Lessons Learned from a Fat Camel, Part 2

In Matthew chapter 19 the writer documented the puzzling statement from Jesus he said to his disciples. I tell you the truth it's very hard for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus added. In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God today on Insight for living. Chuck Swindoll helps us understand the context and the implications of this curious assertion, perhaps with tongue-in-cheek Chuck titled today's message lessons learned from a fat ham message of Christ is designed to teaches the importance of gleaning is easy in life as we become adults, even while teenagers to become so self-sustaining that we look upon leaning on anyone or anything else is a mark of weakness, when in fact it is the secret of eternal life, and so as we grow, hopefully not only over Budweiser. We realize the value of leaning and trusting another. Since we are unable in the final analysis with eternal things in view.

To take care of that ourselves as Jesus puts it, that's humanly impossible. So today hopefully that will come through loudly and clearly as we learn about you of leaning on the one who never fails us or our help is from the Lord alone, but with me. Would you teach us that our father teaches that message that lesson that valuable truth that does not come easily or naturally were so seldom told that truth. We seldom see it illustrated in others, but we open your book and there it is, over and over and over again and even those who walk with your son had great difficulty understanding the source of life eternal and how to tap into it. So Lord in the short journey from earth to heaven. If nothing else, teach us that our help comes only from in his name we pray. Everyone said study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll sure to download his searching the Scriptures. Studies by going to Insight world.or/studies. Another message from Chuck titled lessons learned from of that camel ridges do a number on one soul and make us resistant against humility and helpless dependent's until something occurs that we cannot stop like a terminal illness. All of a sudden the wealth loses the significant riches tend to make you selfish and stingy. That's what concerns Jesus is not that you can write a check for whatever you need is that your proud of the fact that you can now the disciples of have something to learn. And the thing I love about Peter is he just says it on so out it comes and let's let's not be too hard on Peter, we often can beat up on and I want you to observe that Jesus does not reprove him or even correct him. He reassures him for Peter's words are not out of line. He says to Jesus look at him for yourself first. 27.

We've given up everything to follow you, you know what is saying, in effect, Jesus. We got a lot of struggles we disciples but one is not being too rich and and you can identify with that.

So what before you criticize Peter for being presumptuous or maybe even a touch selfish way to minute.

It's a great question every student in seminary any seminary needs to be asking that I walked away from a lucrative career and I'm on my way toward ministry. We can anticipate specially if you got a lot of friends who have gone that route and leave. They moved in to the world. You could have occupied but your your now moving into the world of the disciple of Jesus.

So you want to know what's in for us and I think every disciple of Christ and there are number of you listening right now fall in the category. Many of you are following the call.

You could have gone in one direction and you chose another deliberately knowing that there would be sacrifices and never doubted there are so in answering the question.

I love Jesus reply. First he reassures him see that in verse 28.

I reassure you that when the world is made new.

So he races ahead to the days of the kingdom. When the fulfillment of promises made good when there is a millennial era when the reign of Christ occurs, and the Son of Man sits upon the glorious.

His glorious throne, you have been my followers look at it will also sit on 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel will Peter and Andrew and James and John and Matthew and the others of you, take no what is now is marked by sacrifice, difficulty, hardship, misunderstanding, persecution, and for some of you most of you martyrdom, but ultimately you will live and you will rain. And then he goes on and everyone that's us there. We are fellow believers in all the generations everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children, or property goes along with a list name to any other thing because giving up as a part of taking on the call saying yes to Jesus is saying no to other things that are a lot more comfortable in love more self satisfying to resist for my sake, you given those things up, but you will receive 100 times as much in return will inherit eternal life. In fact, he puts the whole value system on its head. In light of today's times or anytime on this earth.

Many who are the greatest. Now will be least important. Then, and those who seem least important. Now, will be the greatest then the great it's so satisfying is so reassuring. In fact, it takes away the blindness that wealth brings. It gives you eyes to see the reality that by saying yes to the call of the Savior. You are now entering a world that will be marked by eternal rewards that will be 100 times beyond what is named here and it puts the greatest in the hold of the category. Those who are now considered. The least are in fact greatest and those who are called great in the eyes of the world are in fact in light of eternity of least importance you get what Jesus is saying. I think you do. There are sacrifices to be made, and I think I'm looking at the faces of some who have made a few of them. In some cases, many of them in my admiration for you knows no bounds. I commend you for taking the high road following the call because when you say yes to Christ and whatever his plan for you may be. You are also saying goodbye to situations that would be very self satisfying and very enjoyable.

Being willing to release your own desires your own safety and security of necessary giving up the luxurious that you might take on a plan for you for his glory goes far beyond what the world could ever offer you may have a child is doing this and you may be of the other frame of reference for you were raised is not much to get in life.

So if you get a break so that you're able to get a lot get a lot and you got a son or a daughter who is moving toward ministry and I want to warn you about holding them back.

Watch your response to that. I love that the old him give of my sons to bear the message glorious give of thy will to speed them on their way for advice over them in prayer, victorious, and although Sprint is Jesus will repay, encourage them stand alongside to limit proud of them. You are I remember how we hundred say during my years at seminary and then beyond how many people at the school sort of dry up for lack of encouragement from home. How often I would hear words from fellow classmates saying things like my parrot still can't believe I'm a student at the school, wondering what in the world is gotten into me or whatever may be the realm of ministry, you may go into Margaret Clarkson put it like this, so send I you to labor unrewarded to serve unlogged unsought unknown to bear review to suffer scorn and scoffing so send I you to toil for me alone, those who serve as our missionaries. Those who are engaged in the work of Christ wherever it may be, and under whatever title it may be take on that mantle and God says there will be great, great reward. How it happens is an amazing story. It's easy for me to set it up in this way and to leave the impression that it that it's all sort of sort of mysterious like a voice in the night that speaks in an and you sit up in bed and suddenly you're on your way to the mission field or are you changing your course of study in and you're going toward seminary to prepare for pastorate or whatever doesn't always work like that.

Sometime it is on the back door delivery. I call it mine was a back door delivery.

Let me take you back to when I was 22 years old.

Are you ready for that. That's a long ways back there I was in the Marine Corps I had gotten the greatest duty that you could be offered a fresh out of my training was to go to San Francisco. Nobody else in my outfit went to San Francisco, they were all going to Twentynine Palms or ultimately there were gonna wind up in Vietnam or some other place.

Mine was San Francisco by one of who I knew, or who I'd paid to get that beauty. It was completely surprising to me. I member writing Cynthia telling her about it. I came home after my training, we packed up gotten our car and drove to San Francisco. She soon got a job we found little apartment in Daly city.

And here I am, of all things truck away in the hardship of San Francisco as a young Marine and she's got a great job and I have gotten mail one day we been there about four months and I pull up in front of her. She works sitting on a hill. Everything in San Francisco is on a hill and I'm facing down double wheels pulled in so I don't run into 28 other cars down below and I decide open letter which came directly from Dwight D Eisenhower thought nice president would write me boy and I suddenly turned upside thinking maybe I'm reading it wrong when I read that I needed on Okinawa and now and I read it for the third or fourth time bear with me here. I'm going somewhere with this.

Tears filled my eyes. I'm full of self-pity. I'm thinking this is not what I plan is not with the recruiting officer told me veterans are laughing right now as I tell you that and simply gets in the car before long I can keep it from her new longer and we don't sleep much that night than a matter of weeks after I finish a little liberty and time away from duty.

I'm on the way to a ship going to take me a thousand miles away from home and family. I don't want to go. I'm bitter. I resented I want nothing to do with this. This is not fair. This is not right what the world can I add to Okinawa didn't already there and only me over there and I am really really mentally angry. Not just mentally I'm angry all over. So just before I take off my final week before were in the ship. I visit my older brother who was a missionary finishing his training here in the states to go to South America for 30+ years. Anyway, he says to me as you notice what is around me that I'm pretty bitter. He said here's a book. It was this book right here. There's a book as I don't want to book. He said you need to read this book because I want to read and he said you really do need to read this book is about up. It's about people who gave their lives in the misery loves. I don't need or what I really said it louder. But I just try to hold back there and telling you would.

He says to me, very, you need to read this book and what I said then I will not share with anyone else in. Hopefully he's forgotten because he talked me into it and I said that in my bag and put the bag above me on the bus and mom on the way to Camp Pendleton and I'm riding along in the rain and I'm thinking well known elves of God hears all turn the light on and I'll open the book which is titled through gates of splendor by Elizabeth Elliott, whoever she is.

And then I start to read about five young men just a little older than I and their wives who are committed to reaching the local Indians in Ecuador. In the process. All five are martyred is a picture of five wives.

When they first hear the news that their husbands or did picture taken right there. There's Marilyn Macauley, wife of Ed now did Barbara Jo Darian, wife of Roger you Darian now did Marge St. wife of Nate St. the pilot now did Ali Fleming, wife of Pete Fleming now did Elizabeth Elliott, wife of Jim now did I couldn't put the book down. I read it through the rest of the bus ride. I got to the base already sitting in the in the head in the bathroom and only place where the lights were on all night and I read again on the ship and around again when I was overseas and I thought, could it be that I'm in this book somehow maybe my brother had foresight certainly didn't have an hero was struggling but now beginning to think maybe it isn't about me.

Maybe it isn't about Cynthia and me always bring together physically and always in the comfort of what a nice job would provide. Maybe it's well cut to the chase while I'm there, and Okinawa. I realize I'm on call serve Christ of all things to you. That's not a surprise to me. It was a total absolute complete hundred 80° change hundred 90° and my wife would always want to marry a preacher was thrilled when I wrote her and said you'll never believe what the Lord is doing in my heart on Okinawa was one man who was committed to building in the lives of young men and Bob Newkirk built into my life and I said to Bob one day is with the navigators. I'm thinking maybe the Lord might be calling me and into ministry. He goes you think and I go yeah I've I just wonder maybe he goes absolutely, this is fabulous. We think Cynthia will say is a well she will dance a jig. I love to be there to watch her dancing a jig, but I'll just send her a note and I think she danced to Judy. Long story short hang out of this the end of this is nominated through the beginning years later an American lady named Jubal went to the very place where large St. and Elizabeth Elliott were had returned to to help evangelize the tribe by the way they did that whole tribes now evangelize. She was there.

That lady later married an American publisher in Beijing China. Having visited Marge in the loop. She continues the mission of that vision, whereby the end of this year Insight for living ministries will be delivering the Mandarin translation of the message of Christ to all Chinese speakers anywhere on the planet.

One guy one vote, one mentor, one call doors opening through our insightfully the ministry would you look hundreds hundred times hundreds of benefits come in the thousands as those who have never heard the name of Christ will trust in him. A good is that.

And to think I was ready to take a job in a Crummy Little Pl. in Houston, TX where I was going to make $2.43 an hour and have this big payback that knew what happened. What happened was I got to world it even care what I was paid because I realize this is a calling in God's work is it who is involved and I have the privilege of going and doing were you sending me to go and here I am at this age 60 years later probably loving it.

Now more than ever the stories like that go on and on. Bow your heads with me, will you please, if you will somehow guard yourself from greed. If you will allow the message that you have heard to come through in such a way that the stuff of life will no longer turn your head and you will be willing to say whatever Lord wherever whenever however, my answer is yes, you will discover the most unbelievable series of events that you couldn't have imagined had you try to dream up. Remember the greatest now will be least important than those who seem least important.

Now we the greatest then but if you don't learn the lessons from account will all be theory and will never make any difference. The Lord is leading you today to trust in his son as the greatest decision you can make. Make sure you're taking care of that.

Once you have trusted in him. Remember the word yes go there often because he will then have a plan for you that will just boggle your mind. Thank you father for sending us to where you want us to go and thank you for turning us away from things that we've always want to hang onto so that we might be able to grasp what's valuable and passed by what is expensive, shows all the truth.

This is we live our lives next door to the $5 billion. My in the name of Jesus every everybody said amen book written by Elizabeth Elliott would inspire a 22-year-old Marine to see the world in an Entirely Different Way, God spoke through Elizabeth and her compassion for lost souls and people from every nation motivates Chuck Swindoll. To this day you're listening to Insight for living. Chuck titled this study in Matthew chapter 19 lessons learned from a fat camel and to learn more about Chuck Swindoll in this ministry. Please visit us online@insightworld.org maybe today's teaching has inspired you to dig deeper into the book of Matthew on your own.

Let me put you to the searching the Scriptures. Studies that are easily accessed online if I feel free to print out the PDF and use the notes in your personal quiet times and pastors and leaders can use these notes for teaching a class or preparing a message.

One of your fellow listeners left a comment that said, thank you for letting us download the lesson on our computers so that when I study I have great tools. I've been listening for three years and I have fallen in love with God's word was to access the searching the Scriptures guide for Chuck's daily teaching go to Insight.org/studies as we conclude today's program I'm inviting you to become one of our monthly companion. The steady financial support of our monthly companions has accelerated our pursuit of an audacious God sized dream that is to bring insight for living to 195 countries of the world. We refer to this mission is vision 195. Perhaps today's the day you will become a monthly companion is a personal way to participate in vision 195 to sign up right now, listening in the US dial 1-800-772-8880 also go to insight or/monthly companion or to give a one time donation today follows listening in the US again.

Our phone number 1-800-772-8888. Join us again Tuesday when Chuck Swindoll delivers a terrifying message on the justice of God right here on Insight for living. The preceding message lessons learned from a fat camel was copyrighted in 2017 and 2021 and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles Moore Swindoll. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited