Eternal life

Good morning. Good morning to those on Zoom as well. My name is Bo, I'm one of the elders.

Happy New Year as well.

This morning, we are going to go to a story of a young man who is not that happy after all.

We will see why. Initially, the title of the sermon was The Failure of Success.

Then, as I prepared the sermon in detail, I realized that not many of us consider ourselves successful,

but the sermon is relevant to all of us.

And the bigger picture is we are looking at the idea, the concept of eternal life.

And so I changed the title to Eternal Life.

Let's pray first before we start.

Almighty God, we thank you for this new year and the hope that we have ahead of us because of you.

We want to see the Lord Jesus Christ as we go into your words this morning.

May you teach us your ways. Thank you, Lord. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

So we will be reading from the book of Mark, chapter 10, verses 17 to 22.

Mark 10:17–22

So for this first part of the sermon, this one I will read from Mark 10, 17.

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him,

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

So in this reading, we come across a man who runs after Jesus and kneels before him in front of everybody else.

So we can see that Mark is trying to tell us, someone who is quite desperate and also genuine,

wanting to know something, to learn something.

And also the fact that he kneels before Jesus is showing his great respect for Jesus

and addresses Jesus as his teacher, and he wants to know what he can do to gain eternal life.

I think this man would have observed Jesus for quite some time, I mean, for him to do that,

to trust that Jesus would be able to tell him what to do to gain eternal life.

And also, Telstra says this man would have been searching for the answer for quite some time.

So he's desperate, because he couldn't find it elsewhere.

He might have asked many people, but he just couldn't see it from anyone.

But somehow, he knew that, he knows that Jesus knows the answer.

Unlike the religious leaders of his days, who thought Jesus was a deceiver,

because of the way Jesus handled Sabbath or other topics,

this man understands that Jesus has something he has been looking for.

This man also thinks that the secret of eternal life is closely guarded by Jesus and his followers.

He therefore kneels before Jesus publicly,

hoping that Jesus would see his sincerity and tell him the secret.

And who is this man?

From the help of the other Gospels, Matthew and Luke,

we can gather that this man is young, maybe in his 20s,

that he is younger than Jesus.

He is also wealthy and in a position of power.

And he's usually referred to as a rich young ruler.

So this man has everything everyone in the world would like to have.

Youth, power, wealth.

So we know that when we are young,

we usually do not have power or wealth to enjoy life.

And then as we get older,

we are too busy trying to gain wealth and power

and don't have time to enjoy life.

And when we get quite old,

even if we have gained enough power and wealth,

we become physically too weak to enjoy life.

So that is the problem of life.

And this man has everything.

He's got power, he's got wealth,

he's got youth on his side.

What more does he want?

Why is he not happy?

In the sense that he's quite desperate.

Desperate.

He wants to learn something important.

We can see that his soul is restless.

The same as our souls, we are restless.

We are always looking for something to satisfy our souls.

We think that strength, wealth,

or being in a position of power would satisfy our souls.

We envy someone who is more successful than us,

thinking that we will be happier if we are just as successful.

This rich young ruler is telling us that he has been there

and his soul remains restless.

His success brings him a sense of emptiness.

In the sense that you already have what everybody is looking for.

What next?

It doesn't satisfy.

What else can he do for his life?

It's also like a Christmas toy that a child has been looking forward to.

But finding it no longer enjoyable the day after Boxing Day.

You get what you look for every year after year,

and then you don't enjoy it anymore.

Even if you do enjoy it for a long time,

the thing will not last anyway.

Everything breaks down eventually.

So this young man also knows that he is going to die one day.

Then what?

He sees Jesus living a restful life,

despite having no wealth or position.

And he also knows that Jesus is not a fool.

I mean, if we don't think much about life,

we just go easy for everything.

But he knows that Jesus is the wisest man he has ever met.

Because when Jesus teaches,

he teaches as someone who knows what he is talking about.

And he teaches with authority.

And when Jesus faces opposition,

he remains calm and composed.

Jesus does not flatter or belittle someone in his interaction with people.

He does not need to flatter someone to gain respect,

or belittle someone to feel better on himself.

So Jesus just has a life that is very different.

A life that is superior to his life,

at least in quality,

and most likely in quantity as well.

So this young man seeking for life

is not only long-lasting,

but also meaningful.

This morning,

on the first day of a new year,

I wonder what we are seeking

for this year.

A better job?

A spouse?

A family?

I mean, these are all important things in life.

But this young man

wants more.

He wants eternal life.

Because he knows that without eternal life,

all other things in life are not meaningful

at the end.

And without eternal life,

it's just like going through Christmas

every day without your loved one.

And it's just,

there's no basis

for us to enjoy

anything in life.

If you do have eternal life,

will you seek,

if you do not have eternal life,

will you seek it today?

If you already have eternal life,

will you seek

something bigger than yourself

this year?

Yeah.

We continue with the story.

Mark 10,

verse 18a,

the first part of it.

And Jesus said to him,

Why do you call me good?

No one is good

except God alone.

It seems that

Jesus was not,

he's not answering

the young man's

question about how to

inherit eternal life.

But goodness is very important.

If the young man

does not understand

what goodness is,

he will not understand

what eternal life is.

And that's why Jesus

had to first of all

deal with this question

about goodness first.

How many times

we use the word good

every day?

We say good morning,

good girl,

good boy.

He's good at sports

or say I'm good.

What do we mean

by good?

It's just

there could be

many meanings.

And what does

this young man mean

when he calls Jesus

as a good teacher?

Does he mean

Jesus is a competent

teacher?

Does he mean

Jesus is a helpful

teacher?

Or does he mean

Jesus is a godly

teacher?

So there are many

meanings in the word

good.

But when we say

someone is a good

person,

we usually mean

that that person

gives us what we

want.

So for example,

a father may

tell a boy,

a good boy,

when the boy

obeys his

instruction to

take the rubbish

out,

then the father

feels happy

and so there's

a good boy.

Or a teenager

who went to

borrow the car

from the father

and the father

lent him the car

for whatever reason

and he said

this is a good

father.

And so that is

how we usually

use the word

good.

And we think

that a government

is a good government

if it fulfills

our wishes.

We also think

that someone is

good if it makes

other people happy,

like a sports

person,

a movie star

because they

entertain people

and they're

doing a good job

and so we can

see just recently

the last two days

the news about

so and so died

after how many

years.

They're all in

entertainment

or fashion design

and those are

considered good

people because

they contributed

to the society

and this is how

we use the word

good.

and the young

men would also

think that he

himself is a

good person

because he

had kept

God's laws.

But when he

sees Jesus

he sense that

Jesus' goodness

is different

to his.

Just like the

Pharisees,

to the Pharisees

Jesus did not

appear to be

a good person

because he

does the work

of healing

on Sabbath day

he breaks

the Sabbath law

to the Pharisees.

To this young

man Jesus'

goodness seemed

to be above

the law.

Do you see

that the laws

are there to

restrain and

to train

bad people?

If we are

inherently good

God does not

need to give

any law

for us to live

by.

Just like

if we are

all

considerate

drivers

we don't

need to

have all

those

root laws.

We would

be careful

and we would

not

drink and

dry all

those things.

So the laws

are there

just because

we are not

good.

God

and

we

usually do

good because

we want to

gain something.

We want to

be respected

or we want

to avoid

punishment.

We want to

get a reward.

Jesus does

good because

he is good.

Jesus does

not do

good to

exchange for

something.

He does

good simply

because he

is good.

and that

is the

goodness

of God.

And you

may think

that when

you spend

time with

someone who

is inherently

good,

you will

enjoy his

company.

The truth

is that

someone who

is inherently

good will

most likely

offend us

or threaten

us.

Jesus'

goodness

threatens so

many people

that they

rejected him

and killed

him.

When I

was a

teenager,

I joined,

I wasn't

a Christian

there.

I joined

Red Cross

Youth Cadet

Group.

The group

leader was

a Christian

and the

only Christian

that I

ever met.

And

he was

there's a

bunch of

us who

are quite

stupid

and young

under him.

and this

leader was

stern.

He would

not tolerate

unruly

behavior.

But he

was also

kind to

each of

us.

So he

treated us

with respect.

Some other

leaders label him

as a holy,

holy person,

jokingly behind

his back.

So that's

why, you

see, because

he's got that

goodness that we

didn't have.

There are

people who

would not

tolerate him.

but some

of us

were

attracted

and I

was

attracted

by his

goodness

that I

didn't

have.

And so

I asked

him

why.

Then he

explained

why he

had what

Jesus.

And he

told me

about Jesus

dying for

our sins

when we

were being

unkind

towards God.

And that's

how I

became a

Christian

eventually.

what is

eternal

life?

In

John 17

3,

Jesus

said,

and this

is eternal

life,

that they

know you,

the only

true God

and Jesus

Christ

only have

saints.

When we

know God

through Jesus

Christ and

become part

of his

goodness,

that is

eternal

life.

In the

presence of

goodness,

evil cannot

last forever

and evil

cannot be

enjoyable.

Jesus

wants this

young man

to realize

that he

is talking

to the

good God

and that

he cannot

inherit

eternal

life without

first being

part of

God's

goodness.

Because

God's

goodness

will not

tolerate

him in

his state

of badness

or evil.

And that's

why Jesus

first of all

mentioned

about goodness.

Hopefully we

can also

understand that.

we continue

with Mark

10,

18b

until 21.

So Jesus

said,

you know

the commandments.

Do not

murder,

do not

commit adultery,

do not

steal,

do not

bear false

weakness,

do not

defraud,

honour your

father and

mother.

And he

said to

him,

teacher,

all this

I have

kept from

my youth.

And Jesus

looking at

him,

loved him,

said to

him,

you lack

one thing,

go sell

all that

you have

and give

to the

poor,

and you

will have

treasure in

heaven,

and come

follow me.

one of the

expressions of

goodness is

love.

Keeping the

commandment does

not necessarily

mean that a

person has

love for

God or

for his

neighbours.

love.

In 1

1 Corinthians 13:3

Corinthians

chapter 13

verse 3

it says,

if I give

away all

I have

and if I

deliver up

my body

to be

burned

but have

not love,

I gain

nothing.

So

love

doing

all the

commandments

does not

mean that we

have this

love.

However,

for someone

who has

love,

he will

automatically

leave out

the

commandments.

Jesus is

love.

Jesus does

not keep

the

commandments.

He leaves

the

commandments.

That is

the difference.

Goodness is

exclusive.

It does

not tolerate

what is

not good.

Love,

likewise,

does not

tolerate

what is

not good.

Looking at

this young

man,

Jesus loves

him.

Jesus says

only God

is good.

But Jesus

also sees

some goodness

in this

young man.

What is

the goodness

that Jesus

sees in

this young

man?

One of the

things that

I think

Jesus loves

is this

young man's

curiosity.

This young

man wants

to know

more about

life.

All of us

are born

with

curiosity.

We want

to learn.

We want

to know.

A wise

parent or

teacher knows

how to

help a

child to

develop

his

curiosity.

Unfortunately,

in our

society,

most of

us grew

up in

a work

for

external

reward

system.

We

study hard

or work

hard mostly

because we

want to be

better than

other people

or to get

recognition

for our

hard work.

Not so

much because

we want

to know.

We want

to know

more about

this

situation.

world that

God created.

We want

to know

more about

life.

And that

is part

of the

thing that

God created

in us.

Curiosity

to know

to grow.

So besides

curiosity,

Jesus also

loved this

young man's

desire for

meaning in

life.

We may

not know

how to

define a

meaningful

life,

but the

Bible defines

it as a

life of

glory,

honor,

and

immortality.

That is in

Romans 2.7.

To those

who by

patience

in well

doing,

seek for

glory and

honor and

immortality,

he will

give eternal

life.

God created

us for

glory,

honor,

and

immortality.

And that

is also

eternal life.

Eternal

life is not

only everlasting,

but also a

life that is

glorious and

honorable.

honorable.

We have

all sinned

and fallen

short of

the glory

of God.

We live

a life that

we are

ashamed of.

We would

if we

think about

it,

that our

life is

neither

glorious or

honorable

at the

end.

This young

man knows

that something

is missing

in his

life,

despite him

keeping

the

commandments,

despite his

wealth,

despite his

position.

glory and

honor in

Jesus'

life.

He decides

what Jesus

has,

and Jesus

loves him

for that.

But Jesus

does not

love this

young man's

love for

money.

Jesus

says that

we cannot

serve God

and money

at the

same time.

When we

love money,

it implies

that we

think with

our own

achievement,

we can

give ourselves

glory and

honor.

God loves

what he

has made

in us,

but God

does not

love what

we have

made for

ourselves.

Jesus

loved this

young man.

God's love

is not

sentimental.

It is a

love that

does not

tolerate what

is not good

in a person.

Jesus told

this young

man to

do a

difficult

thing,

to replace

the love

of money

with the

love of

God.

God

loves

God.

God

loves

love

to be

all

inclusive.

God's

love is

exclusive.

God

loves

exclusively

what is

good.

While God

does not

love what

is not

good,

God

does not

just sit

there

resenting

what is

not

good.

God

does

something

to change

what is

not

good

into

what is

good.

He

sent

Jesus

to the

world.

How do we

know Jesus

has eternal

life?

Because

Jesus

is good

and because

Jesus

has love

that

loves

what is

good.

We come

to Mark

10,

22,

possibly one

of the saddest

words in

the Bible.

Dishardened

by the

saying,

he went

away

sorrowful,

for he

had great

possessions.

this young

man has

seen

Jesus'

glory

and

honor.

He also

knows that

his own

achievements

do not

satisfy

and do

not last

long.

He knows

that there

is no

eternal

life in

money,

but money

can give

him

identity.

That is,

he is a

rich person,

he is a

successful

person.

Money can

give him

security,

where he

can live

for a

long time

in comfort

because of

money,

and money

can give

him pleasure.

He can

afford

many

entertainments.

If Jesus

lets him

keep his

money,

he would

have no

problem

following

Jesus

immediately,

I think.

Even if

Jesus

let him

keep half

of his

money,

I think

he would

still

consider

following

Jesus.

After all,

with his

money,

he can

support

Jesus'

mission as

well.

he just

could not

give up

all his

possessions.

It's too

much for

him to

give up.

He

didn't

understand

why Jesus

wants him

to give

up

everything.

So he

walks away

sorrowfully.

In a

way,

I'm glad

that he

walks away

in sorrow

and not

in anger.

If you

have run

after Jesus

and kneeled

before him

in front

of many

people,

and if

Jesus

implies

that

keeping

the

commandments

will

give

you

eternal

life,

and now

Jesus

says there

is still

one more

thing to

do,

and this

one more

thing is

for you

to give

all you

have to

the poor,

how will

you feel?

You have

worked hard

to get

your wealth.

Those people

have done

nothing to

deserve your

wealth.

Would you

not think

that this

is most

unfair?

When you

walk away

in anger

instead of

in sorrow,

but this

young man

walk away

in sorrow,

that shows

that he

believes

what Jesus

tells him

is true,

but the

cost of

eternal life

is too

high,

he cannot

give up

all that

he has.

Over the

years,

I have seen

many patients

with liver

disease because

of alcohol.

So,

no one

wants to

die of

liver

disease.

It's a

painful death.

I told

them if

they wanted

to live

longer,

they needed

to give

up alcohol

and start

to live

a healthier

lifestyle.

Not many

people could

give up

alcohol

easily.

A lot

of people

would say,

yeah,

I will do

it,

but they

never do

it.

After a

few months,

you do

their blood

test,

their liver

function is

still as

bad,

or it's

not worse.

And some

who try

to cut

down,

they will

cut

down,

I will

just

drink a

little

bit.

But they

couldn't

either,

because once

they start

drinking a

little bit,

they couldn't

stop.

They just

keep drinking.

And some

already knew

they couldn't

do it,

so they

could only

walk away

in sorrow,

because

there is

the dilemma.

I can't

give up

alcohol,

I must

drink it.

I know

that it's

going to

kill me,

but I

still

drink it.

I

know

you

cannot,

but do

you want

to?

If they

want to,

I can

help them.

They have

medication,

they can

help people

to extend

for

alcohol.

But

some people

just didn't

ask for

help,

and they

just

walk away.

The deadly

problem of

being successful

is that we

become self-sufficient

and self-reliant

in society

in general.

Because

successful people

are so used

to be admired

and followed,

they tend to

think that if

they cannot

solve a

problem,

no one

else can.

Many of

us,

when we

look back

to our

younger

days,

we might

have many

regrets,

because we

did not

seek advice

from people

who have

more experience

than us,

or we

did not

listen to

their advice,

the many

things that

we decide

in life.

When we

are young,

we thought

that we

knew

everything.

This young

man has

made his

first step

of seeking

advice from

someone who

he respected

as a good

teacher.

He cannot

make one

more step

to ask

for help.

He does

not need

to walk

away in

sorrow.

He just

needs to

admit that

he needs

help to

give up

all he

has.

If this

young man

seeks further

help from

Jesus and

sticks with

Jesus,

he will

soon find

out that

to be

with Jesus

is eternal

life.

He will

find out

that someone

who has

eternal

life will

overflow

with goodness

and love.

He will

find out

that someone

who has

eternal

life can

give all

he has

to help

people who

do not

deserve any

help.

He will

find out

that the

more he

gives away,

the more

he is

full and

he will

find rest.

Today,

Jesus'

answer to

anyone who

seeks eternal

life is

the same.

Give up

your dependence

on anything

that gives

you glory

and honour

in the

world and

follow me.

We are

more privileged

than this

young man

because we

live on

this side

of the

cross and

know that

God has

given us

his own

son to

die for

our sins.

And if

he has

given us

his own

son,

will he

not give

us all

things along

with him?

Let us

pray.

Oh,

Father God,

we are so

thankful for

this life

that we

have in

Christ.

Father,

we want

to live

this life

worthy of

calling in

this year

2023.

Help us

to do so.

In Jesus'

name we

pray.

Amen.