The Rich Young Ruler (Part 2) - Mark 10:22-31
Mark 8... Be like a child, a servant. Be willing to die in order to live...
Rich young ruler... Jesus teaches other-worldly teaching, counter to the world.
Today's text: Mark 10:23-31...
Jesus offers the man eternal life. He can have it if he believes, believes in Jesus. Believes what he says. We too can have eternal life if we believe what Jesus said about himself and follow him!
V24... How difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God! Especially for those who have prospered. This is opposite what prosperity preachers preach. Jesus was mainly homeless! Timothy had chronic stomach issues.
V25... Easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. This was written and transcribed in Rome, not referring to the Jerusalem eye of the needle gate. Jesus is saying it's impossible!
V26... The disciples were exceedingly astonished. As if punched in the face! Sure, it's hard being poor, but wealth brings with it temptations that can make it very difficult to enter the kingdom. In our country, we're wealthy by the average standard of the world.
V27... So who can be saved? With man, nobody! But with God, anything is possible! Salvation is not earned, but offered freely by God! All we can do is receive it in faith!
V28... Peter, Peter, Peter... He tries to show Jesus how he and the other disciples have given up things to follow him. Jesus says listen up... If you leave what's dear to you and follow me, you'll receive a hundredfold. Many of the first will be last, and the last will be first!
Three thoughts..
1. Wealth... Use your finances for the kingdom of God. Support the church. In the Old Testament, there was the tithe, 10%. This law is no longer in effect.
But believers are still called to financially support the church! 2 Corinthians 9:7... Give what God has placed on your heart to give! If Jesus is to be your Lord, he must be Lord of all, including your (his) money.
The church must also be responsible with the funds entrusted to it.
We must take care of the needs of the church and its people.
Money can be a test of faithfulness. A test of allegiance to the Lord! Everything must belong to him.
2. Heavenly Father... To belong to the Lord is to gain a heavenly Father. We lose a lot of earthly relationships in this life, but belonging to Christ, we'll never lose our heavenly Father! We are adopted as his children. Jesus came to reconcile you to the Father.
Jesus calls us to pray not to Jesus, but to the Father! We will never lose him; he loves us so much he sent his son to die for us! He provides for us. And he wants us to have a relationship with him.
3. Eternal treasure...
Earthly rewards and eternal rewards come to the believer...
Earthly rewards: life can get hard. Trials are real. Jeremiah had it rough. He gave his life to advance the Gospel, but all his fruit looks rotten.
So what is the hundredfold blessing? Your life will be free of hardships? No. You'll be hated and persecuted, and people will turn on you. So what are the blessings? The beatitudes... 9 blessings. Rest for your soul. John 14... Peace-- no trouble, no fear. You may not feel it right now, but through faith, it's available to you! And his gifts are never taken away. Remember who you are in Christ: you belong to God the Father.
3b... Blessings in the age to come, eternal life. Heavenly blessings. Set our minds on things above... We will follow Jesus right into the next world! We will die as he died, but we will rise as he rose, and in heaven we'll be blessed with joy and peace beyond imagination!
We'll have a perfect mind, a perfect body! A perfect feast! In the millennial kingdom, we'll be on thrones ruling nations. Worship alongside angels, archangels... Well look into the eyes of God the Father! Our eternity is the New Jerusalem... Where Christ is our light source! Eternally loved, wanted, never depressed or anxious. This is what the rich young ruler REJECTED. Accept it! It's bigger than money. Will you make the Lord Jesus bigger than everything?
Choose to day whom you'll serve! If it's Christ, be all in!