing
• 50:53
  that you have all you need in him.
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  And maybe you're not convinced of that today.
• 51:03
  Is he that good? He's better than what I'm
• 51:05
  saying. Is he that real?
• 51:08
  He's more real than my voice is to you at this moment.
• 51:12
  Is he that satisfying? He is satisfying not just when
• 51:15
  you stand before him and knowing that you have eternal life, but
• 51:18
  he actually sustains you day by day by day.
• 51:24
  What are you going to go back to?
• 51:26
  What filth are you going to go back to?
• 51:29
  Paul says. How can you?
• 51:30
  In some sense, I'm paraphrasing. How can you be tempted and
• 51:33
  allured by the things that brought no fruit to you at one
• 51:35
  point? Dealing with sin.
• 51:37
  That's Romans 6. What do you have to go back to?
• 51:40
  You know what that life was like.
• 51:42
  You've been there. And if you haven't been there,
• 51:44
  hey, listen to me. Trust me.
• 51:46
  You're not missing out. You're not missing out on
• 51:49
  anything. You have everything in him.
• 51:52
  I made reference to lukewarm church.
• 51:54
  If you're lukewarm today, which can be very possible for even a
• 51:57
  preacher, you know what Jesus said to that church when he says
• 52:04
  you're wretched, you're pitable, you're poor, you're naked.
• 52:06
  It's like, is this really a church?
• 52:08
  It's a real church. You know what he says in that
• 52:10
  same chapter, Those whom I love, I rebuke.
• 52:15
  He looked at this rich young man.
• 52:17
  He loved him, and he spoke the truth.
• 52:19
  And he looks at this church at large.
• 52:21
  He rebukes them. But guess what he's like.
• 52:23
  I do this because I love you. So if your heart is pricked,
• 52:27
  like know that that is a touch of love from Jesus saying you
• 52:35
  know where you're supposed to be.
• 52:36
  You're not there. You're not there.
• 52:38
  You're here, but you're not there.
• 52:41
  Let my spirit work in you and bring you where you need to be.
• 52:44
  Because because right now you're confused.
• 52:46
  You're in the dark. You think that you have need of
• 52:49
  nothing, but you do. Yeah, you have salvation, but
• 52:52
  you need sweet fellowship with me again.
• 52:55
  You need that closeness with me again.
• 52:56
  I'm here to give it to you, and the Lord is here to give it to
• 52:59
  you. If you need salvation, He's here
• 53:01
  to give it to you. If you need to be brought close
• 53:04
  to him and to know the sweetness of his fragrance again, you know
• 53:06
  what he told that lukewarm church.
• 53:08
  If you answer the door that I'm knocking, I'll come in and I'll
• 53:11
  eat with you. Let's have lunch, let's sit
• 53:18
  closely together, and let's commune again.
• 53:20
  That's the heart of Christ. We serve a loving Christ,
• 53:24
  whether that be with confused souls like the rich young ruler
• 53:28
  or compromising churches like the Church of Laodicea.
• 53:31
  He's a loving Christ. Thank you for being a loving
• 53:34
  Christ, Lord, Thank you. Thank you.
• 53:37
  Thank you Lord. With a message like this, we can
• 53:43
  either rejoice or be sorrowful. And it is our pray that every
• 53:46
  single person here would be absolutely exploding with joy.
• 53:49
  Knowing that they have you, knowing that you've made it so
• 53:52
  simple. You haven't given us a list of
• 53:54
  do's and don'ts. You haven't asked us for a
• 53:56
  performance. You just asked us to trust you.
• 54:02
  You've asked us to follow you, and to follow you is to believe
• 54:06
  in you and from believing in you.
• 54:08
  We live for you and Lord. For the person here who knows
• 54:12
  these things, who's heard probably a sermon very similar
• 54:15
  to this, we just ask that you would help all of us in renewing
• 54:20
  the joy that we once had in the Lord.
• 54:24
  Help us come alive again. To know that freshness in our
• 54:26
  faith. To know that spring to our step.
• 54:30
  To know that strength in our singing, to know that desire to
• 54:33
  obey. And know you in the word of God.
• 54:36
  Although we sing to you now because we are not like this
• 54:39
  man, the rich young ruler who is indeed a poor young slave, We
• 54:44
  are free. We are free in you, in Jesus
• 54:48
  name. Amen.
• 54:49
  We stand and worship the Lord together.