Dayday & I went on a CPW Retreat last Sunday to Wednesday and this is one of the text that encouraged me. I’m sure it would encourage you also so I want to share it w/ you esp. as we prepare for the Kick-Off next week.
17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”Pray for God’s message: received openly that will stir our hearts to be more like Jesus our Savior. By the way Kick Off means we’re just starting this year with a big promotion for our church at the start of the year, we had a soft launching last year, this time we are calling our friends & partners to come & see our church so that they can support us, pray for us, endorse us to their contacts, This month is our 1st year anniversary, we are also telling our neighborhood, Folsom, EDH, O, RC, Granite bay to Placerville & Roseville that we are here. A Church they can consider. I believe we are ready, learned a lot from last year, and still learning and willing to trust God more for this year.
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’”20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away very sad, for he had many possessions.23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God.25 In fact, 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!”26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”28 Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News,30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.31 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest then
Going back to Mark 10, we’ll relate this to our circumstance right now.
There are 4 main Characters here: God, Rich man, Peter & the Disciples.
Mark 10: 17-31 Our Choice
Mark 10: 17-31 Our Choice
17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”What was the rich man asking?- eternal life? What is eternal life? Good Question?
I was asking that when I was still a boy but not sure of the answer. I got an idea just like this person. I believe this is the question of a lot of people, maybe not in their younger years but in their older age, when they feel their youthful strength is waning &/or death is knocking at the door…they’ll think of this. Actually billions of dollars are spent in extending our lives, to discover the solution to perpetual youthfulness…
How about you? Do you know the answer? Is this important to you now? Are you interested w/ that question? How important is that to you?
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good.Why do you think Jesus ask this? To show His goodness is way way way different from us. How do you define being “good”? He is not an ordinary good person but the Holy, Righteous, w/o sin God. Our goodness is nothing compared to God
19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder[#6]. You must not commit adultery [#7]. You must not steal [#8]. You must not testify falsely[#9]. You must not cheat anyone [#10]?. Honor your father and mother[#5].’”
- Where can we find these commandments? (Bible) Where else? Formerly in schools, court houses, Homes? Office? Church
- Why do you think institutions are removing them? Can somebody be behind it?
- Do you think it would be helpful to you & me to be always reminded of the 10 commandments? & for others.
How do we find (discover/learn) these again? Beliefs nowadays- you can believe in everything…no absolutes, no compass.
20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”Have we? Observation: Obeyed the horizontal dimension of the law: Loving Others:
The Rich Man left out Commandments #1 "You shall have no other gods", #2 "You shall not make for yourself an idol" #3 "shall not misuse the name of the Lord" & #4 "rememberto keep the Sabbath Day holy".
#1-4 are the Vertical component with of the commandments which talk about loving God w/ all our heart, soul & strength.
21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”2 things that the Lord wants him to do, what were they?
- Possessions/ Properties/ Riches/ Money : Sell, & Give- What’s the application of this for us?
- Come, follow me-What’s the application for this for us?
22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away very sad, for he had many possessions.Why was this man sad? Opposite of the world…should be happy? The choice…, his possessions own him. Money can buy a lot of things, but there are some things it cannot buy.
- Money can buy a bed, but not sleep.
- Money can buy books, but not brains .
- Money can food, but not an appetite.
- Money can buy a house, but not a home.
- Money can buy medicine, but not health.
- Money can buy amusement, but not happiness.
- Money can buy finery, but not beauty.
- Money can buy a crucifix, but not a Savior.
Even if we don’t say it, it is shown or will be noticed.
23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”Why do you think it is hard? Observe the church, who are in it? A few rich, mostly middle class & poor. Rich don’t need god….that’s what they think. They are self sufficient.
24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God.25 In fact, 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!”
26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.Everything is possible with God.”
27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God.
What do you mean “humanly speaking, it is impossible?” John 3:16: Story of Christmas & Easter. We can be saved through faith in Jesus not by our works.
28 Then Peter began to speak up. “We’ve given up everything to follow you,” he said.Does the Lord knows what we’ve given up to follow him? You bet he is taking note. HE knows our bank account balance in heaven. God sees, records and rewards every sacrifice that is made for Him.
29 “Yes,” Jesus replied, “and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News,
A What 3 things the Lord knows that his disciples have given up? They had given up homes, families, money or businesses, etc, all because Jesus had asked them too.
- Home: Giving up the comfort of home sweet home even if the weather is Cold or Hot or Raining, Opening your homes even if some responsibilities goes along with it like cleaning your house, washing the dishes, preparing food
- Relationship: spouse, children, parents (mother & father), vacationing w/ your bro. & sis. Giving up times spend with love ones just to be able to attend & participate in church activities.
- Field: On top of our busy job, we think of our church’s responsibilities: invite people, prepare food, practice, lead
B For whose sake? Jesus & the Good news.
30 will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property—along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.
They will receive now (rewards), not later or heaven
- Receive a 100x, did it say 100% or“an hundredfold”, He simply means that it is more than you can imagine. Hyperbole…to get the point. Give it back to you….things you sacrifice He is not saying that if you give a dollar, He will give you one hundred in return. He might, but He might give you a thousand!
- Houses, Relationships, Properties. Now, God doesn’t always pay off on Fridays, but He always pays off and He always pays well. If you serve Jesus, He will see to it that you are blessed beyond your wildest dreams! In this present age… They left one house; God knows how to open a hundred doors. They left one family; God has made them a part of a family that encompasses the world. They may have become separated from and earthly brother, but God has given them more brothers in Christ than they can imagine. Field: God supplying all our needs. Those who willingly turn loose of this world to follow Jesus will discover that God has far more in store for them than the sum total of all they left behind.
- Persecutions: He also lets us know that His “hundredfold” will come to us with “persecutions”. There will be a price to pay for following Jesus. Example: Tim tebow- making a stand for Christ. Widely criticized. Not everyone will be excited to see you serving the Lord. Difficulties and trials will come because of your commitment, but God will bless you in spite of any trials you might face along the way.
- World to come: that person will have Eternal life, that is the ultimate…
30b He tells us that those who turn loose of this world to follow Him will be blessed in this life, but they will also receive eternal life.
If you have Him, you are saved and you get to go to Heaven. If you do not have Him, you are lost and you will go to Hell.
31 But many who are the greatest now will be least important then, and those who seem least important now will be the greatest thenThose who are first in this world’s accounting will finish last in the race to Heaven. We see celebrities and wealthy people and there is a tendency for us to think that they are somebody’s. In God’s eyes, it is not riches that make a person somebody special; it is faith in Jesus. There are billionaires and millionaires who do not even make a blip on God’s radar. But, there are poor, faithful saints of God who have His attention all the time.
One day, when we get home, all those who reached for first place here will not even cross the finish line there. At the same time, those who faithfully lived for the Lord here will be rewarded there. A bumper sticker that said, “He that has the most toys wins!” That is not even close to the truth!
The truth: He that has Jesus wins and he that does not have Jesus has nothing, even though he may own everything!
Action Point: Following Jesus- Our Choice, a sacrifice worth it.
Conclusion: So, what can we take away from this message? There are several things to think about as we close.
What will we give up to follow Jesus, to be part
of his church?
Has our faith ever cost us anything? Do we have any reason to expect that God would
reward us for our service? I believe this year, we are ready to launch out more, to trust God more in telling our neighbors of the love of Jesus & how it can help their present situation & for eternity. Marriage. Parenting. Jobs. Sinful habits. Addictions, or just simply live a better life…
Having a church involves a lot of work & sacrifice: Just like a football team in the NFL- work hard, practice, be in good health, be disciplined- diet, sleep, practice, Emotionally: positive, encourage one another, teamwork-work in unison,
For us: The church: Hard work- Practice (P&W), Preparation, Study, other sp.discipline- pray, devotion, attend meetings, Care Group etc.What will we give up to follow Jesus & the good news? Maybe more…Talk to your spouse (or w/ children) about this
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