Camels and Christians.
Notes
Transcript
Opening:
Good morning again Connection Church. It is good to be gathered together on the Lord’s Day. I am so glad that we can worship together today through singing, learning, giving, reading the Word of God and hearing it preached and through an extended fellowship after service. What a blessing! We are blessed to be able to come together and worship our King.
Introduction of the Text:
This morning Open with me to Matthew 19:16-30. Remember, Matthew wrote this gospel account to a Jewish audience in the first century. He wrote this so that they would know that Jesus was the fulfilment of the Old Testament promises and prophecies. Matthew has emphasized that Jesus is the Messiah. He has shown the authority of Jesus. Matthew has emphasized that Jesus has authority over all things. Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords. He is God.
In this passage we encounter the need for salvation and the way of salvation. We also see the beautiful promise of the coming Kingdom of God. There is nothing that can derail the promises of God. He is sovereign over all things.
Reading of the Text:
I would ask the congregation to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.
Matthew 19:16-30 16 And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
The Word of God, Let’s pray.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you this morning and thank you for salvation. Lord, we ask that you would convict us of our sins and bring us to repentance. Lord, we know that we cannot be saved by our own work or doing. Lord, we ask that you would be glorified through the salvation of the people in Lead.
Lord, if anyone here is relying on themselves, please break this. Call them to repentance. We cannot keep your Law perfectly. Our only hope is to fall before you and trust in Christ. We cannot be good. We are wicked. We must see our sin and repent and trust in you. God help everyone here to do this.
Lord, may those who have surrendered all to you be encouraged. May they know that what they have given up is nothing compared to what you have given and are yet to give. May we have hope in the promise of the coming Kingdom. May we take great joy and encouragement in knowing that your return will set all things right.
Lord, help us all to grow closer to you. May we reach this community with the gospel. May we see people saved. May you bring glory to your name through this church. Keep my mouth away from lies. Let your word be proclaimed. We ask this in Jesus name, Amen.
Transition:
As we open this text we see three main players. We have the rich young man, Jesus and the twelve disciples. As the passage begins we see the rich young man approach Jesus and ask Him, “What good deed must I do to have eternal life?”
“What Good Deed Must I do to Have Eternal Life?”
“What Good Deed Must I do to Have Eternal Life?”
Explanation:
This really is the question. Luke’s account indicate this man was a ruler. He was extremely wealthy and powerful. Yet he comes to Jesus and asks about eternal life. Specifically what good thing must he do to merit eternal life. This young man must be a deep teacher. He is a faithful Jew of the day. He is familiar with the customs and even the Scriptures. He comes and according to Mark’s gospel account kneels before Jesus. There is zeal behind this question.
He calls Jesus teacher, or good teacher. This is clearly an admittance that he saw Jesus as a man from God. He saw Jesus as a good teacher but he did not see him as the Son of God. He did not recognize who he spoke to. But there is merit in the question. Obviously, this young man knew he needed eternal life. He was not satisfied with worldly wealth. He was unsatisfied with what He has. He knew it was insufficient. So he approaches Jesus. He thought that Jesus must know the path to eternal life. He was correct in this. Jesus held the answer this man needed.
Argumentation:
Many pastors have pointed out that this young ruler is what we would consider to be a great prospect. He quite literally ran to Jesus and asked “What must I do to be saved?” This is a Christian’s dream situation. It is even more so a pastor’s dream. It is rare to have people willingly present themselves as willing to be saved. Often times, one must have multiple conversations and gospel presentations before you see anyone come to faith in Christ. It is even more rare to have someone come to you and ask how to be saved. I have only heard a few ministers present stories of situations like this.
It is the dream situation to have someone run to you and ask, “what must I do to be saved?” However, in these situations, you jump on that opportunity. You call for that person to repent and trust in Jesus. By most modern evangelical thought, you have the person pray a prayer, fill out a card, or the like. By our modern evangelism techniques, the last thing you would do is present the gospel in such a way that would discourage the persons conversion.
Transition:
However, this is exactly what Jesus does. He responds and asks the young ruler, “why do you ask me about what is good?”
“Why Do You ask Me about what is Good? Keep the Commandments.”
“Why Do You ask Me about what is Good? Keep the Commandments.”
Explanation:
The young ruler runs and falls as Jesus’ feet and asks what good thing he must do to be saved. Jesus responds with “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good...” Jesus says there is only one who is good. Only God is good Clearly Jesus is testing this man. Jesus is good. It is right for this young man to ask Jesus about what is good. Jesus alone can truly speak of what is good. He alone is good. He is the definition of what is good. However, this young man does not see this. He does not know who it is he is speaking to. He has approached the one who can authoritatively speak what is good. He has approached the only one who is truly good.
Jesus continues, “Keep the Commandments.” Here is where the already bizarre interaction seems to get even more bizarre. Rather than simply telling the young ruler to repent and believe, Jesus tells him to keep the commandments. The young man then asks which commandments to keep. This is a good question. Which ones do I keep in order to merit eternal life? Is there some special commandment that allows me to be saved if I do it right? How can I earn my way into heaven? It seems like this young man is on his game. Are there special commandments that are like a code to eternal life? But this is misguided. Jesus told him to keep the commandments. This is an inclusive statement. The Commandments. How is one saved? Keep the Law of God perfectly.
However, Jesus obliges this young man. He lists a few commands. Specifically Jesus lists five of the ten commandments and the second greatest command. What must I keep? Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not lie, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Argumentation:
But why does Jesus give these commands? Are these the secret code to salvation? If you keep these six rules, are you worthy of salvation? This however is not the intent. At the listing of these six things, every single heart should sink. What must I do to be saved?
Do not murder. Everyone wipes their brow. “Got one under my belt.” But wait, Jesus said that if you hate your brother, you are guilty of murder. Oh no. That term “hate your brother” holds the idea of desiring harm or having ill will toward someone. Have you ever wished ill toward someone? Murderer.
Do not commit adultery. Jesus again expands this to be the heart, not just the act. Have you ever lusted after someone? Adulterer.
Do not steal? Perhaps this may be one that you have kept right? Wait, have you ever withheld something God has called for you to give? Whenever Israel did this, God referred to it as theft from Him. I think it is safe to say we are all thieves.
Do not bear false witness. Have you ever misrepresented something? Has your witness ever been tinged with falsehood? Ever exaggerated something to make yourself look better? Guilty.
Honor your father and mother. Have you always shown the correct honor to your parents? Did you ever get angry and dishonor them when you were young? Of course you did. Guilty.
Love your neighbor as yourself. Have you always loved others as yourself? Have you ever been selfish? Of course you have. Guilty.
You see, Jesus is not giving the magic laws to obey in order to be saved. He is summarizing the Law of God. What must you do to be saved? Obey the Law perfectly. Jesus is giving these six commands as an example. Even by these six commands we are all found guilty on each account. Even if by some miracle someone could say they are innocent on one of these laws (an abject impossibility) we can look to James 2:8-11. 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
This says that even if you stumble in one Law, you are guilty of all of it. Jesus is not giving the secret code of laws to obey and be saved, He is giving a mirror of hopelessness. The Law is God’s perfect standard. It is mirror by which we see how depraved we are.
Transition:
Who in their right mind would look at even the six commands Jesus gave and say, “Yes, I have kept those! I’m good!” Jesus exposes the lie of “I’m a good person.”
The Lie of “I’m a Good Person.”
The Lie of “I’m a Good Person.”
Explanation:
Listen to the young man’s response. He says, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” What a statement! This man says he has kept all those things. He is claiming to have kept the Law. This shows an utter misunderstanding of the Law. The law of God is His perfect standard. God is perfectly just. He enforces His law perfectly. This young man is utterly lying. Now in fairness, he may not be purposely lying. He may have the idea that God grades on the curve. Perhaps he has the idea that as long as he in some way shape or form keeps the Law of God, he will be counted as righteous. This was common in Jesus’ day. Many thought and taught that the Law was to give righteousness. If one kept God’s law, they would be justified.
Now there is a grain of truth in this idea. Jesus himself acknowledges this. What must one do to gain eternal life? Keep the Law of God perfectly. Were someone to perfectly keep the Law of God, they would be righteous and would be given eternal life. But there has only ever been one who kept God’s law. We are all sinners. The Law stands condemning us. It is the whip master that beats us and condemns us. It is God’s righteousness and it shows us our unrighteousness.
Argumentation:
However, many even today buy into the lie of being a good person. This is in essence what the young man is saying. He is saying, “I’m a good person.” This right after Jesus has said that only God is good. but this is so common throughout mankind. We think so highly of ourselves. We think we are mostly good. It is common to hear, “Oh sure, I’ve made mistakes. I know I’ve sinned but I’m mostly good. I’ve never killed anyone.” Where does this kind of illogical ideology come from? How foolish are people?
It comes from the fact that we judge ourselves based off of other people. We look at others and we say, “I’m not as bad as they are.” And then we think we are righteous. Our standard is subjective. If you want an example of this, look at how we handle road traffic. If someone cuts us off, they obviously meant to do so. They had ill will and wanted to ruin our day. They are horrible drivers and deserve to be punished to the full extent of the law. But if we cut someone off, it was an accident. We simply didn’t see them. They were in our blind spot. They probably even were speeding, so it likely wasn’t even our fault. We deserve grace.
This is the epitome of folly and pride. When someone sins against us, they are evil and deserve wrath. But when we sin against someone else, if they are angry, we view them as unjust. And somehow we blaspheme God by thinking He is this way. We want Him to play favorites. We aren’t like those other sinners. Sure we have sinned, but He knows we didn’t mean to. We didn’t mean to make those mistakes. We had the best of intentions, right? God knows this. He knows that we had pure intentions, right? He’ll never punish us, because our hearts are still mostly pure.
What blasphemy! Our intentions are not pure! What lies we tell ourselves. Your intentions are not pure. They are evil and wretched. All day long we scheme to get away with sin. We are not mostly good. We are fully evil. We are dead in our sins, we are children of wrath. Your intentions were not “mostly good” when you lied to cover your tracks. Your intentions were not good when you were browsing websites you know are wrong. Your intentions are not mostly good when you sin. As evil and corrupt as those other sinners are, you are just as bad. You are every bit as sinful as every single sinner out there.
And this is the truth. God is just. He is not partial. Romans 2:11 11 For God shows no partiality. Colossians 3:25 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. God will punish evil. He punishes sins. God does not grade on the curve. He does not look at you and say, “I know they had the best of intentions, so it’s not sin.” No, God’s Law is the perfect standard. If you have broken even one part of it, you are guilty of all of it. You are a sinner deserving wrath.
Transition:
So what then must you do? Surrender all and follow Jesus.
Surrender All and Follow Jesus.
Surrender All and Follow Jesus.
Explanation:
The young man dishonestly claims to be good. Jesus rather than directly calling out this lie, speaks directly to his heart. Mark’s account says that Jesus loved this man. He says to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Jesus tells the man to sell all he has. Abandon all his wealth and give it to the poor. Then come and follow Jesus.
Many have asked if this is a command all Christians must heed. Must we all sell all we own and follow Jesus? No, and yet at the same time, yes. This is confusing, but let me explain. No, this was a specific command to the young man. He was exceedingly wealthy. He loved his money. At this command from Jesus, he left sad. He did not obey Christ. He loved his wealth. This showed the state of his heart. He loved his wealth more than God. He had violated the greatest command above all else. This young man did not love the Lord with all his heart, soul, strength, and mind. He loved his wealth. No, it is not a command to sell all you own. This was a command given in this particular context, to this particular young man.
Argumentation:
However, this is still a command for us. Not the direct command to sell all, but the heart of the command. It is a command for us that we love the Lord our God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. We are to take up our cross and follow Jesus. This means that we surrender all and follow Christ. Surrender all and follow Christ. There can be such a thing as rich Christians. But there cannot be a Christian who has not surrendered all to Christ. A follower of Christ is one who obeys Him. We grow in obedience, but we still obey. A Christian would obey this command. Were Christ to say, “sell all you own and follow me,” the Christian would say “yes, Lord.” Now this does not mean it won’t be difficult. It may take time but the follower of Christ is brought into obedience. There are things that surrendering is hard. But we surrender them.
Christians are to be faithful. We surrender all we must in order to follow Christ. We sacrifice all to be faithful to Him. We take nothing as our own. It is all the property of our King that He has blessed us with. He has entrusted us with whatever we have, and we surrender it willingly to Him if it is taken away. However, we are never faithless to our Lord. If what we love is taken away, we remain faithful. What does this look like?
We have been greatly blessed to live where we do. We have had freedom here to obey Christ. Our nation is built on the idea of freedom to worship God. That is why the puritanical pilgrims came here. And we have been recipients of the great benefits of our forbears. We live in a Nation that was built on Christian principles. Because of this, the church has had a great period of freedom. We have not faced direct opposition to our faithfulness. In short, we here in America have never really had to give anything up to be faithful to Christ. We have, in the past, always been able to freely gather and proclaim the gospel. We can even publicly advertise that we are meeting to worship God. We have, in the past, never had to sacrifice our safety to be faithful.
Now take the persecuted church that is not here in America. They have not had the wonderful blessing of freedom to worship God. They have been constant in having to sacrifice safety in order to be faithful to Christ. In China many have been threatened, lost jobs, been imprisoned, or even killed for gathering to worship. However, this has not stopped them from being faithful. The church in China willingly sacrifices their jobs, homes, families, and even lives in order to gather to worship. The same is true for Iran, Egypt, and many many other places including the church in Afghanistan right now.
Being a Southern Baptist Church, we partner with the International Mission Board and Send Relief. Both organizations have been flooded with questions of what to do about missionaries and churches in Afghanistan? The Taliban have made it known that they know where these Christians are. They know who the missionaries are and have even contacted some of then saying that they will kill them all soon. But the church has responded as it always has. They are willing to surrender their lives in order to be faithful to Christ. Our lives are His, not ours.
This is surrendering all and following Christ. It is opening our hands. It is blessing Him for what He has given, but being willing to suffer the consequences if He removes those things. If God removes our wealth, we openly give it to Him and follow Him. If God removes our freedom, we continue to gather and be faithful regardless of the consequences. If we are faced with death, we lay down our lives. This is because this is what salvation is. Salvation is surrendering all to Christ. Is is falling before Christ and trusting in Him. Christ is our Lord. We let everything else go. We remain faithful to Jesus. We obey Him. He is King. If Cesar wickedly strips all things away, we remain faithful to Christ.
Transition:
After this interaction, Jesus teaches the disciples. We see the lesson of the camel and the needle.
The Lesson of the Camel and the Needle.
The Lesson of the Camel and the Needle.
Explanation:
Listen to the interaction after the rich young man leaves. Verses 23-26. “23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. 24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” 26 But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
This is quite the teaching. Jesus says twice over that is it difficult for a rich person to be saved. He says that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to be saved. This is a very condemning statement. This especially flew in the face of the current thought of the day. In that day, Jews who were wealthy were seen as having the blessing of God. If you were rich it was assumed that you were saved. Jesus is practically saying the opposite. It was seen as easy for a wealthy and powerful person to be saved. However, Jesus is saying it is difficult for a rich person to be saved. This is why the disciples respond in utter shock. “Who then can be saved?”
They thought that the rich were obviously closer to God. If the most obvious candidates for salvation were not saved, who could be saved? This plays into the false teaching of the Pharisees. A works based salvation was taught. Do these things and be saved. Who had the ability to do more than the rich? But this is not where salvation comes from. Salvation is the work of God. Because of this, the impossible becomes possible. On our own, salvation is impossible. But with God, all things are possible.
Argumentation:
I do not believe we suffer this spiritual flaw as much. I do not see the trend to say that the rich are obviously saved within the church. However, there is another similar flaw we suffer from. It is still tempting to think of earthly riches being the sign of God’s blessing It is so tempting to look at churches and ministries that are filled with money and think that they must clearly have it all together. However this is not always the case. We do not judge success by the earthly blessing but by the theological content. In other words, we tend to measure success completely wrong.
God does bless with earthly blessings, but this does not mean that if we have wealth we are correct. There are numerous examples of faithful ministries that are not flush with cash. There are many examples of faithless ministries that are wealthy beyond our imaginations. I think of my cousins. My Cousin Miranda and Clay live up by Mud-butte. He pastors a small country church. That is a successful church. However, it will never be a rich church. That simply will never happen. It is a pour area. However it is very successful. Why? Because the Word of God is faithfully preached. We cannot measure success by simple things such as attendance, or giving reports.
This does not mean that giving or attendance is not important. It simply means that true success before God is not found in worldly measurements. Success before God is measured by faithfulness. True success is faithfulness to God. A church with ten people may be miles more successful than a church with ten thousand members. Faithfulness to God and His Word are the true measures of success. There are pastors of incredibly wealthy churches that are faithful. There are pastors of churches that meat in the mud outside that are faithful.
Transition:
And this is what we see Jesus teach the disciples. We see the disciples success through surrender.
The Disciples Success Through Surrender.
The Disciples Success Through Surrender.
Explanation:
After hearing this shocking teaching from Jesus, Peter asks a very good question. He says, “27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Many have attempted to tear Peter and the disciples down for this. However, I personally think this is a great question. Think about their situation. Their deeply held cultural beliefs have just been flipped. The rich are not automatically saved. One can almost hear the wheels turning in the disciples heads. “We aren’t rich. We gave hopes of pursuing wealth up.” Peter steps up and asks Jesus the question stirring in their minds. “Lord, what about us? We left everything for you.”
Jesus does not rebuke them. He freely answers their inquiry. He teaches them about the coming Kingdom. 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
When the term “Sit on His glorious throne” is used, it is speaking of the new creation. This is what is known as the consummate kingdom. Jesus has already taught that the kingdom had come. I have spoken often of the three fold view of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus established the kingdom during His ministry. Therefore it has come. He then tasked us with announcing the kingdom and discipling the nations in the great commission. This means the kingdom is currently coming. We also look forward to when Jesus will return and fully establish the kingdom here on earth. This is what Jesus is speaking about. When He comes again and sits on His glorious throne, the disciples will sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes.
But what does this mean? It means that in the new creation the Apostles will be seated with Jesus and will rule with Him over all of true Israel (the saved.) And Jesus continues to explain that anyone who has sacrificed things for Jesus will be compensated greatly for their sacrifice. Jesus says that they will be compensated a hundredfold. Sometimes we see glimpses of this compensation here on earth. Many who have lost family for their faith have been earthly rewarded with the church family here. However, the true reward will come at the new creation. There, all will be made right. And Jesus explains that the kingdom mentality is backwards from the world. Many of the first will be last and the last will be first. Many of those who are poor and destitute will be made great in the kingdom and many who are haughty and great here will be made low there.
Argumentation:
Jesus’ words are filled with peace. When He comes, true justice will be served. Wrongs will be made right. Injustice will be met with justice. Sins will be punished and righteousness will be rewarded. Sin will be punished in the eternal punishment of those who are unsaved. Those who trust in Christ are saved from this judgement. Jesus took our judgement for us. We are washed clean and forgiven. We will not face judgement for our sin. But there we will be rewarded for what we did.
What we surrendered here will seem worthless in light of what is in store for us. But beyond this, all we did for our own gain will perish. But all we did for the glory of God will be greatly rewarded. This is such a comforting and challenging idea. It brings peace and comfort to all who have suffered for their faith. Have you lost family or friendships for the sake of Christ? All will be made right. You will receive a hundred fold. Were you beaten for Christ? Great is your reward in heaven. Did you lose jobs and money for your commitment to Christ? You will be greatly rewarded beyond anything you can imagine in the Kingdom come. This is the peace given to any who sacrifice for Christ.
This also calls us to a different ethic here. Are you striving to build your own name or kingdom? That will be time wasted. This calls us to build for our King. This passage does not mean that we should all live as monks who whip themselves in order to be great in the kingdom. No, it means we live as kingdom people. Do you work in construction? Are you a contractor who works as for Christ? Do you work hard with honor for Jesus? Then you will be rewarded. Whatever you do, you do it with great purpose and intentionality for Jesus. Are you a parent? Do you raise your children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Great is your reward! I firmly believe that parents who raise their children before the Lord are some of the greatest in the kingdom.
We live with our hands open before our King. If things are taken away for the sake of our King, we rejoice! If God leaves those things in our hands, we rejoice! But we do all for the glory of God. Are you wealthy? Do you hold your wealth openly before God? Do you handle it how God has commanded? Then you have sacrificed it before God. If He gives you great blessing, praise God. If He removes that blessing, praise God! We know that when Jesus comes again, He will set all right and reward each according to what he or she has done.
Transition:
I believe the question this passage leaves us with is will you surrender of leave sorrowful?
Will You Surrender of Leave Sorrowful?
Will You Surrender of Leave Sorrowful?
Application:
Will you be faithful or faithless? This is not a passage against wealth. It is a passage condemning idolatry. Who will you worship? Will you worship Christ and surrender all to Him? That was the blessing of the Disciples. They surrendered all for Jesus. They might not have always gotten it right. In fact we have divine record of many of their failings. But they surrendered to Christ. They held nothing back. All they had was His. This is also the beauty of the book of Acts. We see wealthy Christians in Acts. But they willingly gave. They did not love their wealth above Christ. They gave of all they had. The wealthy were selling their property to aid the church. The poor were likewise giving of what they had. The Christian walk is one of surrender. Will you surrender all to Christ or will you leave sorrowful?
Do the demands of Christ leave you heartbroken and sad? Will you hold onto what you have and refuse to surrender it to Christ? This was the condemnation of the rich young man. He loved his wealth. He left sad and did not follow Christ. I fear this is the condemnation for many of us. We love our things. We love our stuff. There are many comforts that I fear we would not give up for Christ. This is idolatry. This is worshipping what we have over Christ.
If we come to a place where we must sacrifice for faithfulness, what will be our response? I said earlier that we have been blessed in our nation. We have not had to sacrifice for our faith. We have never before had to choose between obedience to God and obedience to the authorities. But what if this is removed? Will we be faithful? Will we sacrifice our homes, our families, our businesses, our lives in order to be faithful? Or will we cave and be faithless to Christ? The cry of the Christian is “Faithfulness to Christ above all else.” No matter the sacrifice, big or small, we will be faithful to Jesus.
But what if you are here and you have previously chosen other things over Christ? What if you have played the part of the rich young ruler in the past but now see the worthlessness of that choice? There is hope. Even if you have previously rejected Christ, there is hope. You can now turn to Him. You can repent of your sins and trust Him. He will forgive you and cleanse you from all sin. Call out to Him and surrender to the King. Bow before Him and make your life His. Salvation is all of God. With man, this is impossible, but with God, it is possible. Surrender to Christ, and gain life eternal.
Let’s pray.
Prayer:
Closing Hymn:
Closing Benediction:
1 Peter 4:19 19 Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.