The Goodness of God (Part 2) Our Response to God's Goodness- Mark 10

Ministering to the heart of Western Arkansas's River Valley for over 165 years, welcome to Chapter and First, the Bible teaching ministry of Fort Smith's First Baptist Church.

You'll find sermons and teachings from Pastor Greg, our ministry staff, and guest speakers.

Thank you for listening.

Turn with me in your Bibles to Mark chapter 10 as we continue on our series of the goodness of God.

Mark 10 · chapter mention

Last week we uh looked in James chapter 1 and we saw the illustration of God as that good, good father who gives good gifts and perfect gifts.

James 1 · chapter mention

And we saw his character, and at the end we talked about how the character of the goodness of God demands from us a response to him.

And so today, what I want to talk to you about, how that call and response, how that conversation goes with the Lord, by illustrating it from one of the famous ministry moments in the episode of Jesus and his ministry.

This is a real person, it's not a parable, it's not a story that Jesus told.

This really happens in this young man's life.

And it's such an important, iconic story with so much for us to learn, it's actually included in three of the gospels.

But we're going to use the Mark version uh today.

And uh, if your Bible like mine has these little heading deals, you might see the rich young ruler.

And we've all kind of heard that if you've been in church any period of time.

But this is that episode in Jesus' ministry.

Uh, before we read, uh, as we talk about uh Jesus and how he calls us to repentance and relationship, I want to remind you of the definition of the goodness of God that we used last week.

Uh we saw this very clearly uh in the message that we talked about last week.

That there are two aspects to this goodness of God.

When we think about how good God is, his attributes, his attitudes, and his actions, all of the things that he does in our lives, they are driven by two character traits equally.

First, his holy righteousness.

When we talk about God is good, as we'll see in a minute, where Jesus uses that illustration, we'll see that God is holy, he is right, he is morally just.

Everything he does is right.

God is good.

But we also see that God is good and that he is also driven by his benevolent grace.

God is good.

He's a good, good father.

He gives good gifts and perfect gifts to us as his children.

So as you read this interaction with Jesus and this young man today, I want you to be thinking about both of those aspects, and then we'll unpack those after we've read.

Beginning in Mark chapter 10, verse 17, as Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt before him, and asked him, now look how he refers to Jesus.

Mark 10:17

He doesn't call him Messiah, he doesn't call him Lord.

He says, good teacher.

He does not yet fully understand who Jesus is.

Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

And Jesus immediately understands what's happening in this man, understands what he doesn't know, who he is, what his question is, what his struggle is, but Jesus also understands that the fundamental truth to inheriting eternal life is that he must deal with our problem of sin.

All of us are sinners by birth, by nature, and by choice.

That's why we know we're gonna die because of the effects of sin.

That's why we have a question existential to every person's life.

Where am I gonna end up after I die?

What is the effect of sin?

And Jesus understands what's happening here in this young man's life, and he's going to call him to repentance and relationship.

So look what he does.

Why do you call me good?

No one is good but one God.

You know the commandments, and then Jesus lists in a unique way some of the Ten Commandments.

Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.

And so the young man says to him, Teacher, he still doesn't understand yet.

Teacher, I have kept all of these from my youth.

In other words, I have really been good.

I've deserved something, I've earned something, I've worked through this.

And yet, even though he thinks he's good and he's kept all the commandments, there is a nagging struggle in his life that he understands, I have not answered the question, how I spend eternity in heaven yet.

See how that works?

He thinks he's good, he knows he's good, he's trying to be the best he can, he's trying to be religious, he's trying to be all those things, and yet it is not enough to give him confidence of where he's going to spend eternity.

And Jesus now drills into the man's heart.

He puts his finger right on the question of faith involved in this man's life, and he says, in verse 21, you lack one thing.

Go sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come and follow me.

But he was stunned at this demand.

And he went away grieving because he had many possessions.

Jesus looked around and he saw his disciples, and they're just probably amazed in this moment.

They're like, man, Jesus went right at that guy.

I mean, he like took that question and drilled in.

Some of the others are looking at the guy and they go, like, dude, why are you leaving?

Clearly, you know Jesus loves you.

You know he answered your question.

And dude, you're walking away.

What is wrong with you that you're walking away from Jesus?

I mean, they got, they're watching this, they get all that, and Jesus turns to teach a lesson.

How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.

But the disciples were astonished at Jesus' words because in that culture, you looked up to people who had wealth, or you thought God must love them and bless them because he gave them all that, or they have all that.

That was kind of their culture and how they look at those things.

But Jesus said, Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God, 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.

So they were even more astonished, saying to one another, Then who can be saved?

If God's not blessing these people and they're not, they don't have these blessings because of, you know, good, then that like what is the, I don't understand all this.

And Jesus looked at them and said, With men is impossible, but not with God, because all things are possible with God.

In other words, God can speak into the heart that is the most selfish, the most prideful, the most self-confident, the most anything.

God can speak into that heart and he can save them and bring them to faith.

Here is this moment that looks a lot like the moments in our lives.

I think that's one of the reasons that God repeats this story for him, for us.

And he says, I want you to see this.

I do not want you to miss this.

When Jesus steps into your life and speaks into your heart, it looks a lot like this.

So here's what I want to show you, just a few truths as we unpack this story.

First, I want you to see truth number one, that Jesus always loves and receives.

The goodness of God for us means that when Jesus, who's come as the Savior, moves into your life, speaks into your life, you come to Him asking questions, we need to understand that Jesus always loves and listens to us.

One of the reasons I love Mark's version of this story, look at what it says very clearly right here in verse 21.

Jesus has used the Ten Commandments, He's brought this guy to a point, he's going to speak into his life, but God does not want us to miss and understand his benevolent grace, his goodness.

Even though in his goodness he's about to deal from his holy righteousness with this man's sin, he does not want us to miss his benevolent grace.

And it says, Jesus looked at him, comma, and loved him and said to him, That's one of my most favorite pictures in Scripture right here.

Can you imagine?

Jesus looks into his eyes like, dude, right here.

When I speak and when I'm about to touch your heart, I need you to know I'm doing this because I love you.

I need you to understand when I'm about to do what I'm about to do and call you to this, I'm calling you to relationship with me.

Look what he says.

Jesus loved him.

And then he says, Come follow me.

Listen, be with me, son.

I love you.

I want you.

I want us.

I want us to be connected.

I want us to walk together.

I want us to be together.

I want to bless you in your life.

I love you.

Now let me talk to you about what is interrupting our relationship and separates us from one another.

And that's sin.

You see, Jesus loved us.

It's awesome in this story.

I mean, this guy comes up to Jesus and he really disrespects him.

He comes up and says, Good teacher.

Well, Jesus is way more than a good teacher.

He, in fact, he probably comes to Jesus because he has some inkling of this whole spiritual thing that's going around.

I mean, Jesus, I mean, he was like Elvis, you know, in Israel in that time.

And we I we went to see movies the other night.

Jan I went to movies, and man, are all these teenage girls lined up in front of us?

I mean, we had to spend 10 minutes in line because we got like all these teenage girls, which is great fun.

They're having fun.

They're all lined up, and like you walk up, you tell the guy, you pick your seat, and you go.

It takes 45 seconds, right?

Well, you got 14 girls in front of you.

We all have to talk about, well, no, I don't know what seat and where you want to sit.

Well, who's gonna sit next to you?

Well, if I pick this seat, then she's gonna pick that seat.

And no, if I pick that seat, I can't get to the restroom.

And if I'm gonna pick that seat, then like, where's the popcorn?

And I'm over there thinking, y'all, my movie's about to start.

I mean, just to show that all of us are sinners, right?

By birth, by nature, and by choice, I'm over there going, would y'all mind if I got in front of you, whatever?

And the only thing that stopped me from that was they might go to our church and I don't recognize them yet.

And they wouldn't recognize me.

Man, y'all think preachers are spiritual, right?

I mean, I'm just, I gotta warn you, it's just not true.

And so here we are.

But you know, you you got that whole thing, and and all, but what happens is in all of this, we understand, man, Jesus loves us.

I mean, if you got a question, he loves you.

He wants relationship with you, he wants to connect with you.

This guy calls in the wrong name.

He's seen all that Elvis show going on, those little girls going to see Elvis.

Everybody knows Elvis.

It's all I'm from Memphis, man.

We all know Elvis.

Elvis is, you know, all that.

I mean, all that, he's like that.

He's got all that going on.

This guy knows there's something spiritual going on, but when he walks up to Jesus, he does not give him the honor as the Savior that he is due.

But here's the other thing: he doesn't know Jesus yet.

So here's what I want you to understand.

If you don't know Jesus yet, and you come to Jesus, you're a seeker, it doesn't matter what you say to him.

It does not matter if you call him the wrong thing, it does not matter in the past if you have blasphemed him, it does not matter what your relationship has been with Jesus.

He loves you and he will always receive you.

He is always there to answer your question.

He is always there to tell you that he loves you.

He is always there to remove the sin barrier that stands between us and him.

He wants to be in relationship with you.

When he calls and speaks into your life, it is to draw you to him.

If that is his desire, why would he ever block the way between you and him?

It doesn't make sense.

Man, I was witnessing to a guy one time, we were at Christmas, and we were delivering shoeboxes and all that deal, you know, and we were delivering this family, and so the way that works is that's all an opportunity to share Jesus.

So we go in there, and our kids and my wife, and they're giving all that, and the dad comes walking out of his apartment, he's standing out here, we're on the second story of the apartment complex, has got this rail, and I'm in here, and the kids are opening presents, and we're telling them Jesus loves you and all that.

And I watch a dad out there, and he's out here and he's on a rail like this.

He's got his head down, and I'm thinking, that's my that's my moment right there.

I walk out there, I talk to him, I say, hey bro, what's happening?

Man, we nice family you got.

God's really blessed you.

And he says, Yeah, I know I don't deserve it.

I said, Listen, man, none of us deserve any of this.

So let me ask you, do you know Jesus as your Savior?

No.

Would you like to?

That's why I came today, to bring you all the love of Jesus so you know he loves you and wants to be saved.

And the guy says, You're a pastor, man.

He says, You've lived a good life.

You don't know the life I've lived.

And I want to say, dude, I used to be a lawyer.

You don't know how bad I was.

Just so you know, I'm not picking on lawyers.

My lawyer brothers are laughing harder than the rest of y'all.

I mean, we tell we love lawyer jokes more than anybody else.

But this guy says, Pastor Greg, I've been awful.

You don't know what I've done, and God can never forgive me.

Let me tell you what.

That is a lie from the pit of hell.

It does not matter what you've done, Jesus loves you.

In fact, Jesus already knew what you were gonna do and what a mess of things you would make, and he died on the cross for you because of that.

He loves you and wants to save you of that sin.

He loves you and wants to remove that from your life.

He loves you and wants to heal you.

The whole thing that separates us from God is a sin barrier.

All of us have sinned by birth, by nature, and by choice.

If you're here in this room, if you're old enough to understand the words that I'm saying, if you have a conscience, you understand that you need to be forgiven because you've done wrong.

If there's a question about whether God, uh whether sin is the innate part of who we are, I invite you next week to come down with me and let's work with the three-year-olds.

And I know you think your grandchildren are perfect.

You've already told me that.

But we'll go down there and work, and here's what we'll do: we'll do a little social experiment, and we'll take all the toys out of the room, lock them in a cabinet, and we'll put all those precious little perfect grandchildren that you have in a room.

We'll put one toy in the middle, and we're gonna watch the innate depravity of the human heart.

Is that not true?

All of us have sinned.

Get over it.

We've all sinned, we're all there.

The Bible tells us very clearly Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, and now through the progeny of human, the human race, all of us are sinners by birth, by nature, and by choice.

But God so loved the world that he gave his only son, that whosoever believes in him will never perish but have everlasting life.

Jesus came to remove the sin barrier.

So when Jesus loves this man, he loves him, he receives him, he doesn't matter what the guy's misimpressions are, he doesn't matter what he doesn't understand, he just wants to grab him, he wants to pull him into relationship, and Jesus also loves him enough to deal with his sin.

Because it is sin that separates us from God.

The Bible says all sin must be punished, for the wages of sin is death.

And so Jesus understands if you and I are going to be in relationship, I have got to speak into your life, and I've got to help you understand that your sin is real, that you need to repent of that sin, and that I came to forgive you of that sin.

And so we've got to understand Jesus always loves and receives because Jesus wants to deal with that and bring you into relationship.

But truth number two, he must deal with our sin in order to do that.

And so that's what he's doing in this guy's life.

That's what this whole Ten Commandments and this whole conversation is about.

Watch how this works.

Here's what Jesus says.

First of all, when the man calls him good, Jesus understands this idea of the goodness of God and how it's a question in our lives.

He understands that this man is going to have to view himself in light of God's holy righteousness and be brought to repentance.

He also understands that this man has a lot going on in his life, and there's a lot there, and he clings to a lot, and he's got to understand the goodness of God's benevolent grace and the promises of God in relationship, and he's got to choose to believe in the goodness of God to let that go and embrace the promises and salvation of God.

Jesus understands that.

So he grabs this question that we all have that we're looking at as a church.

Good.

I'm glad you said that.

There is no one good, only God is holy.

Only God is good.

And I'm going to show you in your life, young man, how you're a sinner.

So he goes in, and now we know there are ten commandments, right?

We know there are ten.

So here's what Jesus does: He selects a few of them on purpose.

And he says, do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud.

Now he picks those because those are the first ones that it's kind of easy for us to sort of trump up, I haven't done anything wrong.

But what Jesus needs to show him is your behaviors are not the problem, your heart is the problem.

That's where the sin is.

You see, until we confront the holiness of Jesus, we are free in our own minds to create our own sense of justification, our own sense of rightness.

On balance, I've done better than the other.

Oh, yeah, well, God, you've seen, oh, what's his name over here?

I'm better than that dude, right?

I mean, we create all these things, we justify in our minds all these reasons that we're okay, that we should be okay.

Now, what we need to understand is what this man understood is that they don't answer the questions.

That's why he came to Jesus.

But you can see in his mind, he's working through all this.

Well, I haven't done that, I haven't done that, I haven't done that, I haven't done that.

And then Jesus takes, honor your father and mother, he pulls it out of order and he sticks it on the bottom.

Now we're going to get you to honor your father and mother.

Turn with your with me in your Bibles to Exodus 20, and let's look at the Ten Commandments and see how that works.

Let's see what this lesson that Jesus is teaching is.

And I want you to see it right there in your own scriptures.

So turn with me to Exodus 20, and I'll remind you of another episode in the life of Jesus.

In just two more chapters over in the book of Mark, someone will come to Jesus and they'll ask him, What is the greatest commandment?

And if you've been in church any number of times, you've probably heard the story.

What's the greatest commandment?

And Jesus says, the greatest commandment is love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

It is the encapsulation of the first four commandments all in one.

And then Jesus says an interesting thing.

The second commandment, even though the guy didn't ask about, he asked about one.

Jesus says the second commandment is of the same quality as the first commandment, and it is love your neighbor as yourself.

You see, Jesus takes the second half of the commandments and he encapsulates them into one.

And he puts them all in the context of love, which is a matter of relationship and heart.

Because see, if you love Jesus, you'll love what Jesus loves.

If Jesus is in your life and your heart and he's transforming you, he transforms you into his image.

And if God is love and Jesus came because of love to die for us, then what should come out of our life is love.

So this guy is using the Ten Commandments, this rich young ruler, and he's trying to measure his behavior by a standard that he thinks he can reach so that Jesus will affirm to him he's okay going to heaven.

But that's not what the Ten Commandments do.

In the book of Galatians, it tells us that the Ten Commandments is a tutor that teaches us in our hearts what's broken.

Jesus is teaching him in his heart what's broken.

You lack one thing.

Now here's what he does: he goes in inverted order.

He pulls the last commandments that deal with how we relate to people, and then he goes to the middle commandment, honor your father and your mother, to teach him you do not love God as much as you think you do.

Watch here in the Ten Commandments.

Chapter 20, verse 1.

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the place of slavery.

Do not have other gods before me.

Do not make an idol for yourself.

You must not, verse 5, bow down to worship them.

I am the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the father's sin, the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.

But showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God.

Or don't take his name in vain, we might say.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

So there's the first four.

Now look at number five.

Honor your father and your mother so that you may have a long life in the land that God, that the Lord your God is giving you.

It's interesting.

Put your finger on that one right there in your Bible.

That is the hinge of the Ten Commandments.

They start as they should.

God is God.

We are not.

God is holy.

We are not.

We are called as His creation to surrender our lives to Him and worship Him with everything that we are.

If we're going to Work that way, if we're going to live that way, if we're going to serve him, then these last five commandments, then we're going to treat other people the way God would treat them.

We're going to act with the same love for people that God loves people.

We're going to function in the same way that he functions if we love him.

How do we learn that?

Honor your father and your mother.

He puts right there in the hinge point the earthly relationship in which we learn submission.

When you honor your father and your mother, you are learning to honor God your father.

Remember, he's teaching the children of Israel, and he's establishing in them how they're going to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and how they're going to follow God.

And so what he says is, I am God, you must submit all of your life completely to me.

And then I'm going to call you to submit to your parents and obey them, even though they are flawed.

I'm going to call you to obey them because that's where you learn the choices of submission.

And the parents he had taught in Psalm 78, for example, and just a few pages over in Deuteronomy, he commands them, you teach your children these commandments.

In Psalm 78, it's a beautiful Psalm where he teaches the history of God, and he says, You teach your children and your children's children the goodness of God, his might, and his power, so that they will be raised up and follow him as well.

You see how that works?

And so what Jesus does is he's working him backwards through the Ten Commandments to get him to the point.

He does not understand yet that he is living a life of sin and rebellion against God.

And Jesus is working him through this process.

You think you're good to all these people here?

Let's talk about mom and dad.

I'm going to set up surrender.

I'm going to ask you if you have submitted to authority.

I'm going to get you to think about that.

And now I'm going to give you a command from God, and I'm going to see if you're willing to live a life of faith and submission to Him.

And all of us deal with this question in our lives.

Question is not, did you tell a lie?

The question is, do you honor God with all of your speech?

Do you honor God with the people around you that you're going to be a truth teller into their lives?

You see, this is not set up as a hurdle that we can cross and we've earned heaven.

All of us are going to fail in this.

What it does is it sets up a test just like in this man's life.

Because you see, when he walks him through this, he then says, uh, back in Mark 10, look, you said you're good to all these people, and I'm going to bring you around life of submission.

You're not following God like you think you are, and you don't love people the way God loves, and so now I'm going to tell you, sell all you have, and I'm going to show you that you're not good according to the standard of God's holy righteousness.

And he calls him to go love people the way God would love people, and the man balks and says, Nope, my plan of life, what I want to do, what I love is more important than following the design and command of God.

And all of us have to deal with that question.

We're all sinners.

The law teaches us that our heart is damaged by sin.

You see, Jesus teaches him very clearly in a pointed way, you see, you're not as good as you think you are.

You're in rebellion against the teaching and person of God.

You're a sinner.

He calls them to repentance.

Now, this is important.

This is in, you know, past, and I've seen preachers and all this kind of deal.

They get up here and they start talking about sin and they start pounding on the pulpit and they're screaming at you and they're getting red-faced.

That's not what preaching about sin means.

Beating people down is not what Jesus is doing with this man.

When Jesus deals with his sin, I mean, this is as harsh and as clear as you can get.

He opens this guy's heart and he puts his finger directly on the wound of sin right in this man's life, to the point that this man knows and he walks away sad and he is broken and he didn't, and he, you see it in his life.

It is written on his face that Jesus has buttonholed him right there.

But Jesus is not screaming at him, Jesus is not bringing him down, Jesus is not condemning him to hell or anything else.

Jesus clearly points out his sin.

So that truth number three, Jesus can say, if you'll repent of that sin, I'll forgive you.

If you repent of that sin, I'll bring you into a relationship.

You see, Jesus comes to deal with our sin and to forgive us of our sins.

John 3.16, we quote all the time, says, For God so loved the world, he gave his only son that whosoever believes in him will never perish but have everlasting life.

But the next verse makes it very clear, he did not send his son into the world to condemn the world.

Jesus did not come to condemn us.

The Bible says our sin had condemned us already.

But Jesus came to what?

He came to save, he came to forgive, he came to bring us into that relationship.

Jesus was holy, and we sinned against him and against God and all of that.

And the Bible says God demonstrates love towards us, and while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

He stepped out of heaven because he knew Greg had sinned, and Greg made a mess of his life, and Greg was gonna die and go to hell because of what he had done.

And Jesus said, I am not satisfied with that as a result.

I did not create Jesus, uh Greg.

I did not create him and plan him before he was formed in his mother's womb in order for him to spend an eternity in hell.

And I'm gonna step out of heaven and I'm gonna go to the cross and I'm gonna take Greg's sin on the cross and I'm gonna pay for it there, and then I'm gonna call into his life one day, and I'm gonna say, son, I love you.

You're a sinner.

If you'll give me that sin, I will pay the price for that sin, and I will draw you into relationship, and I will walk with you through your life, and you will spend an eternity in heaven with me.

That's who our Savior is.

And that's why he speaks to sin.

We don't yell about the sin, we yell about the love of Jesus.

Give the Lord a hand for who he is.

And so look how Jesus calls him to repentance.

You see, if he's pointed out that sin and sin is the barrier, then we have to deal directly with that sin.

Jesus has worked him through these Ten Commandments and He's shown, look, you're not as good as you think you are.

Look, you're not living in submission.

Honor your father, mother, and all.

That's about submission.

That's about authority.

That is, I have surrendered my life, I am obedient, and now I'm gonna call you to obedience.

Now, here's what he says: he says, Sell everything you have, give it to the poor, and follow me.

Now, listen, I need you to understand this.

You don't have to be rich to be saved.

You don't have to come up this morning and give the church all your money in order to get saved.

That's not what Jesus is doing.

Every person has a struggle of faith when we choose to come to Jesus.

Do you trust?

Do you have to give up something?

Do you believe that God is good?

You realize the behaviors that have to change in your life as you begin to be obedient.

You may not know what they all are, but everybody has a sense that you're supposed to live a different life, and can I do that?

If I was nine and a half years old and I'd known that God was gonna call me to be a preacher and I wanted to do something else in my life, it'd have been a harder struggle.

Fortunately, he knew I was kind of wimpy, and so he didn't tell me till later.

When you come to Jesus and trust him as your Savior, it means that you confess, I am a sinner, I know I've sinned.

You put your finger of conviction on my heart, and I know I'm a sinner, and I'm gonna take my life, everything I've been, everything I am, and everything I ever will be, and I'm gonna give it all to Jesus.

And so, what he's doing, he's calling this man in his heart to everything I am, everything I have, and everything I'll ever be, you give it all to Jesus.

You submit.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength, possessions, life, choices, future, and everything else.

That's what he's doing.

He doesn't need this man's money.

God owns the cattle on a thousand hills.

He made it all, and what you have, he gave to you anyway, the Bible says.

He doesn't need your money, he needs your heart, and he wants you to repent.

And he calls to this man and this man's struggle of faith, and he says, if you will trust me, if you will give up what you are depending on instead of God, I'll save you and I'll bless you.

That's that whole discourse at the end about rich people and make it hard to heaven and all that.

What does that mean?

Here's what it's real simple.

In American culture, we struggle with this.

Rich, young ruler.

I'm in the priva of life, I'm strong, nothing's gonna hurt me.

I'm a ruler, I'm in charge, I have authority.

People do what I tell them to do, I'm in charge.

I got plenty of money, you can't touch me, I can fix whatever comes, I can handle it.

I'm in control of my life.

Isn't that what it looks like?

And he says, if you give up your control and you follow me, I will bless you.

And I'll take care of you.

What is it in your life that you're struggling with?

What is it that you don't want to let go of?

What is it that is holding you back from walking with Jesus?

That's what he's calling you to give up.

Truth number four.

He offers him a relationship.

Understand this.

The goodness of God means that God is calling us to trust in that goodness.

Look what he tells this guy.

He didn't promise him life was going to be horrible.

He didn't ask him to, you know, eat worms and, you know, run around naked and all this kind of stuff.

What'd he say?

You, if you'll trust me, if you'll give up what you're trusting and you'll trust me, I'll give you treasure in heaven.

I'm asking you to trade the treasures that you think are treasures because they're earthly, and I'm asking you to trust that I've got more for you than what you have, that I'll bless you in ways that you don't understand.

He is asking him to trust.

He's already said God is good, and now he's saying, trust in the goodness of God.

If you will do this, God will bless you.

You'll store up treasures in eternity.

You and I will be together.

We will be in relationship.

Remember the very first question the guy asks is how do I inherit eternal life?

What Jesus is telling him, if you'll trust and you'll repent, you will be saved and spend an eternity in heaven.

And when you get there, if you are living for me, God is gonna bless you in ways you can't imagine with treasures in heaven.

And oh, on the way there, you and I are gonna run through life together.

We're gonna be together, we're gonna hang out, I'm gonna take care of you.

It's gonna be a blessing.

We're gonna walk together.

You see, Jesus, when he convicts you of that sin, it's because sin is killing us eternally.

And he is saying, listen, if you will repent of that sin, then this is what happens, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whosoever believes in him will never perish.

Jesus said, I've come that you might have life, you might have it more abundantly.

That doesn't mean it's not hard, it doesn't mean it doesn't have struggles, but what he's saying is, man, I am bringing all of the blessings of heaven into your life, whether it's good or whether it's bad or whether it's a struggle or whether you're uncertain or whatever it is, I am right there in the middle with you all the time.

And every time you step out in faith, and all of that, I'm giving you every good gift and every perfect gift.

And you and I are going to have the crown of life in heaven when we have walked with him, and I am promising you all of that.

Trust me, is what Jesus is saying.

God is good.

You're a sinner and your sin must be punished.

But God is good, and he offers you eternal life if you repent.

Truth number five, that calls us to a response.

The goodness of God means he wants to deal with our sin, and the goodness of God means he wants to forgive our sin and deal with it.

But in order for that to happen, we must trust in Jesus.

This man walked away sad.

He made a choice.

What's the choice that you make?

If you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, why?

What is the decision that's keeping you from giving and following?

If you've already, if you're already a brother and sister in Christ, you're already saved, praise the Lord.

But listen, this is the first time this happens in our life, not the last one.

And the Christian life is the journey of Jesus stepping in and go, okay, now we're going to deal with this.

And here is Greg.

I want to take this out of your life.

I need you to repent of that.

I need you to trust me.

I'm going to bless you, but we're going to deal with that.

Yes, Lord, I repent.

And we move forward.

And then he finds another.

Greg, you're not doing this.

I want to put this in your life.

I need you to repent.

Yes, Lord.

Bless, and there we go.

That's what it looks like right here.

Jesus calling us to repentance and relationship.

As we close this morning, I want to ask you: have you ever been saved?

What's keeping you from the choice of faith to trust in the goodness of God and his desire to save?

I want you to bow your heads where you are.

If you're watching online or watching us on Facebook, right there where you are, you can trust Jesus.

You don't have to come here, you don't have to walk the aisle, you just have to turn and deal with the call on your heart.

God is speaking to you.

What is the choice of faith you need to make?

If you've never been saved, what's holding you back?

What are you clinging to and trusting more than Jesus?

In a moment, God's people are going to stand and sing a testimony after I've prayed.

Our pastors will be here in front of the aisle.

If you want to be saved, you come.

If you're watching online, call us, send us an email, pray where you are.

Respond to Jesus.

If you're a brother and sister in Christ, you still have decisions of faith.

The process is still the same.

Jesus and His holiness dealing with our sin, and Jesus in his goodness is calling you to healing and growth and to walk with him.

I don't want anybody to leave here different than you were when you came in.

This morning, respond to the call of Jesus.

Lord, we love you and we thank you for this story and what it means in our lives.

And Lord, I ask this morning that you give us a freedom to respond.

If there's someone who needs to be saved, I pray they'll come forward and trust in Jesus as their Savior so that he can remove that sin.

Lord, I pray for my brothers and sisters in Christ that you give us a freedom to respond.

It is in Jesus' name we pray in all God's people said.

We pray this message has been a blessing to you and helped to strengthen your walk with Jesus.

Please know we want to minister to you and pray for you.

Send an email to contact us at fsfbc.org and let us pray for you and help you in any way we can.

Thank you for listening to Chapter and First, the Bible Teaching Ministry of Fort Smith First Baptist Church.