A Life of Dependence Leads to Reward

I want to encourage you again to pick up one of these study guides on the way out.

We're going to be working through a 12-week series on the life of Daniel.

And I say the life of Daniel instead of the book of Daniel,

because we're going to go through the first six chapters or so

and kind of evaluate kind of the narrative of Daniel

and especially how Daniel's life and the life of his friends,

as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego point to God.

So pick that up.

It should be a great time together.

It certainly has been encouraging to myself as I have been thinking ahead

and looking at the text, encouraging my own heart,

reminding myself of the things that are there for us to learn.

Turn with me, if you would, to Luke 18.

Luke 18.

If you're using the Pew Bible, it's on page 877.

Page 877.

I want to begin with this question.

It's really been the governing question for us

ever since we've been in this chapter, Luke chapter 18.

Luke 18 · chapter mention

And the overarching question of this chapter is,

do you or will you depend on God?

Now, I guess if I were to phrase that more personally,

do you like to be dependent?

Do you wake up in the morning and say,

oh good, another day I can be dependent.

Another day I can ask for help.

Now my guess is that like me,

we don't want to ask for help.

We don't want to feel like our life is dependent on others

or dependent on God.

We want to feel like we have things pretty well together.

But when we ask God to make us dependent,

isn't it interesting how God delights

in answering that prayer?

So that we wake up in the morning,

and this has been one of those weeks,

just feeling really overwhelmed with lots of things,

and being reminded day by day how desperate I am for God's strength.

And by the way, there's no better place to be.

And that's what God has called us to.

God has called us to a life of faith.

The just shall live by faith.

That's what God has called us into.

And by the way, that is not just a faith for a moment.

That is not just believing in God to save me for some future day in salvation

when he's going to take me to be with himself.

But it's entering in to this life of dependence

in trusting in Jesus day by day.

It's reflected in the Lord's Prayer.

Give us this day our what?

Daily bread.

Do you realize what a grace that is?

Of God.

To make us dependent on him every day.

To welcome us in to fresh experiences of trusting him.

Needing him.

Asking him for help.

And so, I feel in my own heart

that we trust God to do the biggest thing

in saving us from our deepest need, from sin,

but why does my heart struggle so much depending on God day by day

for the lesser things?

So, Romans chapter 8, where Paul says this, he says,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

If God is for us, who can be against us?

He who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all,

how shall he not with him freely give us all things?

And so, if God has given us forgiveness from sin,

the greatest human need,

and he's called us into relationship with him,

and he's bridged the gap, as it were,

the separation that existed because of my deficiency,

my rebellion,

and God in demonstrating his own love for us,

in that while I was a sinner, Christ died for me.

He overcame the gap.

He covered the greatest need of my life.

So, why is it that I can trust God for that,

but I can't trust God for the little stuff?

So, here Jesus is.

He's encouraging his disciples.

We've called this road trip reflections

because these are the final parting words, really, of Jesus

to his disciples and to those who are listening to him

along the way of calling them to the greatest things,

dependence on him.

And one of the things that causes us to stand out from the world,

Paul will say,

and now abides faith, hope, love, these three.

The greatest of these is love.

Those are really the three things that set us apart from the world.

Our love for others and our love for God.

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Love your neighbors yourself.

Our faith in God, which is dependence on him day by day.

That's what we're going to talk about today.

And hope.

Trusting God for what he's going to accomplish in eternity for us.

So, we don't like to be dependent.

The truth is, none of us like to acknowledge that we have deep need.

But if we're going to grow in the Christian life,

and if we're going to be those who are growing in faith in Christ,

and growing in the way that we shine the gospel in the world,

it's going to happen as he's producing, nurturing, cultivating in our life

dependence on God day by day.

And so, Jeremiah will say in Lamentations 3,

he says,

Through the Lord's mercies, we are not consumed because his compassions fail not.

They are new every morning.

Great is his faithfulness.

God delights in pouring out his mercy on us day by day.

Are we coming to the well and drawing it up for ourselves?

Enjoying those mercies day by day.

Depending on him, moment by moment.

That's what God is calling us to.

And that's what will shine the gospel.

That's what this passage is about today.

That's the sermon in a nutshell right there.

And so, the way for us, I think, at times,

to enjoy and benefit from learning how to grow in dependence

is by having good examples.

And one of my favorite examples is George Mueller.

Some of you may understand or know who George Mueller is.

He lived in the 1800s.

He had this life of deep dependence on God.

So that the objective or the goal of his life was stated this way.

I have joyfully dedicated my whole life to show how much may be accomplished by prayer and faith.

And if you were to write a summary over his entire life,

that no better summary would exist.

He was a pastor.

He was one who founded a Bible college.

He started an orphanage that over the course of the ministry,

over 10,000 children were a part of his orphanage.

And he trusted God to provide the means to provide for all of those children.

Throughout the duration of his life, he learned, of course,

lessons on dependence and faith.

Let me just share briefly some of the things that he said.

He says,

We should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried.

The more I'm in a position to be tried in faith,

the more I will have the opportunity of seeing God's help and deliverance.

Every fresh instance in which he helps and delivers me will increase my faith.

The believer should not shrink from situations, positions, or circumstances in which his faith may be tried.

But he should cheerfully embrace them as opportunities to see the hand of God stretched out in help and deliverance.

Thus, his faith will be strengthened.

The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials.

The only way to learn strong faith is to endure great trials.

It is through our daily dependence on God that we make much of him and we show that he is worthy of trusting.

He is worthy of our faith.

So that's what this whole passage has been about.

As Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem, he started in the region between Samaria and Galilee,

and he's made his way over to the eastern side of the Jordan.

He's coming down that side of the Jordan.

He's going to make his way into Jericho and ultimately up to Jerusalem.

We know what he waits him there.

And here in these final moments and teachings of Jesus, he's interested in helping his disciples and those who listen

understand the significance of faith and dependence.

That's what this chapter has been about.

So that in chapter 18, verse 1, he says,

He told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

Learn to be dependent and learn that God is trustworthy.

So that in verse 8, I tell you, speaking of God, he will give justice to them speedily.

Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

Do we trust that God is able to answer prayer and to meet us in our place of need?

Then he moves on in verse 9, and we see that now Jesus is now coming against those who are self-reliant.

We find he told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt.

So he tells this parable about two men.

One who was the epitome of righteousness, a Pharisee in that day.

The other which was supposed to kind of encapsulate all that was wicked and ungodly in that culture, a tax collector.

Both of whom were going up to the temple to pray.

This picture of coming to a place of worship.

A place that represented where the presence of God was.

The Pharisee, when he comes, rather than praying to God, we find that he's praying about himself.

Some translations will say he prayed to himself.

And that may be more accurate.

He's the center of his prayer.

He's really the only person he cares about.

And he wants to promote himself and let everyone else know in the room how great he is.

I don't do this, and I instead do this.

I'm not like that tax collector over there.

But then, in verse 13, this parable turns to the tax collector.

He's the word for mercy.

This deep dependence on God.

He recognizes something is true about God's character, that he is a God of mercy.

And this word for mercy is the word propitiation, which is really the word for atonement or appeasement or forgiveness.

And what's taking place either in the morning or in the evening.

It happened twice a day in the temple.

Atonement was made for the people through sacrifice.

And prayer would happen as a result of the sacrifices that were being made.

And this tax collector, recognizing all that was happening there in the temple at this time,

understands there must be atonement for sin.

That he must receive forgiveness.

And that forgiveness only comes from God.

He also recognizes something about himself.

He calls himself the sinner.

The direct article is used in Jesus' parable to refer to him as the ultimate sinner.

The example of someone who is the chief sinner, as it were.

And in this way, we find the gospel does obliterate self-reliance.

At least it should.

We step into this passage this morning, beginning in verse 18.

And we need to ask ourselves, is God dependable?

Is God reliable?

Is God trustworthy?

And if he is, it will not only show up in prayer, it will show up in my posture,

but it will also show up in the way that I depend on him every single day for the things that I have.

And this is where the rubber meets the road for us in Western culture.

This is where dependence in faith will collide, will be tangible,

so that we can say, along with George Mueller,

I have joyfully dedicated my life to show how much may be accomplished by prayer and faith.

Does faith shine from our life as we're trusting God day by day with the things that we need help for?

So we find in verse 18, we find in this passage this morning,

two reasons why we can depend on God.

First, we can depend on God because God is good.

You can depend on a God who is good.

He's good.

We find that in verses 18 and 19.

Look at this with me for a moment.

And a ruler asked him,

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

And Jesus said to him,

Why do you call me good?

No one is good except God alone.

Again, Jesus is on this road with his disciples,

and we find from Matthew's account,

now all of these synoptic gospels are beginning to converge.

And the stories are now kind of picked up from Matthew and Mark,

and now we're going to carry them through together along with Luke to the end of the book.

We find from Matthew's account in chapter 19, verses 1 and 2,

that this wasn't a small gathering.

Jesus had finished these sayings.

He went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan,

and large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.

Of course, he's healing and teaching.

Pilgrims that are coming along with this crowd into Jerusalem,

and certainly Jesus is picking up followers along the way.

We find some things about this ruler from Matthew and Mark.

We find from Matthew that he's young.

It's mentioned twice in the text.

We find from Mark that he's reverent.

He comes, he kneels before Jesus.

There's this measure of humility,

this dependence that's showing up,

even in his posture towards Jesus.

We come to understand that he's knowledgeable.

He knows the law.

He believes himself to be devout.

He's tried to follow the things that the Mosaic law has set forward.

From an outward appearance, he was the ideal Jew.

And the fact that he is wealthy,

which we also see in verse 23 of Luke chapter 18,

Luke 18 · chapter mention

he was extremely wealthy, this would be a marker,

a clue to the people in that day that he was favored by God.

He was blessed by God.

And so from an outward appearance, he had it all together.

Luke is the only one to mention that he's a ruler.

It's possible that he was a ruler in a synagogue.

It's also possible that he was a ruler from the Sanhedrin,

but it's unlikely because of his youth.

It's probably more likely that he was influential and a wealthy man,

a civic leader, as it were,

a leading man of society, a respected layperson,

somebody with repute and distinction in the town or the region.

But in spite of his position,

we find that there is humility in his heart.

What must I do to inherit eternal life?

He's mindful of Christ's position.

He recognizes him as a teacher, as a rabbi.

He's thinking carefully.

As we look through the gospel accounts,

the issue or the subject of eternal life

is really prevalent in the gospel of John.

So he's heard Christ's teaching.

He's aware of eternal life.

He's asking the right question.

Jesus will help to point his attention,

direct his attention on the fact that God is good.

And in speaking of God's goodness,

he begins by helping this man understand

that God's goodness stands apart from us.

His goodness stands apart from us.

Only God is good.

Why do you call me good, he says.

No one is good except God alone.

It may seem like Jesus is avoiding the question.

It may seem like Jesus isn't really answering it directly.

But Jesus wants to underscore the faulty nature of the question altogether.

What is the standard of goodness in your mind?

What do you fit in relation to that standard?

What are you depending on?

Is essentially underneath this statement that Jesus is making.

And of course, this man, aware of the Mosaic law,

would have also been aware of the other passages of Scripture,

the Psalms in particular,

which Paul kind of summarizes and compiles in Romans chapter 3

Romans 3 · chapter mention

to talk about the nature of man

when he says this in Romans 3, 10 to 18.

As it is written, none is righteous.

No, not one.

No one understands.

No one seeks for God.

All have turned aside.

Together they have become worthless.

No one does good, not even one.

Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.

Their feet are swift to shed blood.

In their path are ruin and misery

and the way of peace they have not known.

There is no fear of God before their eyes.

We are not inherently good.

We are corrupt to the core.

And to understand what the Bible says in relationship to our nature

is the beginning of learning that our need and dependence on God in the first place.

Only God is good.

And compared to his perfection,

we are corrupt,

we are worthless,

and we are wicked,

according to this passage.

What are you trusting in?

And essentially,

Jesus is saying,

only God is good.

Of course,

that comes to us from 1 Chronicles 16, 34.

Oh, give thanks to the Lord,

for he is good.

His steadfast love endures forever.

Or Psalm 34, verse 8.

Psalms 34:8

Oh, taste and see

that the Lord is good.

Blessed is the man

who takes refuge in him.

His goodness

stands apart

from

humanity.

And now,

in verse 20,

we're going to see

that his goodness

is revealed to us

in the law.

Now,

Jesus begins to,

in establishing

that only God is good,

now he lifts up

this standard

that God has set

so that

by his grace,

he can allow

this

young

ruler

who has evaluated

himself

probably against

the backdrop

of everyone else

around him

can now evaluate

his life

against the backdrop

of the perfect standard

that God has set

in his law.

God's goodness

revealed in the law.

Verse 20 says,

you know

the commands,

do not commit adultery,

do not murder,

do not steal,

do not bear false witness,

honor your father

and mother.

Jesus

strengthens

his argument here.

By the way,

the law is not arbitrary.

The law is not

just a set of rules

that God

put together

because he thought

we needed something

to obey.

No,

the law is a reflection

of his very nature,

his very character.

By giving us the law,

we come to know

who God is.

The law shows

his purity,

his perfection.

The law was meant

to expose our sin

and lead us to God.

It was meant

to show us

that we need him,

that we are distant,

that our sin

has separated ourselves

from him

and that only God

is good.

here in our passage,

Jesus,

he doesn't confront

the ruler head on,

but he wants

to expose

his heart,

his deficiency,

his understanding.

What you're

trusting in

is not good.

Only God is good.

He gives this law,

do not commit adultery,

do not murder,

do not steal,

do not bear false witness.

Honor your father

and your mother,

which is the second half

half of the Decalogue,

the second half

of the Ten Commandments.

It focuses on

the part of the commands

that relate to others.

And so in essence,

Jesus is saying,

kind of encapsulating

the commandments,

love the Lord your God

with all your heart,

soul, and mind,

and love your neighbor

as yourself.

This is the section

of the Decalogue

that focuses on

the loving your neighbor

as yourself.

because as it relates

to true love,

love for God,

how do we know

that we love God

the way he expects

us to love God?

Well, it shows up

in the way

that we love the people

that God loves.

In Matthew,

Matthew 5:27

chapter 5,

verses 27 and 28,

we understand

that the posture

of loving God

and obeying these commands

is deeper than what happens

on the surface.

It's what's really,

truly in the heart.

And Jesus will say

on the Sermon on the Mount,

you have heard

what was said,

you shall not commit adultery.

But I say to you

that everyone who looks

at a woman with lustful intent

has already committed adultery

with her in his heart.

It's not about the externals,

it's about what's inside.

And then in Matthew,

Matthew 5:21

chapter 5,

verses 21 and 22,

Jesus will expose

what true murder looks like

when he says,

you have heard

that it was said

to those of old,

you shall not murder.

And whoever murders

will be liable of judgment.

But I say to you

that everyone

who is angry

with his brother

will be liable

to judgment.

Whoever insults

his brother

will be liable

to the council.

And whoever says,

you fool,

will be liable

of the hell of fire.

I love how Ray Comfort,

if you're familiar

with his ministry,

how Ray Comfort

will go to college campuses

or go to the beach cities

of California.

and his approach

is to use

these kinds

of questions

to draw out

his listeners.

To help them see

how far away

they are

from God's

perfect standard.

Where in the beginning

of the conversation,

they'll say,

well,

I'm a pretty good person,

of course,

I'm going to heaven.

Well,

then it'll lead them

through this progression

of questions

and one by one

they'll say,

well,

I guess

if I've lusted

after someone

in my heart,

I'm an adulterer.

I guess

if I have hated

someone in my heart,

I'm a murderer.

And of course,

as it relates

to stealing,

as it relates

to bearing false witness,

as it relates

to honoring

our father and mother,

those things

are so apparent

and it should have led

this man

to the right conclusion.

The honest answer

should have been,

no,

I'm far from good.

I've come to a place

of understanding

nothing good

exists within me.

Any of you

who are aware

of Ray Comfort

will appreciate

and understand

that approach

to ministry

and so that

by the time

he's done,

everyone who has

listened to his

gospel presentation

has come to

that conclusion

but somehow

and for some reason

this rich young ruler

was not able

to make that connection.

He was not able

to be honest

with himself.

But the statement

instead would have

a reverse effect.

Instead of this man

being led

to the place

of recognizing

his sin,

he comes to a place

as we see

in the next verse

in verse 21.

He said,

all these things

I've kept

from my youth.

And now Jesus

needs to press in

and help him

understand that

God's goodness

cannot be achieved.

God's goodness

cannot be replicated.

God's goodness

cannot be duplicated

by human effort.

It is God's goodness

and God's goodness

alone.

You can almost see

this man's smile

on his face.

He's ecstatic.

All of his hopes

have been confirmed.

He's relieved.

It's exactly

what he expected

Jesus to say.

If I live

according to the law

then I get heaven.

If I obey

the commands

I'll get rewards

not only on earth

but also in heaven.

What a relief.

He's stoked.

I've kept

all these commands

from my youth.

Of course

none of that was true.

He drew the wrong

conclusions.

He was not being

honest with himself.

It's kind of like

those videos

if you've ever watched

them of the kids

that are in the room

and you see them

they've marked

themselves with lipstick

right?

And mom comes

into the room

and says

what you been doing?

Oh nothing.

Or my favorite

this is two little girls

who thought

they would get

to play

in some desitin

and so they've

coated each other

with desitin

their faces

and their hair.

Mom comes in

and says

hey what you guys

been doing?

Oh nothing.

And it's as

clear as day.

It's as plain

as the desitin

on their face.

But he would not

acknowledge

where he really was

in relationship

to perfection.

He was unwilling

to acknowledge

that he was dependent.

this man is doing

the exact same thing

these two little girls

are doing.

And with this

inflated view

of himself

essentially

what he's doing

is blaspheming God.

He's inflating himself

he's bringing God down

and by doing that

he is cursing God

to his face

because God is standing

right in front of him.

Jesus says

here in verse 22

Jesus heard this

he said to him

one thing you still lack

see all that you have

excuse me

sell all that you have

distribute to the poor

and you will have

treasure in heaven

and come

follow me.

You see

God's goodness

can't

be

achieved

on our own.

Can't be achieved.

I love how Mark

recounts Christ's response

in Mark chapter 10

Mark 10:20

verse 20 and 21

it says

and he said to him

speaking of the rich ruler

teacher all these things

I've kept for my youth

and Jesus

looking at him

loved him.

Jesus

looking at him

loved him.

What an amazing description.

This man

has ignorantly

blasphemed God.

He's made much

of himself

he's

he's brazenly

declared

himself

to be righteous

and effect

has brought

God down

and what does

God do?

Well

God

in Christ

looks at him

and loves him.

Can you imagine

the scene?

I envision

Jesus

there

with a tender

smile

on his face

maybe

tilting his head

to one side

and in his eyes

and in his face

essentially he's saying

you really don't understand

but I love you anyway.

He gently provides

this next statement

one

thing

you lack

sell all that you have

distribute to the poor

and you will have treasure

in heaven

and come and follow me.

Jesus puts his finger

on the one thing

that this

rich

ruler

cannot escape

his own

covetous heart

his own

self-reliant

heart

his own

desire

for

personal comfort

in

his life.

This statement

is entirely

consistent

of course

with what Jesus

says throughout

his ministry.

In Luke chapter 14

Luke 14:33

verse 33

he says

therefore

any one of you

who does not

renounce

all that he has

cannot

be

my disciple.

Or what he says

in Luke chapter 12

Luke 12 · chapter mention

when he says

fear not little flock

for it is your

father's good pleasure

to give you the kingdom.

Sell your possessions

and give to the needy.

Provide yourselves

with money bags

that do not grow old

with a treasure

in the heavens

that does not fail

where no thief

approaches

and no moth

destroys

for where your

treasure is

there will your

heart be also.

Now this is a

hard word

for us

but essentially

what Jesus

is saying

is he's saying

allow yourself

to be open

to the possibility

of giving

what you have

to God.

Live with an open hand.

Pray the prayer

God

all that I have

belongs to you.

Take it

however you will

and grow

in my heart

a compassion

for others

so that I'm

willing to step in

and I'm willing

to address

the needs

that I see

when they arise.

Jesus is interested

in the kind

of heart

that is

attached

to heaven

to eternity.

It's attached

to seeking

first the kingdom

of God

and his righteousness.

Jesus is saying

you need to be

dependent

not self-reliant.

You cannot

be good

like God.

You need to

understand

essentially

the essence

of the Old Testament

summarized

in two statements.

Love the Lord

your God

and love your neighbor

as yourself.

And as you come

to understand

a heart

that is tuned

to obedience

to God

and love

for God

it's going

to reflect

itself

in a posture

of

generosity

for others.

And by the way

it's not

that Jesus

is commending

a works-based

righteousness.

Give all that you have

and then you'll be saved.

No.

what he's trying

to help

this rich young ruler

understand

is that a heart

of faith

in salvation

is a heart

that depends

on God

for everything

not just salvation.

That's what

is at the heart

of Jesus' command.

Love God

like God

loves others.

1 John 3

16-18

brings us home

where John says

by this we know

love.

He laid down

his life for us.

We ought also

to lay down

our lives

for the brothers.

If we're going

to love

like Jesus

we're going

to be those

who lay

our lives

down for

the saints.

As Paul

will say

in 2 Corinthians

he says

he who is rich

made himself

poor

so that we

through his

poverty

might enjoy

his riches.

By his grace

we've been saved.

The same

posture exists

in the heart

of believers.

A willingness

to live

with an open

hand.

A willingness

to distribute

to those

who are in need.

As we find

in verse 17

if anyone

has this world's

goods

sees his brother

in need

and closes

his heart

against him

how does

God's love

abide in him?

Little children

let us not

love in word

or talk

but in deed

in truth.

let the

rubber

meet the

road

as it

relates

to

dependence

on God

and a

willingness

to follow

in God's

steps

by meeting

the needs

of those

around you.

Fortunately

our passage

doesn't end

there.

God

is dependable

because God

is good

and in the

final verses

here

we can

depend

on God

because

we have

a God

who saves.

You can

depend

on a God

who saves

and I

draw

these points

out of

verse 26

and 27

just look

at those

with me

briefly

we're going

to just

quickly

move our

way through

these verses

it says

those who

heard

it said

then who

could be

saved?

But he

said

what is

impossible

with man

is possible

with God.

God

overcomes

the impossibility

he overcomes

our rebellion

he overcomes

our self-reliance

he overcomes

our blasphemy

to give us

himself

through Jesus

Christ

and to draw

us into

faith in him

and to forgive

us of sins

and bridge

the gap

and usher

us into

salvation

to lead us

home

to heaven

you can

depend

on a God

who saves

he overcomes

the impossible

in verses

23 to 25

Jesus wants

to establish

that no one

can save

themselves

salvation

only comes

from the

Lord

notice

it says

in verse

23

when he

heard these

things

speaking

of the

rich

young

ruler

he

became

very

sad

for he

was

extremely

rich

Jesus

seeing

that he

had become

sad

said

how difficult

it is

for those

who have

wealth

to enter

the kingdom

of God

for 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

in Mark's

account

in Mark

Mark 10:22

chapter 10

verse 22

it describes

this man

as being

disheartened

disheartened

by the

saying

he went

away

sorrowful

for he

had great

possessions

it broke

his heart

it crushed

him

in his

spirit

in Matthew

Matthew 19:22

chapter 19

verse 22

it says

when the

young man

heard this

he went

away

sorrowful

for he

had great

possessions

in our

passage

he became

very sad

it's important

to note

as one

commentator

notes

sadness

does not

always lead

to repentance

your sadness

doesn't

compare

or correlate

to repentance

you can be

sad

you can be

grieved

you can be

sorrowful

it doesn't

mean you're

saved

because only

godly sorrow

produces

repentance

and that

kind of

sorrow

is the

kind of

sorrow

that leads

to turning

it leads

to dependence

it leads

to trust

it leads

to forgiveness

it leads

to looking

to Jesus

as the only

way

for salvation

recognizing

one's own

deficiency

and looking

to god

for help

sadness

does not

always lead

to repentance

as we find

here

to receive

the treasure

he wants

speaking

of this

rich young

ruler

to receive

the treasure

he wants

the ruler

must give up

the treasure

he has

and that's

true for

every one

of us

in the room

if we want

to enjoy

and experience

the treasure

of god

we need

to be willing

to lay down

whatever earthly

treasures

we have here

give them

over to god

with an open

hand

entrust them

to him

so we can

enjoy

a life

of confidence

and faith

and trust

in him

that he

can show

through even

great trials

that he's

dependable

that's what

the christian

life is

intended to

produce in

us

a life of

dependence

not a life

of self

reliance

jesus

confronts

this man

because no

one can

save

themselves

and then

he turns

in verse

26 and

27

to demonstrate

once again

god alone

can save

he is the

god who

saves

verse 26

those who

heard it

said

who then

can be

saved

but he

said

the things

which are

impossible

with men

are possible

with god

christ's

response to

this situation

of course

shattered their

conventional wisdom

in their minds

they felt as

though this

rich man

had it all

together

he was the

picture of

god's favor

and blessing

on his life

and he was

a person

who was

devout

at least

externally

in every

way

certainly

this man

is going

to heaven

but what

this man

could not

understand

is that

it didn't

depend on

him

his riches

his goodness

his supposed

goodness

his position

in the

community

the apparent

favor of

god on

his life

was only

a barrier

was just

an obstacle

to true

conversion

because he

was depending

on that

rather than

depending

on god

luke chapter

Luke 12:21

12 verse

21 says

the one

who lays

up treasure

for himself

is not

rich

towards god

do we see

our wealth

as an opportunity

for generosity

do we see

our

our resources

as a means

of growing

in faith

in god

as a

stewardship

and a

means of

strengthening

relationship

with other

believers

that god

has put us

in community

with

are we

recognizing

that all

of the

blessings

that god

has given

to us

through

financial

wealth

is a

means by

which we

can grow

in faith

in him

and by

the way

from the

standpoint

of where

we stand

as a

people

in America

in relation

to the rest

of the world

I just did

this quick

survey

if your

combined

household

income

is

$50,000

and my

guess is

that most

everyone

in this

room

is about

almost

there

and you

have a

house

$50,000

and you

have a

house

then you

are in

the top

10%

of the

world's

richest

people

we are

a rich

nation

and so

it's

incumbent

upon us

as

those

who are

putting our

faith in

God

to demonstrate

our

dependence

upon

God

the

responsibility

and the

accountability

we have

is that

much more

finally

in verses

28 and

30

we recognize

that the

dependence on

God leads

to great

reward

that it's

not empty

that we're

not laying

down

the things

that we

have

and turning

them over

to God

in a way

that doesn't

have great

benefits to

us

all throughout

the gospels

Jesus is

commending

laying up

treasures for

ourselves in

heaven

but not just

what happens

there

what we find

in our

passages

there are

benefits

in the

here and

now

notice

verse 28

and Peter

said see

we have

left our

homes and

followed you

and he said

to them

truly I say

to you

there is no

one who

has left

house or

wife or

brother or

parent or

child for

the sake of

the kingdom

of God

who will

not receive

many times

more in

this time

and in

the age to

come

eternal

life

there are

benefits

in the

here and

now

for

dependence

on God

and not

just what

we gain

in terms

of relationship

with him

and intimacy

and seeing

his faithfulness

and growing

in our

walk

with him

but just

look around

look around

at how

your family

has grown

because of

what Christ

has accomplished

in making

us one

together

and this is

what Jesus

draws attention

to

his mother

and brothers

came

to visit

him

and he says

in Luke

Luke 8:21

chapter 8

verse 21

he says

this

he answered

them

my mother

and my

brothers

are those

who hear

the word

of God

and do

it

whatever

sacrifices

you make

for the

sake

of the

kingdom

today

are petty

compared

to the

all surpassing

glory

of God

and the

wonder

of what

God

has offered

to us

through

the company

of his

saints

through the

fellowship

that we

enjoy

through the

giving

and receiving

that happens

among

believers

as they

are investing

in one

another

and sharing

with one

another

and encouraging

and shepherding

and helping

the benefits

that we enjoy

in the economy

that God

has created

through salvation

that draws

us in

together

and makes

us one

through Christ

what a

blessing

nothing is

lost

everything

is gained

are we

going to be

those

who are

willing

to walk

in dependence

day by

day

trusting

in God

for the

daily bread

willing

to give

God

with an

open hand

saying

whatever

I have

Lord

it belongs

to you

help me

to use

it

and help

me to

grow

in my

dependence

on you

through

my

stewardship

and through

blessing

those around

me

may I

demonstrate

through my

life

that you

are faithful

and dependable

you are

trustworthy

may the

gospel shine

through us

as we depend

on him

this way

let's pray

Lord

thank you

for the

times that you

put your

finger in our

chest

and you

help us

to understand

that the

truths that are

there are

inescapable

and really

as we come

to this

passage

we all

walk away

coming to

realize that

we're not a

whole lot

different

from this

rich young

ruler

in that

we

struggle

with the

idea

of living

with an

open hand

of entrusting

our resources

to you

how radical

how even

reckless

it may seem

to sell

our possessions

and give

to the poor

that's not

good stewardship

Lord help us

to understand

what you're

calling us

to

help us

to understand

the delicate

balance between

stewardship

and faith

and how using

those resources

that you've

entrusted to us

is a means

by which we

can bless

others

but also

a means

by which

we can

grow

ourselves

in dependence

upon

the one

who will

never let

us down

the God

who is

good

and the

God

who saves

make that

picture

ever more

present

press

yourself

your image

into our

life

we pray

in Jesus

name

amen

God bless

you

have a great

week