Betting on the Wrong World - 28

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If you invest everything in the world to come. Moving toward your reward. Which would you rather do leave your reward or look forward to it. You have the choice and little learn how to make the choice on the weekend edition of the great challenges of being a follower of Jesus Christ in the world in which we live is the very fact that we are citizens of two different worlds all at the same time. Unfortunately, the background music is sometimes the message of this world vision on settlements about that for all of us. If were honest sometimes we wish we could just shut this world off and let the other world be our focus, but we cannot be so heavenly minded with no earthly good. So here we are followers of Christ, we have to live out our faith in the world that's antagonistic to what we believe and we have to believe in a world that we have yet to see and everyone of us every day makes decisions about which world will dominate and dictate our priorities below Jesus in this passage that we have in front of us, helps us understand uniqueness of each world. Jesus message is simple and it's clear. In fact he repeats the same idea three different times. How hard is it for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God.

How hard is it for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God and then the blockbuster of all three. It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God more literal translation of verse 23 would read like this. How hard is it for those who have things to the kingdom of God. How hard is it for those who have stuff to enter the kingdom of God.

The wealth of this world are things if were not careful can be a barrier to following Christ.

To give you some reasons why the wealth of this world doesn't work in the long run.

First of all the wealth of this world is inadequate to all outward appearances, the rich young ruler lack for anything. I mean he had money. He was a ruler he had breast-feeds he was young he was in the bright glow of his youth. We believe in his early 30s. He was respected.

He was looked up to, but he was empty, as you know one day he came running after Jesus saying, good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life. In other words, how can I fix this hole in my heart he had everything, but he had nothing and he didn't have what he needed because he couldn't afford it.

You say wait a minute I thought you told me he was rich as he wants but he had no idea what he needed and how much it costs you see, the reason he couldn't afford it.

And the reason it was inadequate was because God is so rich and if you stood before heavens door and said I want to know what I can do to have eternal life. Almighty God would've said you can afford it because what you want in order to have eternal life is the most expensive commodity that's ever been in existence in the history of the world.

My own son, the Lord Jesus Christ, you can afford. He's too expensive.

Let's consider once more the example of the rich young ruler he had it all, but he didn't have enough the wealth of this world is not only inadequate, but the wealth of this world is insecure. Jesus put it this way in a passage that we find in Matthew chapter 6, he said, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on this earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

You know that Jesus is just speaking the truth using the vernacular of his day on. We have logs today, but we pretty much got a handle on that.

We have rust. That's probably not a major problem, but how many of you know if you have stuff. It's always broken or it's always been updated by something better in the you guys got you know what I'm talking about. Jesus is the problem with the wealth of this world is you can't count on it. It's not secure it's here today and gone tomorrow. The wealth of this world is inadequate. It's insecure. Here's the most difficult one.

It's intoxicating. The wealth of this world is intoxicating. Here's what John Calvin said about that old John Calvin long time ago listen to his words because of the depravity of the human mind. It is almost impossible for those who have great abundance to avoid being intoxicated by money is intoxicating money is always promising more that it can deliver money. As always, if you just have a little bit more. You'll be happy. And then when you get a little bit more you find out that you're not happy so you need a little bit more, so it's almost like being addicted isn't addicted to more and the question is how much is enough will. How much is enough is a little bit more than I have sold the intoxication of wealth continually is a struggle not only for people who are following Jesus, but for all of us who are remember the story of Jesus told about sowing the seed and he said some of the falls on different kinds of ground and he said sometimes the seed falls on ground were thorns grow up and choke it so that the word of God is choked out and in the Gospels were given some of those thorns.

In fact, in Mark chapter 4 verse 19 here are some of the thorns listen to these thorns that the Bible says if you're a follower of Christ can choke the word out in your life. The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things. Enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Those things fit into the round of materialism don't day the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, that's the intoxication of riches and desires for other things. That's why it's so important for us as believers to keep our head on straight when it comes to this matter and has the greatest possibility of getting its clutches around us and drawing us away from what really matters so it's hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God because he has to give so much up and here's the irony of it all. We all have to give it all up anyway and then you can give it up now for eternity. Or you can hang onto it now and you'll end up with what everybody else will give it up never seen a hearse with U-Haul and never have the wealth of this world is inadequate. It's insecure. It's intoxicating and it's insufficient. The Bible says it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God and what could that mean well that's caused a great deal of imagination on the part of expositors over the years. Everybody wants to find a way to explain that away so it doesn't mean what it sounds like it means me tell you what it means what it means is it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God what is Jesus saying he's saying it's impossible.

It's like putting an elephant for buttonhole. You can't do it. Jesus uses this as a way of saying to his disciples, don't try. It's foolish. It's useless. It can't work. It'll never happen. You cannot go to heaven if you're trusting in your riches to get you there will be like trying to put a camera for the eye of a needle. It's impossible right in the middle of Jesus interchange with his disciples. He gives us a clue as to how we can enter the kingdom of God. The answer is wrapped up in one word, it's the word children notice verse 24 children, how hard is it for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God is the wealthy are at a disadvantage when it comes to salvation.

The childlike are at an advantage. In fact, in the Bible, the opposite of disadvantage is not advantage the opposite of this advantage is childlikeness and Jesus is the way you get to heaven is not because of all the stuff you have the utility that you have to realize you haven't got anything that God needs or wants that all you have his open hands to receive the blessing that he wants to give you. You know that it takes a great deal of grace for somebody to receive a gift if you ever noticed that a lot of people are so proud that they will then receive a gift that will receive a gift from you or from God. They want to make sure that they and the Bible says if you want to go to heaven that like it's is impossible to do that is to put a camel through the eye of a needle in a good happen.

It can happen. It's impossible.

So the wealth of this world one has some advantages and none of us wants to make a case for being as poor as we can be the wealth of this world's going to leave you right left the rich young ruler, realizing there's something more that you need but you don't have. If all you have is trust in riches.

So now Jesus is going talk about the world to come.

Beginning in verse 26 the wealth of the world to come. He begins by discussing the difficulty of salvation, and it says in verse 26 they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, who then can be saved and Jesus looked at them and said with men it is impossible underline that in your thinking with men.

Salvation is impossible. It's not difficult. It's not hard it's him possible and the disciples are so astonished by Jesus words because they've grown up in the Jewish culture where wealth and success were symbols of unqualified blessing from God. If you grew up in the Jewish community where they grew up you saw person who was wealthy and had lots of stuff large families not of product you would say that person must be really blessed of God. That's where they thought.

And so the disciples are thinking really for the people that have all this wealth and always riches if they can go to heaven if they can't make it, who can and Jesus said, let me just give you the answer to that. Nobody. It's impossible.

It's impossible to go to heaven and these words from Jesus to shattered the ideas in the images of the disciples and the think you see the rich young ruler seemed like the perfect candidate for heaven but Christianity makes all men equal. Nobody starts in Christianity, with the balance in their account.

Everybody stands at the foot of the cross where it's level and were all bankrupt when it comes to salvation.

So salvation is not just difficult, it's not just hard, it's impossible for the richest person you know and for the poorest person you know it's impossible for the best person you know and the worst person you know and it's impossible for you if you want to climb up through your accomplishments and your treasure and you will be astonished by that. Like the disciples were.

I've met many people who happen you mean there's not anything I can do no all you can do is become like a child, and humble yourself and say Lord God, I renounce all my attempts to get to heaven.

In my own strength and I believe you're absolutely right when you say, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by we must be saved.

The name of Jesus. So now we look at the definition of salvation in verse 27 Jesus looked at them and he said, with men it is impossible for with God all things are possible. Luke 137 says with God nothing will be impossible and over and over again in the Scripture we find out that God can do what no one else can do that wouldn't be true. None of us could be saved. We've already learned that we don't have what it takes to become acceptable to God because God demands perfection and we can achieve it. God doesn't grade on the curve you have to get 100% on his goodness test one in the world has ever done that except for Jesus Christ and when Jesus Christ came into this world, he came into this world to take our test for us and he went to the cross and he passed it with flying colors and he offers to us a passing grade that we don't deserve, but he gives it to us by grace. That's when you go to heaven go to heaven in your own strength you go to heaven and the power of Jesus Christ plainly declares that it is not possible for you to keep the way of salvation or to get to heaven in your own strength.

The only way you can get to heaven is through God.

Now write about this place in the story Peter is going to get involved always love it when peters get involved because it's very interesting.

You never know what Peter is going to come up with in Peter's been standing there taking all this in and listen to this and he's been watching the thing with the rich young ruler, and he heard Jesus say to the rich and really I want you to go and sell everything you have and take up your cross and follow me and Peter latched onto that and he says here. To him seem followed. You did it. What you said we have to do.

We've done that and Peter really have done it. He and his friends were walking by the sea. One day Andrew his brother, Jesus said, follow me and I'll make you fishers of men and they left their nets and follow Jesus and had been following them ever since. All of the things that Jesus experienced the ups and downs of being a disciple they had followed Jesus through Israel for lives of confusion and difficulty in disgrace. Given all of them the opportunity to follow him and they were following him. Now Peter wants to be assured that this sacrifice is going to pay off the actually asks in one of the accounts in order to get for doing this we been following you, so that we get for you to find out later in the same text is the story with a student argued over who was going to be first in the kingdom who get to sit next to Jesus and you know these people are just as confused about some of the stuff is we are the Peterson Lord I'm following you ever since you called me about it. So what do I get I love Jesus answer listener is Mark 1029 to 31 so Jesus answered and said assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my sake and the Gospels, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life. Jesus is you want to know about the dividends of salvation. Here they are whatever you leave I will restart to you 100 fold. How many of you got any investments that are doing that for you right. Jesus is when you invest in my kingdom the rewards are incredible looking what he divided it up into two sections. He said some of the rewards you get in following Christ.

You get in this present world. Sometimes I hear preachers talk about how becoming a Christian is like devastating for all time here on this earth. You die go to heaven.

It's fun and a Christian from years and if I could trade my life as a Christian for any life I've read about or heard about. I wouldn't even consider it for one, it my life as a Christian's most exciting life you could ever want. Jesus is promising his disciples that they will follow him he will reward them, not pie-in-the-sky by-and-by but in the here and now my watch what he says when you become a Christian. I will give you brothers and sisters, mothers, houses and riches.

What is he saying everyone who hears a Christian knows what I'm talking about when you became a Christian, you got home at your new friends join the new family and I've had people say to me I am much closer to my Christian friends I've ever been with anybody in my family. I tell my Christian friends think I would never tell my family. My family is really my Christian family knows family works we go all over the country and around the world and where we go.

We have a family party because the family members in the family of God are everywhere. Your life are some of the brothers and sisters that God gave me when I became a Christian and join his family there. My brothers and sisters and I want to tell you something, there's more than 100. There's hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of when you become a Christian, you get a whole new life whole new perspective on life. That's what the church is all about is we love God we believe God. We love each other we love being together were just so energized because were committed to like precious faith.

When you put your resources in God's kingdom your life, your energy, you treasure your time, your talent, your influence, you don't have to wait until you die to be rewarded. The rewards begin immediately. Now Jesus is very honest. He says you get all this with persecutions. Can I get a witness is that in there. So you just a little honesty here will reality all of these things which you don't get out persecutions because if you live godly in Christ Jesus you to suffer persecution.

More about that in this generation than we've ever learned in the past. That's what we get. Now Jesus says in the age to come eternal life, and while Mark concentrates on the things we get on this earth. Matthew talks about the future dividend and Matthew we read that Jesus's got something for us not only in this life, but in the life to come. He tells us that when we put our trust in him, he will bless us now, but there's even more and greater blessing when we get to heaven.

What does that mean well here's the book of Matthew tells us that God has some special things for us that are awaiting us. Matthew 1928, 30, so Jesus said to them, assuredly, I say to you that in the regeneration when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory you have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel, and everyone was left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for my sake, shall receive a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. There's Jesus future take on this nice talking to his disciples about sitting on the thrones, but he's talking to us about being rewarded in the future for our faithfulness down here nieces when we get to heaven if we walk with the Lord down here and we been faithful to him reward us with responsibility in the kingdom.

Did you know that if you're Christian you have a position in the kingdom of God. So this is not just about here.

Now when you get to heaven it gets even better and wanted a hundredfold.

I think that's what Paul was talking about when he wrote in verse 15 that if in this life only we have hope. We are of most men miserable launches have hope in this life we have hope in the life to come. The dividends of salvation, but then there's one last thing, and that's the dilemma of salvation includes the end of the text. Jesus is something that just looks like an add-on, but it's something we need to talk about verse 31, he says, but many who are first will be last in the last first for the first will be last. All the people that these Jewish brothers thought were prominent and had all the good stuff they would've normally thought to be first or the last humble average person who just trust Jesus like a child in the first. Someone has said that Jesus through the whole human parade into reverse. Generals will ride white horses behind marching soldiers. Pastors will bring up the end of the processional behind the lowliest of their parishioners and the wealthy in their purple robes will follow ragged peasants into the kingdom of God first will be last in the last first. We are going to have so many surprises when we get to heaven.

I mean our first several hundred years.

There were just going to be shaking our heads can't believe so. The take away from this for all of us is first of all, if you're not a Christian and you thought somehow you could do enough good stuff to become a Christian and I need to tell you if this is your trust. If your trust is and riches.

Jesus says it's hard for a person who trusts in riches to go to heaven. How hard is it. It's like putting a camel through the eye of a needle. In other words, is not just hard, it's impossible. If your trust is in your riches, the Bible being your trust in order to become a Christian, you have to transfer your trust from what it's in right now and put your trust in Jesus Christ have to make a mental decision to transfer your trust from your riches and put them in Jesus Christ as your prayer would sound something like this.

Dear Lord, I've been trusting the wrong things I've been thinking wrong thoughts I've been thinking that somehow I could be good enough to get to your heaven and I renounce that because I now know that's not true.

And so I'm coming to you was a little child with my hands open to receive the gift of eternal life, which you alone have promised to give me if I would just ask. So I'm asking you like a child, will you give me the gift of eternal life.

Now you just transferred your trust and put it in the hands of God. That's how you get to have you make the decision to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. And for those of us who are Christians the issue for us is to make sure we don't get intoxicated and bamboozled by the things of this world it is so hard to be proactive about that one of the things I believe about tithing and giving to your church is one of the things that helps you keep the right perspective on things in life. I will leave you with the story that will speak reams of paper to what I have said today.

Annie Dillard tells of the ill-fated Franklin expedition to the Arctic in 1845. That Odyssey was a Turning Point in Arctic exploration because of its well-publicized failure. Listen this.

The preparations that were made were more suitable for the Royal Navy officers club in England and for the frigid Arctic explorers made room on their ships for a large library and handle organ China place settings cut glass wine goblets and sterling silver flatware instead of additional coal further steam engines, the ornate silver flatware was engraved with the individual officers initials and their family crests search parties found the clumps of bodies of men who had set off to walk for help when their supplies ran out.

One skeleton where his fine blue cloth uniform, edged with silk braid. Hardly a match for the bitter Arctic cold weather apparently chose to carry with him a setting of sterling silver flatware what he thought we was going to do with sterling silver tableware and search for help and food.

Nobody could figure out. We can hardly imagine that any of these sailor adventures would have said is near death on a frozen landscape. I wish I had brought more silver place settings hanging on to things that are ultimately useless will look no more foolish to us than it did to them. Lotta people can envision life without the things they cherish. That's why the rich young ruler walked away sad. He didn't get it. He didn't understand that he was holding on to things he could not keep, and missing out on the things that God wanted him to have for eternity and I want to ask you today as Christians to ponder that all of us look around in a world full of need norms being told to ask God to make us poor so we don't have anything but how we distribute our finances. What we do with our resources is really a testimony to whether or not we have these worlds in perspective, this is not God wants us to enjoy everything he's given us every good thing that's wonderful, but there is this tension that comes in these passages like the one we studied today that makes us all stop and ask and pray Lord God, give me wisdom to use what you've entrusted to me for the right world.

And then we make that decision and go forward and watch the adventure of life unfold before us. So my question is we close our Bibles today is this what world are you betting on what world are you betting we hope you enjoyed today's Turning Point, weekend edition with Dr. David Jeremiah. You can hear this and other programs and get more information about administrative by downloading the freight Turning Point in my life is not final, tablet, or by visiting our website at David Jeremiah.old/radio that's Jeremiah.I will G/radio.

You can also view Turning Point television channel 72 on Sunday mornings and night and I CCTV Sundays at 6:30 AM and Friday afternoons at one. We want you to join us again next weekend is Dr. David Jeremiah. She is another powerful message from God's word right here Turning Point, weekend edition taking time to listen to all