Today on the Verdict with Pastor John Monroe. There's a dialogue, and now the direct answer is given by our Lord Jesus Christ. How will this rich young ruler respond? This young ruler, for all of his observance of the commandments, for all of his impressive credentials, when it comes right down to it, he chooses the wealth of earth rather than treasure in heaven. Welcome to the Verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe, Senior Pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
For those who desire a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we must understand that this relationship is not one of compromise; it's one of trust and surrender. Today, we're reconsidering what it means to live for Christ as we continue a lesson in the Gospel of Matthew. To get us started, here's Pastor John Monroe. Last time we began to look at a dramatic encounter where a rich young man asks Jesus a question regarding eternal life. The drama is intense as we listen into the dialogue between this young man and the Lord Jesus.
The young man is wavering on the very brink of eternity. How will he respond? Will he enter the kingdom of God? And this question comes to us today, in all of its power and urgency. Will you enter the kingdom of God?
We saw that eternal life is to be received as a gift of God's grace. Listen now, as the Lord Jesus talks about entering the kingdom of God. Make sure you listen to the end, as I give three final lessons. Matthew 19 verse 16, and behold, a man came up to him saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" 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." 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, honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go." Sell what you possess and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Does this man love his riches, his lifestyle, his influence?
More than he loves God. Here is the challenge given by Jesus. Are you ready for it? You're standing before Jesus. Here it is, verse 21.
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. Now Jesus is not saying that the way to achieve eternal life is by selling everything you have and giving it to the poor. Verse twenty-three. And Jesus said to the disciples, "Truly I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven." Again, I tell you, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" Some of us are asking the same question, right? I've already told you that all of you are rich compared with. Billions of people in this world today, who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible." And Jesus uses humor to make the make the important point.
Verse twenty four: It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus is using humor. He's using hyperbole. He's using something which is utterly ridiculous. There is absolutely no way for a camel to go through the eye of the needle.
Ah, but did you notice? Verse twenty six. The disciples say, "Well, who can be saved?" They ask yourself. Jesus looked at them and said, "With man, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible." If it's true that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, the disciples are saying, "Who then can be saved?" An utter impossibility.
Yes, and that's the point. That's the point. Impossible from our perspective, from a human perspective. But we're talking about entering the kingdom of heaven, and in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, God does the impossible. He takes wretched, proud.
Covets sinners like you and me, and in His grace, He saves us. That with God, all things are possible. All of our money, all of our efforts, all of our religion, all of our keeping of the commandments cannot inherit the kingdom of God. You will never, ever enter the kingdom of heaven depending on your religious heritage. Depending on your membership of a church, you will never enter the kingdom of God through trying to keep the commandments.
You'll never enter the kingdom of God by saying, "Well, I was baptized, I took communion, I come from a wonderful heritage." I let me let me tell you about myself. No, you'll never make it. What's Jesus looking for? What didn't he see in the rich young ruler? Repentance, humility.
Not compromise. Not making a deal with God. Not saying, "Well, God, you've blessed me, so I'll do this. I'll give this, and and that will make me acceptable.
So I'll get into the kingdom of heaven." No, no compromise. No making deals. Total surrender. Salvation is entirely a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. We must be born again.
That which is of the flesh is flesh. That which is of the Spirit is spirit. This is entirely spiritual. I'm saying you must have a spiritual experience with God, the life of God in your soul, born from above, not going through some religious ritual. Not trying to keep some commandments, not trying to clean up your act, but coming to God in repentance, in humility, and and saying, "I've messed up.
I'm totally spiritually bankrupt. Have mercy upon me. I'm the sinner. I don't deserve this." Yes, it's easier for a. Camel to get through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.
And whatever it is, we by ourselves cannot enter the kingdom of God. No, what do I need? I need a saviour. I need cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. I don't need some religious makeover.
I need a supernatural new birth, a fresh start. I cry out to Christ for His mercy and His grace. Authentic followers of Jesus must surrender their pride, their achievements, their religious heritage, their resources, and say, "I surrender all." We sometimes say that, don't we? "I surrender all." Do you remember what Jesus says in the Beatitudes, Matthew six, verse twenty-four? No one can serve two masters.
Oh, we try to do that. There's a story told by Luke of the Pharisees who come to Jesus and they they kind of deride them because they were trusting in riches. And yes, you you can negotiate with God. No, you cannot. You cannot serve money and serve God.
You can't serve your sport and your hobby or your family and make that your idol. And at the same time, serve God. No one can have two masters. Make up your mind. Surrender, not compromise, is the way to enter the kingdom of heaven.
Again, become like a helpless, humble child.
Now, finally, in verses twenty-seven through thirty, very quickly, in the kingdom of God, there is trust, not worry. You know, if you're following Jesus Christ and keeping close to Jesus Christ, you know what's going to be eliminated. I don't mean entirely; we're we're we're still in the body, but your stress level and your worry level is going to be greatly reduced. The closer you are to Jesus, the more you look on Him. In the kingdom of God, there is trust, not worry.
Verse twenty-seven. Then Peter said in reply, "See, we've left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" Don't you like Peter? He says what we what we're kind of thinking, doesn't he? Maybe a little inappropriate times, but there we are.
Jesus said to him, "Truly, I say to you, in the new world." I underlined that in my Bible. 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. One of the reasons why we love Israel, isn't it? 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. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
In the kingdom of God, there's just no worry. Those who trust God are never disappointed. Peter reminds Jesus that his disciples, "Well, we've left everything and we followed you." They had heard the call of Jesus and followed him. What a contrast with the young man who had kept everything and gone his own way. Gone in the opposite direction, rather than following Jesus.
You see, following Jesus means a dynamic relationship of trust. This is what means to follow Jesus. It's a life of denying self. It's a life where you are saying, "I'm going to follow Jesus, whatever the cost, wherever you may lead." You see, I don't know if I'm ready for that. I remember talking to a businessman.
And saying this to him, and he said, "He said, John, I don't know if I could, I could do that. You mean I've got to follow Jesus every day, obey him, follow him? I like to be in charge. Yes, we do it our way." We like to be the driver's seat. We like to control the remote button, as it were.
We like to think we're in control of our lives, and Jesus is saying, "No, I want you to surrender that. I want you to totally trust me." And Jesus makes this tremendous promise that those who leave their hand, their homes, and lands for His sake will receive a hundredfold, living by faith. Trusting God to provide, trusting God that each day He's going to give me the wisdom and the strength and the grace for every situation, and days when it seems that we can hardly put one foot after another. God in His grace, as I keep my eyes on Jesus, will give me the strength, will give me the help, will give me the wisdom that I need. If I respond to His call, come, follow me.
And when you follow Jesus, many here can testify to this. I certainly can. When you follow Jesus. The more you follow him, the better it becomes. I've said before, the devil gives you his best first, and when you bite on that, it becomes sourer and sourer until you find your life is a mess.
Following Jesus is different. There's a song that says, "The longer I serve him, the sweeter it grows." That's true. That's true. It's a good marriage, isn't it? Your love for that person gets deeper and deeper, and as you follow Jesus Christ, it gets better and better.
There are incredible blessings now. You put your head on the pillow and know it's well with your soul. That's worth a billion dollars, isn't it? It's well with my soul. I belong to Christ.
He's holding me. And says Jesus, there is this blessing in the new world. Where in the old world is going to be remade? Is going to be burned up. I am going to have an incredible future in the new world, and I will inherit eternal life.
The rich young ruler held on to his possessions. He tried to gain the world, and in so doing, he lost his soul. He gained nothing. He lost everything, and if you do not follow Jesus, you will lose your lose everything. Oh, you may be successful in terms of the world, but you will be eternally lost.
Often, those who seem at the top are in fact last. For many who are first will be last, and the last first. Jesus takes the values of this world and turns them upside down. Can I say to you, some of you are worriers, aren't you? You got some thing in the future that's bothering you.
You're worried about your business. You're worried about your health. You're worried about your family. You're worried what's going to happen in a few years. You may think you're going to run out of money or something, and you're worried.
Can I say to you, brother, sister? This is not a cliche. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Listen to Him. Read His Word.
Ask for His help. Trust Him, and there's no need to worry about your future. He loves you. He loved that rich young ruler. He loves you more.
Who are in His family? Everything in the hands of the Savior. That's one of the reasons I wrote that that little book, Eternal Security. I'm held by my Savior, and He will never let me go. And you, who are parents, you take care of your children.
Do not think that your heavenly Father is a better Father than you are, and He will certainly care for you. And Jesus calls us to trust Him like little children, and not to worry about tomorrow. Trust Him today, and there is no worry. Have you received the blessings of the kingdom of God? Are you in the kingdom of God?
Three quick lessons as we conclude to summarize this. I want you to bow to His Lordship first. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. How many times have I said that during the series? I'm saying it again.
Nothing and no one must compete with following Jesus. It's amazing the excuses we have even for coming not to worship on the Lord's day. What do you find yourself sometimes on the Lord's day, allowing your sport? Your work, your family, your friends, to stop you from worshiping the Lord on Sunday.
Someone says, "Well, I'm not going to worship if I've got to wear a mask." Personally, I find it very difficult to tell Jesus that. See, Jesus will have no rivals. He will have no rivals. And Jesus calls for a radical reorientation of our life and our priorities. This gets right down to, isn't it?
You say, is Jesus asking all of us to sell what we have and give to the poor? No. Peter, Andrew, James, and John left their possessions and followed him. He asked the young man to do that, but in the Gospels, not everyone was called to leave their possessions. We think of Zacchaeus, for example, Joseph of Arimathea, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha.
Jesus didn't call them to sell everything they had to follow him. No, but here's the point: if Jesus asked you to do that, would you do it? You say, "Well, that's easy. I'm I'm 15 years old. I don't have much money.
That's very easy." What about 15 year old boys? What about your, what about something else that's dear to you? This is the point, isn't it? Is there anything in my life? I'm asking myself this question.
I'm asking you: Is there anything in my life between me and Jesus? Don't close your ears to his call. What's the call? Come, follow me. Secondly, everything you have belongs to the Lord.
James says, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights." Everything you have, everything I have, belongs to the Lord. Do you believe that? I'm asking you to hold lightly what God has given you. God blesses you. Hasn't God blessed you?
Can you can you hold it lightly rather than grasping? Are you thankful to God? Do you give thanks for it, or do you think, "Well, this is what I did"? Thankful. To God, thankful to others.
We're in a society which is not very thankful. We're in a society which is all about my rights, my freedom, what you're going to do for me, my entitlements. No, Jesus says, hold it lightly, and that means if I believe that everything I have belongs to God, you know what it is. I'm kind. I'm I am gracious.
I am generous. You are a generous person. You are a giver rather than a taker. The Bible says, in terms of our giving, we are to give systematically. We're to give proportionally as the Lord has blessed us, and we're to give cheerfully.
When you get a present for someone, you don't want to. Grudging? Do you? You want that person to give cheerfully.
So, how much have you given to the Lord this month? Have you given at all? I'm thankful that that I'm a pastor of a church that gives generously, so we can support a couple going to Israel with the gospel, so that we can buy shoes for these children. And that so many of you give generously, but some of you don't.
Some of you just think, "Well, we just take it for granted." It's like going to a restaurant, having a meal, and walking out not paying for it. Be generous. Everything you have belongs to God. Finally, follow Jesus. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
Are you following Jesus unreservedly or on your own convenient terms? Have you surrendered everything to Jesus, or is there an uneasy compromise in your life? Are you worrying about tomorrow rather than trusting the Lord Jesus? There are many distractions, there are many temptations, there are many discouragements. But today, I am asking you to look up, to look up to the Lord Jesus.
We sometimes saying, "Turn your eyes upon Jesus." Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace. Jesus is saying to you today, and saying to me, "Come, follow." This is the verdict, featuring the Bible teaching of Pastor John Monroe. There's still more to hear when John returns in just a moment, so stay with us. From matters of truth and identity to the subjects of love and grace, our world seems more confused than ever. But to find truth and certainty about who we are and find peace, we must turn our attention away from the world and look to the Word of God.
To help you do that, John wrote a booklet titled "Eternal Security: Finding Certainty in a Chaotic World." Through this special resource, John shares his personal testimony along with a careful examination of Scripture to offer us clarity on matters of eternity. Get your copy today by visiting our website at theverdict.org. While you are there, consider making an investment in this Bible teaching ministry. Whether it's five dollars, fifty dollars, or more, your gift today helps cover the cost of sharing these gospel messages to listeners around the world. And if you haven't already, be sure to subscribe to the Verdict podcast, featuring John's weekly podcast exclusive called Avizandum.
It's available wherever you get your podcasts, or simply go to our website. Again, that's theverdict.org. The verdict is a ministry of Calvary Church in South Charlotte. We're located on the corner of Highway 51 and Ray Road. If you've been looking for a church home or a community to help you grow in your walk with Christ, we invite you to join us for our Sunday services.
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Now, here's Pastor John Monroe.
Well, what's your verdict? Have you received eternal life? Do you understand that to enter the kingdom of God, you must humble yourself and trust the Lord Jesus Christ? If you hold on to your own life, your own way of doing things, you will lose your soul and gain nothing. Listen to Jesus as He calls on you to trust Him like a little child.
Then all will be well with your soul, and you will have for yourself treasure in heaven. And don't miss next time. Our lesson is entitled "No Free Lunches." Thanks for joining us today on the Verdict. I'm Michelle Davies. Today's program with Pastor John Monroe was produced and sponsored by Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
