If any of y'all ever preached
any, it's that last song, you want it to keep going sometimes.
Let's turn back to Mark chapter 10 again. I left my glasses in the hotel
room so I can see you all real well. And I can't see my notes
too well, but as my brother Tom Harding always reminded me, we're
in the people business. And I pray we remember this story.
It'll be fresh to us today. It's been about nine years since
I've been here. We came through. I didn't preach for you. I wasn't
preaching then, but my family and I came through on an RV trip
about nine years ago, and nobody seems to remember, and the Lord's
awful gracious. I'm glad you don't. You ever
done that? You turn 30 and you say, boy,
in my 20s, I was a fool. But now I'm all right. And he
turned 40 and he said, boy, my 30s, like I just didn't have
it together. But now I'm doing pretty good. So I'm sure I'll
think the same thing when I'm 50. This is a familiar story. It is. I pray it's fresh to us
today. This is a wonderful picture of
every man or woman born of Adam and cross-saving a sinner in
spite of themselves. in spite of themselves for love's
sake and for his glory's sake. Look here in Mark 10, we'll look
at verse 17. Mark 10, 17, it says, and when
he was gone forth into the west, this is speaking of our Lord,
there came one running, he was running, and kneeled to him and
asked him, good master, what shall I do that I may inherit
eternal life? who was coming to the Lord. Who was this one that was running
here in Mark? This was the rich young ruler.
That's what we always call him, the heading there in my text
is rich young ruler. How do we know that? How do we
know that? Well, this is a story that's
in the synoptic gospels, in the three gospels. In Luke, it says
there was a certain ruler asked him. So we know he was a ruler.
He was a man of authority, probably about 30 years old, early 30s.
And he was a ruler there in the synagogues. And he also says
he was very rich. He was wealthy. Business was
booming in religion back then as it is in today. Nothing's
new under the sun, is it? And in Matthew, Matthew 19, it
said he was a young man. A young man. He was rich. Did he have money? Yeah, he had
money. But he was wealthy in his own
knowledge. He was rich in his own ideas, in his own thoughts,
in his own ways. He was rich in his own good doing,
in his own righteousness. That's all of us. He was young. Was he young in age? Yeah, he
was young in age, but judgment and death and that final judgment
and facing the one that we've sinned against, that was far
from him. He wasn't considering his end. He had his whole life
ahead of him. Good times to come. That's what was on his mind. Was he a ruler? Yes. He had carnal
power. He had some authority among men.
But he was his own man. He was his own ruler. He didn't
need some man to reign over him. He wouldn't have a man reign
over him. He was the boss. He was the pilot. And he might
have this good master be his co-pilot, as some people would
say. That's all of us. That's man
left to himself. That's our thoughts. We want
to make ourselves the prophet, the priest, and the king. And
might let somebody else in. And that's taking the cross position,
isn't it? Is he rich? Well, he has cattle on a thousand
hills, right? But he is righteousness. If we have any faith, it's from
him. If we have any grace, it's from him. That's rich, isn't
it? Well, is he young? He's the eternal
one. Age doesn't affect him at all.
He always has. We can't wrap our minds around
that. We really can't understand it. He always has been, he is,
and he always shall be. And he's the ruler. This is the
great king. He rules all of creation, the
birds, the bees, the molecules, all things. He rules all providence,
what comes to pass, the droughts, the floods, life, death, He rules
salvation. That's his. Well, how did this
young man, how did he come? It says he was running, didn't
he? What was the physical appearance of this action? From outside
looking in, if we was there and we saw this young man who was
rich, who was a ruler, what would we have seen? We saw him running,
didn't we? He run and he kneeled to him. There was urgency there.
This man was serious. And he come and he kneeled down
and he had respectful terms, didn't he? It seems good, it
seems that there's some reverence there, some protocol to be followed
to deal with this man. What title did this rich young
ruler use for the Lord? He called him good master. That
sounds good, doesn't it? He's calling him good teacher,
good instructor. You're like somebody down at
the college, I can go and pay money for a class and I'll take
what I can use and learn something and I'll go on about my day.
He's not like Thomas. Doubtful Thomas, Lord told the
Pharisees, that's the difference between sonship, isn't it? Pharisees
said, show us a sign. And the Lord said, you ain't
getting a sign but Jonah. Just as he was in the belly of
the whale for three days, so the son of man shall be. And
Thomas said, I won't believe unless I can touch his side.
He comes to Thomas and said, come here, buddy. Put your hand
right here. Come on. That's his son. And Thomas said,
my Lord and my God. This young man came and said,
well, you're a good master. You remember in Matthew 26, Christ
told those around him, the 12 apostles there, he said, one
of you is going to betray me. And each one of them ran around that
table and they said, Lord, is it I? If somebody is going to betray
you, it's going to be me. I know it. Lord, is it I? Lord, is it
I? Lord, is it I? And it came to
Judas. And Judas said, Master is it I and he said unto him
thou hast said You just said it You said it Judas What was
this man's interest? It says in verse 17 when he was
gone forth of the way there came one running and kneeled to him
and asked him good master What shall I do? Wanting to do something
that's always ever known. What shall I do that I may inherit? Eternal life. How does somebody
get an inheritance? Well, you're gonna have to be
family. And somebody's gonna have to die. That's what that
is, but he thinks he can do something. He wasn't worried about carnal
things, was he? He didn't say, what do I have
to do to be young? What do I have to do to be a
ruler? What do I have to do to be rich? To be healthy, to be
wealthy, to be wise? He didn't ask those things. He
was concerned about heavenly things, wasn't he? Eternal things.
This man came to the Lord of glory, who was there in human
flesh right in front of him, the Godhead. His holy high command
manifest in a body speaking to him, person to person. And he was asking about eternal
life. That's what he was asking. I've met many people throughout
my years and they seem to have it all together. Maybe you've
met some people like that. And as far as the world's concerned,
As we would say, and the world would say, they're good parents,
and they're good workers, and they're good neighbors, and good
friends, good spouses. And they might be in good shape
physically. They work out a whole bunch. But there's always one
more pillar of success. They're going to have spirituality
one day. It's like, well, I've got all
these other, all my ducks are in a row, and so I've got to
check this block too. I've known so many people like that. But
this man came running. He made haste. I think he was
genuine. He earnestly was seeking a word
from the Lord. And what ground did the Lord
Jesus Christ meet this man? This young ruler was rich, came
running and kneeled down and had a good title for him. How
did the Lord meet him? He met him right where he was.
The Lord met him on the grounds that that man saw fit to be met
on. and that's what the Lord has
to everyone of us he has to meet us where we leave and this young
man he made him on the grounds of holiness and righteousness
he thought he was a good young man too and that's right where
the Lord made him look at verse 18 and Jesus said unto him why
callest thou me good? before he answered anything he
said what must I do to inherit eternal life? he said hold on
buddy why are you calling me good? There's none good but one,
that is God. In my scripture, my text, that
is is in italics. We can remove that without doing
harm to the text. And Christ looks him in the eye
and said, there's none good but one, God. The first thing he
established, first and foremost, he's the Lord God. This is the
holy one of Israel. This is the great I am looking
him dead in the eye. And he's holy. He's holy. There's so many attributes of
the Lord that we think on and floods our heart, makes us happy.
I love to hear about the Lord's sovereignty. There's nothing
that comes to pass. The Lord ain't surprised. You
ever been surprised? You ever been caught off guard? Like,
oh, I didn't see that coming. He's never experienced that. Everything's
happened exactly according to his will. But if he was an austere
man, that's a scary thing, isn't it? and all powerful. No, this
one's holy. He's good. Everything he does
is right. It's wonderful. It's righteousness. Why is Christ exalted and honored
by God the Father? It tells us there in Psalm 45.
Speaking of him, he lovest righteousness and he hates wickedness. I want to love righteousness
and I want to hate wickedness. And what do I do by nature? I
love the thing that's bad. I hate to think it's good. Everything
that I know that's good, I want to do, I don't. And everything
that's bad, I know better than that. That's exactly what I do.
Paul had that, didn't he? He had that war going on within
him. Like there's two people fighting
him. Warfare going on, spiritual warfare. Not this one. There's
no God like this God. Turn with me to 1 Samuel chapter
two. First Samuel, chapter two. This
is Hannah's prayer. And this makes me happy. My heart
wants to clap and break out and sing. And that's what it says
there in Isaiah 55. It said, you shall go forth with joy.
Be led forth with peace. And the mountains and the hills
are going to break forth into singing to you. And the trees
are going to seem like they're just clapping their hands. Look here in I Samuel
2, verse 1. And Hannah prayed, this is after
she took Samuel there to the prophet's house, and said, my
heart rejoiceth in the Lord, mine horn is exalted in the Lord,
my mouth is enlarged over my enemies because I rejoice in
thy salvation. Not what I've done, what you've
done. Not what I've done to earn an inheritance, but the inheritance
that you died and bled for to give me. There is none holy as
the Lord. For there's none beside thee,
neither is there any rock like our God. That's who we're dealing
with. That's who Hannah was dealing
with. That's who this rich young ruler's dealing with. And that's
who every man, woman, and child in our generation's gonna have
to deal with. The Holy One. None's holy as our Lord. Verse
three. Talk no more exceeding proudly. Let not arrogance come
out of your mouth. For the Lord is a God of knowledge,
and by Him actions are weighed. This rich, many people think,
the old writers think this was Paul, the apostle. Saul's horse
was coming to him. I can go along with that, and
I could see it as me. I grew up, I had the best preacher
that I think this nation's seen in generations. And I was in
the right church, and I had the right preacher, and it was the
right gospel, and I was right, and I'd argue anybody tooth and
toenail over doctrines. My doctrine was as straight as
a gun barrel and just as empty. And then Lord saved me, showed
me it was a person that this salvation was. It wasn't just
an idea, something we give mental assent to and say, well, that's
correct. It's a person. It's a person. And I'd have told
you before all the good things I did. I read my scriptures and
I memorized stuff and I did this and I was young and had a little
bit of money in my pocket. and I'm not sure if I'm not sure
if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not
sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm
not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not
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sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not
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sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not
sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not
sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not sure if I'm
not sure if I'm not sure if I'm not in the middle of the people of the
people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the
people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the
people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of
the people of the people of the people of the people of the people
of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of
the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people
of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people
of the people of the people of the people of the people of the
people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of
the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of
the people of the people of the people of the people of the people
of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people of the people
of the people of the people of There had to be a need. Before I was
covered in that blood, I had to be the one that couldn't pay
that sin debt, and needed a substitute, and understood that God is only
satisfied in his son, and I had to be in him. The Lord maketh
poor, maketh rich, he bringeth low and lifteth up. He raiseth
the poor up out of the dust, and he lifteth the beggar from
the dunghill, and set them among princes. to make them inherit
the throne of glory. Make them inherit the throne
of glory. It's not just eternal life, it's just that we're not,
well, I won't die, and then I can go do whatever I want to do.
This is concerning His glory. That's what this eternal life
is. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and He has set
the world upon them. He will keep the feet of His
saints. How could somebody navigate all these things? What? This
is too, it's too massive for me to hold on to and to keep
and I can't. Who's gonna keep my feet? The
Lord will keep the feet of his saints. It says in another scripture,
it's don't trust a man, said the Lord doesn't trust his saints.
He trusts his son. It's not my hands, that's good
news. And the wicked shall be silent
in darkness, for by strength shall no man prevail. We're not
gonna do anything. The adversaries of the Lord shall
be broken to pieces out of heaven, shall he thunder upon them, and
the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give
strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed. That's
who we're dealing with. This rich young ruler, that's
who he was dealing with. Just as Nebuchadnezzar said at
the end of his days, he lifted up his eyes to heaven. His understanding
came back to him after seven years of being out in that field
eating in the grass like a cow he was the most, he said your
kingdom in your dominions forever That's us. And that was Nebuchadnezzar,
too. And he doeth according to his will and armies of heaven,
and in the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his
hand or say unto him, What are you doing? That's who we're dealing
with. This is the Holy One. The Lord
establishes that first with this man. Look back in our text there
in Mark 10. That's a... A terrible thing. Not bad. That's a terrifying
thing. We're reminded there in Ecclesiastes
5, keep our foot when we come into the house of the Lord and
be more ready to hear than give the sacrifice of fools to say
things. The Lord's warning this man.
This is a kindness. Look here in Mark 10, we'll go
back to verse 17 again. And when he was gone forth into
the way, there came one running and kneeled to him and asked
him, good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal
life? And Jesus said to him, why callest
thou me good? There's none good but one, God. That's what he starts with. And
he says, so do you want to do something to have eternal life? He answers him now that that's
been established in verse 19. Thou knowest the commandments.
You're a ruler in the synagogue. You know what the scriptures
say. Thou knowest the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not
kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honor
thy father and thy mother. You want eternal life? You want
to do something? You know what the law is, right? Keep it. Keep it. That's the acts of a
holy nature. Be holy. from conception to eternity. You want to have eternal life?
Behold. That just stops everything, don't
it? Wait a second. I can't do that. That's not me. It's not just what I can't do.
That's not who I am. What's the law of the first thing
to a believer? It's our schoolmaster. We remember
Paul saying that over in Galatians, don't we? Therefore, the law
was our schoolmaster. Back in those days, a schoolmaster
wasn't one that was at the school that was teaching. Wealthy people,
they'd hire, they'd have these slaves where they'd hire somebody
to take their children to school to make sure they made it to
the schoolhouse and make sure they made it home. They didn't
play hooky. They didn't go out and skip school. And that was their job.
And they had the authority to spank them children, to whip
them. If they tried to run off or they didn't want to go to
school. And that's what the law was for us. It just kept our
bounds. It set our blinders on. Why?
To bring us unto Christ. All that law did is show us what
we couldn't do. That we couldn't satisfy its
demands. Why? To focus us in and hedge us about
to bring us to a person. That's the fulfiller of the law.
That we might be justified by faith. Justified by my faith? No, his faith. The faithful one,
the faith that he gives us, the faith of Christ that's given
to us. But after that faith has come, we're no longer under the
schoolmaster. Once the Lord comes to his people, he reveals us
what we are. We ain't nothing but sin. We
need to substitute. He's the kinsman redeemer. I
need to be bought with a price. He's the one that's related to
me. He's the one that's able to purchase me. And he's willing
to do it. He's, that just crushes me. I
understand the legality of him being related to us and him being
able. He was willing. Those that were
at war with him, those that sinned against him and spit in his face
and wanted nothing to do with him, he came and loved them and
laid down his life for them. And he uses that law, this master,
this teacher, this instructor. He uses this schoolmaster, this
law, to show us our depravity, and at the same time we see that,
we're seeing His holiness, and His perfection, and His righteousness. And as we're decreasing, John
the Baptist said, what must he do? He increases. my mom and I know the preacher can, but
I'll listen to something. They'll kind of say something or have a quote
and I'll hit pause and I'll go start reading and next thing
you know, I'm there for two hours and I got a whole message wrote
out, you know, jumping off from what they started. And for Clay,
I normally don't, I just listen. I just, I'm fed, you know, but
not too long ago, he was, he quoted this verse out of Isaiah
9 and he says, of the increase of his government, of Christ's
government and peace, there shall be no end. The peace that comes
from that, and the increase is what we see, he's ruler of all,
we see the Lord's government, his hand ruling things, the increase
of that ain't gonna end. And I hit pause, and boy, I typed
out the best article you've ever read. It was wonderful. And I
said, you know, what does mankind want? Most people, they want
a smaller government, don't they? Stay out of our business. and
that the lord's government as we see more that he rules and
rains as we see more that he provides for the more we see
that I want him to take care of me And I typed all that out, and
I was happy. And I went back to that message,
and I hit play, and Clay said, you know, mankind wants a smaller
government. I said just about every word
I said. I just hit delete. I didn't need to say that. It's
already been said. But that's something. David talks
a lot about that in the Psalms, about delighting in the law of
the Lord and delighting in his precepts and loving it. Why?
Why do we delight in those things? That's what, that's Christ's
law. He gave it, he's the law giver. And he fulfilled it for
us. He honored that law and honored
the Father in doing so, and he fulfilled that law for us. Go
read Exodus 20 sometime. Go read the Ten Commandments.
They're posted around schools and courthouses and all that.
But you know it says you shall? Think about that. If the Lord
said it shall rain tomorrow, what do you think's gonna happen? It's gonna rain tomorrow The
Lord's speaking to his people and he said you shall have no
other God, but me don't you want that? I Don't want to have another
God once he's been revealed to us. I want nothing but him. Don't
you? You're you're gonna have you
shall have no idols. I Don't want anything between
me and the Lord Seems like that's all there is and things in this
life. I Want a direct path to him You
shall not take the Lord's name in vain. I don't ever want to
bring approach on the gospel. I don't. If I could just keep
my mouth shut, the less I talk, the better off I am. The Lord
said, this is going to happen. Remember the Sabbath. Keep it
holy. I want to remember to rest in Christ. The Lord said, this
is going to happen. Honor your father and mother that you may
have a long life. I want to honor our eternal father that honored
Christ. Shall not murder. That's internal. I don't want to have bad thoughts
of people. Think of your worst enemy. That may be one of your
brethren. I switched up here recently,
but there's two presidential candidates, and I had worked
for one, and one of our brethren, Brother Andre, he worked for
the other one. And I thought, what if the Lord saved both of
them? You pick one, pick a president you didn't like. Well, if the
Lord saved that one, you'd say, well, you know, being president
would be pretty hard. I'd probably make some bad decisions. All
of a sudden, our attitude changes, don't it? Shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery.
I don't want to be for another, but my kin's been redeemed. That's
what Hosea said, didn't he? That was all a picture of Christ
and his bride. He said, you shall not be for another. shall not
steal, will be a glory fee for the honor fee to take the lord's
glory and you shall not testify of all false witness you a in that wonderful because process
for field and we're in him because he kept it because he bore that
scene he was made see if that's the goal of the world is a feminine
now what else is a feminine male abroad he was made Kevin He's done it all. It's finished. It's done. Now we just got to
wait on him. What a thought. We see that law. You that want to be under it.
How are you done at keeping it? I see everything. I'm not. And
I see everything that Christ is in it. That's what predestination
is. It's to be made, be conformed
to the image of the Son, be made like Christ. And I had people
all growing up and throughout my life, they fight me on that.
Don't you want to be made like Christ? Somebody fight that? Don't you
want to be like him? I want to be made just like him
and never be able to change from that. Be made like him forever. Well, here in verse 19, Mark
10, verse 19. That's what happens when I can't
read my notes too well, sorry. Mark 10, verse 19. Thou knowest
the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not
steal, do not bear false witness to fraud, not honor thy father
and mother. And he answered him, said unto
him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Ah, nailing it. I'm batting 1,000. I'm doing
great. I've done every bit of it. But something's missing,
isn't it? He's saying this out loud, but it ain't the truth.
And he knows it isn't. Not only from the Lord's eyes,
but in the law's eyes, but in this young man's eyes. He wasn't
satisfied. He'd been doing all these things.
He's been going through the motions and this physical exercise, but
it's profited little. That's why he's here that day.
He wasn't satisfied. That's why he's kneeling down.
That's why he ran. Because something wasn't right. He couldn't put his finger on
it yet. And he couldn't articulate it. He couldn't tell you what
it was. But he had a heart problem. It wasn't an outside problem.
It was an inside problem. That's what was wrong. And here's
what love does. When the Lord met him, said,
I'm holy. Keep the law. You want to do something, do
that. And this young man said, I've kept it for my youth up.
The Lord didn't berate him and whip him and point out every
flaw he ever had. He simply met him one-on-one
and he met him at his point of rebellion. He didn't bring up
the billions of charges he could have brought up. But here's what
love did. He met him right where it counted.
Look at verse 21. And Jesus, then Jesus beholding
him, loved him. Now we know what's gonna happen
to this young man right now. And I promise you, the Lord saved
this man. Why? He loved him. that's a lot
of things happen to spiritual birth to the lord works, slowly, But the Lord here beheld him,
and he loved him. And he said unto him, verse 21,
one thing thou lackest. He's just going to deal with
one thing at a time. In his preaching, he had one point at a time. Go
thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give it to the poor.
And thou shalt have treasure in heaven. And come, take up
thy cross, and follow me. All these things that you trust
in, all these things you look to, all these things that you
idolize, just get rid of them. And you follow me. You ain't
gonna have nothing but me. It ain't gonna be an idea, a
theology, a possession. You're gonna have a person. It's
just me. You come with me. Now there's
a cross with that. There's some burdens with that. There's some
pain that comes with that. But you come to me. Seek first
Christ's kingdom. Seek first his honor, his glory,
and follow him. And everything else will be added
to you. Don't worry about that other stuff. Paul said that plainly
too, didn't he? If the father gave his son to
die for me, I think he can take care of supper tomorrow. I think
he can take care of me paying my taxes and keep my children
fed. He can handle that. He gave his son, his only begotten
son for me. He'll add those other things
to me. Just follow this person. That's a requirement of discipleship. Did you know that? Old Brother
Barnard called that the terms of surrender. to the captain
of our salvation and look for tennis is as great multitudes
with him and lord turned to me and he said to me if any man
come to me and hate not his father and mother and wife and children
and brother and sisters yet his own life also that doesn't mean
you gotta go be mean to your parents to follow Christ we know
that if we don't prefer him he's not if he's not that parole of
great price we have to have He saved the best for last. Yea,
his own life also. If I don't give up me, that's
the hardest thing to give up. This gospel's true if we're alone
on a deserted island. So, turn to him. He cannot be my disciple. He
said, whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot
be my disciple. He didn't say those that don't
bear an edible fruit basket or a big bunch of flowers and balloons
and cake and wonderful things. No, it's a burden, isn't it?
and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment
and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be
back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment
and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment
and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment
and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment
and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment and
we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment
and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in
just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment
and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be back in just a moment and we'll be
back in just Well, what about this? We want to be special,
don't we? We want to be the anomaly. I want to be the, well, I'm different.
No, we ain't. He's hitting all the bases or
lands for my sake and for the gospel sake. But he shall receive
a hundred fold now in this time on this earth and brethren and
sisters and mothers, plural, and children and lands and with
persecution, there'll be some hard times too. And the world
to come, eternal life. The Lord said, in this world,
if he's everything to you, I'll provide everything else. And
that's so. That's so. It says mothers, plural there.
Did you know I have multiple mothers? I do. I have a mother down in Rocky
Mount, Virginia. My physical mother, she's already home in
glory. But I have a mother in Rocky Mount, Virginia. I have
a mother in Ashland, Kentucky. I got them all over. Several
of them. They've adopted me. And food
and cars and shelter. I came here, I didn't get a rental
car. I didn't make plans for what I was going to eat yesterday
evening. I didn't make plans for where I was going to sleep.
Everything's been provided for me. You come down to Southern
California. You got a car you can drive.
You got a house you can stay in. I'll feed you. It's so, the
Lord ain't lying to us. I've traveled this country and
I drove from one end to the other and we didn't pay for a motel
room. We knew somebody all along the way and stopped and visited
and talked with them the whole way. Lord provided it. Now back
up in verse 21. And Jesus beholding him loved
him. This is loving. So that's hard. Those are hard sayings. Those
people said that about our Lord, didn't they? Nothing but grace
come across his lips. And people say, oh, that's an
austere man. He's got hard sayings. This is loving. He said, one
thing thou likest. Go thy way, and sell whatsoever
thou hast, and give it to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure
in heaven. And come, take up thy cross, and follow me.' And
he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved, for he had
great possessions." What hope does this man or any person that
has great possessions? And that's not just carnal things.
Job was the greatest man of the East. Abraham was tremendously
wealthy. Jacob, Joseph, a bunch of them.
The Lord saved a lot of them. carnally wealthy people. That
ain't what it's talking about. But people that's got youth and
strength and intelligence and experience and pride of race
and pride of grace and pride of place and longevity. What are all those things? Pride. Pride. That's a source of it.
Maybe they have great riches in righteousness or moral acts
or goodness. What hope does a self-serving,
self-seeking, self-preserving, self-righteous person have? Well,
we have the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. We love Him. Why? He first loved us. That's
our hope. And we have faith in Him. We believe Him. Why? He's the
faithful one. He's the one that's faithful.
I met a man one time. He said, boy, I'm tried. I'm
tried. I'm proven. Oh, buddy, if I get
that way, you all warn me. Somebody pull my hair, pinch
me. Pride come before fall, doesn't
it? Christ is the proven one. He's the faithful one. If he
takes his hand off of me, I'll be gone tomorrow. He's the one
that's faithful, not our own. How do we get that eternal life?
It's impossible. What do I do? That's impossible,
but God. When he's pleased to reveal his
son, that propitiation, that accepted bloody sacrifice, in
us and to us, that's called grace. That's the Lord being gracious
to us. Look at Mark 23. And Jesus looked round about and saith
to his disciples, how hardly shall they that have riches enter
the kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished.
They didn't, what is he talking about? That is words. But Jesus answered again and
saith unto them, he clarified to them, he's patient with them.
you remember that in the The answer to begin bursting
force of children how hard it is for them that trust in which
is not people that have riches or save young people will save
rulers he said rich folks and they were astonished out of measure I've heard people go against
those that have carnal riches, and they say, who can be saved? They knew what he was talking
about. They understood. And I look in the mirror some days, and
I think, how could I be saved? You ever done that? How in the
world could I be a child of God? Thinking the things I think,
doing the things I do, saying the things I say. How could it
be? What ain't me, is it? Verse 27,
and Jesus looking upon them, he looked at them and looked
upon them and said, with men it's impossible, but not with
God. For with God all things are possible.
Salvation's of the Lord. That's not complicated, but the
Lord has to reveal that in our hearts for us to believe it.
It's him, he's salvation. What do I have to say with all
that? Well, that's us by nature, isn't it? We're not the rich
one. He's the rich one. He has all righteousness. We're
not the young ones. We've been here for half a second.
This is one that time doesn't affect. Time's on his watch. He's the eternal one. And we
don't rule anything. I can't be in charge of a chicken.
He's the ruler of heaven and earth. He's the ruler of providence,
of creation, of salvation, isn't it? Run to Him. Forsake all. Forsake our experience. Forsake
what we think we know, our traditions. This is the way we've always
done it. Forget all that. Forget me. And run to Him. And have Him as your all in all.
How can we do that? He'll make His children willing
the day of His power. He will. willing in his power
this morning. Thank you all for having me.
I pray this is a blessing to you. And we pray for you often. Pray for us as you're able. Thank
you. And I look forward to spending
some time with you in a little while. So brother Eric.