Experience TRUTH - #5

This is Robbie Dilmore from the Christian Car Guy and Kingdom Pursuit, where we hear how God takes your passion and uses it to build a kingdom. Your chosen Truth Network Podcast is starting in just a few seconds.

Enjoy it and share it, but most of all, thank you for listening and for choosing the Truth Podcast Network. This passage is intense, it's heavy. We talked about the man who was too good to go to heaven. We talked about how it's impossible to be saved. We talked about what is possible.

Nothing is impossible in God's eyes, but with man it's impossible. Peter jumps in and we have the whole passage in front of us in Luke 18. We hope you're going to journey with us here on Experience Truth. Robbie Dilmore, the Christian Car Guy, is at my side. Robbie, read the passage, brother. Let's get right onto this thing.

How fun. Luke 18, 26 through 34. And those who heard it said, well, who then can be saved? But he said, the things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

Then Peter said, see, we have left all and are following you. So he said to them, assuredly, I say to you that there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children for the sake of the kingdom and of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time and in the age to come eternal life. Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and all the things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. They will scourge him and kill him, and on the third day he will rise again. But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not know the things which were spoken. Wow.

Heavy words from the Master. Here, these guys have been following him. They've thrown in with Jesus. They have asked him, can anybody be saved? Jesus answers that question there, Robbie.

But then he goes into what's going to happen to him, and really this question here, I tell you what, it gets, you know, it really... So how was Jesus right on mission, according to the prophets, in his own words? So he said it in the first words of Jesus. A buddy of ours wrote a book about that. We need to find that guy and interview him, don't we?

What a talent I'm saying. But the first words of Jesus in Luke 2.49. What did he say? He said, why are you troubling me? Why are you looking for me?

I must be, do you not know, I must be about my Father's business. He was on mission. John 17.

I finished the work you have given me to do. His final words from the cross of those seven powerful sayings right in the middle is, it is finished. So Jesus Christ is on mission to get it done, and the second half of this question will take us into this really barbaric way it's going to happen to him.

So why didn't the disciples understand Jesus' mission, even after so many reminders? Over and over again, he says, this is how it's going to be. Over and over again. But Robbie, isn't that true in our lives?

How many times do we get stuck in sideways? I had a morning like that this morning. I'm just upset, and I'm getting mad at stuff.

Christians, who I'm supposed to love even more than unbelievers. And I'm thinking, what in the world? And it's like, God is bringing me back to, wait a second, is this your will? Is your will truly that only thing which is satisfying, that only thing which is good and acceptable and perfect? Romans 12.2. And he has to bring us back over and over again. But what does Jesus say over and over again to the disciples? O ye of little faith. Well, he says that to us too. Isn't it interesting how we never put ourselves as Peter, and Thomas, and James, and all these guys in the narrative?

We're always the believers. I think the way he puts it is, okay, Robbie almighty. That's right. That's exactly right.

No, you're exactly right. So here he says, over and over again, he tells them, he scripts exactly what's going to happen. And this really, goodness, the disciples had no idea. But look at this language here.

Jesus says it. He uses these words right here. Betrayed. Ever been betrayed? Just think about what that word involves.

He's looking at these guys. Well, who are you typically betrayed by? Well, by someone who has inside knowledge. They always talk about the leaker, or they always talk about the whistleblower.

Well, it's someone who's on the inside. Remember Rough Voice or whatever the guy in the Nixon administration? You know, Watergate? He had a muffled voice. He was an inside guy who blew the whistle.

Jesus would be betrayed by someone very close to him. Someone who trailed him for three years. Someone who did some miracles. Someone who kept the money.

The guy in charge of the budget. Judas? Mocked. He'll be betrayed. He'll be mocked. Think about that word. This is the God of the universe who created the vocal cords with which evil men would take him and absolutely mock him. Scorn him. Pull at his beard. The next word, insulted.

Same idea, but it digresses even worse. Spit upon. This is literally saliva leaving someone's mouth in the face of someone else. That they hate. That they're insulting. That they have betrayed. That they have mocked.

All these things. That is the highest. In the Middle East, even worse in our culture, to spit in someone's face is the highest affront anyone could extend to someone. And then it keeps going. Scourged. Wow. You know how many lashes, right? Thirty-nine lashes to the back.

Cat of nine tails. We're going to get into the graphics of this later on in the book of Luke, and then finally killed. I like what you said at the beginning, actually, Stu. You compared that these guys were saying, hey, we left everything to you. It's like, look how much we've paid for being your followers.

Jesus said, oh, there's some cost involved, guys. And it's serious. It's serious. And so look at the three things.

Look at what's happening here. And I've never really seen it. I love the journey through the book of Luke. Go to a church where the pastor actually takes you through the books of the Bible and teaches the word expositionally. And sure, it can be a topical message, but let's anchor that to the Word of God, because the Word of God is what's so powerful.

But it's fascinating. If you journey through the Word of God, you see things completely different. You see them as they were meant to be taught and seen. This is in the context of this rich young ruler, this guy who's too good to go to heaven. He leaves weeping. He comes and bows before the Lord. Luke's passage doesn't tell us that.

Mark's does. He bows before Christ. He says, you know, what can I do? He's a doer. This guy's an esteemed, erudite, likely a scholar, Pharisee, potentially in the synhedron court, the high court, the greatest mind, or young. He's a ruler. Well, he's got everything. He's got the goods. If anyone's going to come in and join our team at the church, it's this guy.

Maybe he'll be running the show before it's over with. But of all the qualified disciples, he shows up. The disciples are like, who is this guy? Remember, they got mad at all the little children for coming.

They're like, get these runts out of here. We've got a big dog. We've got a big dog. Hey, we finally got it.

After three years of this ragtag bug, traveling, sleeping outside, we've got somebody. What does he do? He leaves weeping. Jesus is like, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich people to get to heaven. The disciples are like, who can be saved? He says, with man, it's impossible with God.

All things are possible. So the disciples are like, well, what about us? We've been here with you.

We're not leaving weeping. And Christ lays out the big benefit of that to them. It's a multiplier.

It's huge. And then he says actually how it's going to accomplish, which seems completely different than their expectations, which is where he went in that. But then the thing that I always like to say about the Bible is, it's canonized. In other words, it is in a very specific order, the way God ordered it, the way that man ordered it. And so I always say, it's like a cannonball, it's coming, but it's going to hit you.

It's going to hit you. Well, what's fascinating is that Jesus is almost in a juxtaposition, Robbie, with a rich young ruler who came and would not sell everything he had to give to the poor. Jesus Christ came in 2 Corinthians 8, verse 9.

It's very graphic. It says, this is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, think about that.

Just let that thought. How rich is Jesus? How rich is God? He is everything. He has everything. He is everything. He holds everything together.

Just read Colossians 1. He is the essence of all things. Though he was rich, yet he became poor. He became impoverished. He sold everything he had. He gave everything he had for the poor in spirit. He gave everything he had. He became poor so that we, 2 Corinthians 8, verse 9, could become rich.

So we become filthy rich, abundantly rich. That which the rich young ruler held on to, Jesus Christ opened and said, I'm giving everything to die for such self-righteous people like Stu, and like you, and like me, and like all these sinners. He's going into, what's it going to... Oh, you've left everything to follow me? Let me tell you what I'm leaving to save you. So you can follow me.

By the way, here's how you're getting in. I'm going to be mocked, betrayed, insulted, spit upon, scourged, killed. But this is awesome how Jesus brings this up. This is a great prophecy, by the way. It's not just in Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Psalm 20, Mark 10, all these passages where Jesus himself gives prophecy. There's 300 prophecies fulfilled by Jesus Christ. Old Testament prophecies, hundreds of years, centuries before he ever came and showed up. Isaiah 53, all these prophecies. Not only are those fulfilled, but Jesus Christ, out of his own lips, right here in Luke chapter 18, he says, I will rise again. He prophesies a resurrection, which is beautiful. This is the hope we have, and this is Jesus Christ sealing the deal coming out of the grave.

But Robbie, we've got to bring it in for a landing. All right. So what's keeping you from following Jesus with all your heart? Great question.

That is a great question. Because what does he ask from us? He really does ask us for our heart. You know where Abraham's heart was? It really wasn't in his money. God didn't say, Abraham, take all your money and sacrifice it on the mountain over here.

No. He said, go to Mount Moriah with your son. That which is dearest to you. What's that thing which is dearest to me? What's that thing that I absolutely love, covet, idolize above everything else? That relationship.

And this next question takes us deeper there as we wrap up here. So how has Jesus done the impossible in your life? Because that really comes down to a miracle. Those that know Jesus, their lives have been transformed. Those that know Jesus realize how great. What is the 1 John passage? Behold what manner of love, what manner of love the Father has given unto us. That we can become sons of God.

Everything changes. And the final question here takes us into where we go from here. How convinced are you that he rose from the dead and is coming again? So in the same manner that Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven, the angel told the disciples, not too long after this, he will return again. We're looking back at all these things.

We have hindsight. We have the living Word of God, Jesus. We have the written Word of God. Christ's Word right here in our hands. You know, it's absolutely beautiful as I think about that particular thing, that to be able to be reminded constantly that he's coming back. And this year, God put it on my heart to take communion myself, in my quiet time personally, every day.

And interestingly, when you look at the last word of where you've taken that passage in 1 Corinthians 11, he says, for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until what? Until he comes. And so at the end of communion, whenever you take it, you are saying, oh baby, he's coming. He's coming. And when I think about what you're asking there is, wow, do I daily in my life, am I thinking about, wow, Jesus is coming back. And the communion actually offers that to us. Are you looking forward to the return of Christ?

Wow. We've got to go. Thanks for being with us.

Thanks for that word, Robbie. He's returning. He rose from the dead.

He's coming again. Experience truth. Share the Word. Read the Word. Study the Word. Walk in the Word. And let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. This is the Truth Network.