The lesson this morning will
be taken from Luke chapter 18, verses 18 through 27. This is Luke's account of the rich
young ruler who come to Christ, went away sorrowful. And the title of our study this
morning is Things Impossible with Man. This is the thing that
religious men and women have never learned. Salvation is impossible
with man. Who then can be saved, you see?
So let's read this account together. Luke chapter 18, beginning with
verse 18. And a certain ruler asked him,
saying, good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, why
callest thou me good? None is good save one, that is
God. Thou knowest the commandments,
do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear
false witness, honor thy father and thy mother, And he said,
all these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard
these things, he said unto him, yet lackest thou one thing. Sell
all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven. And come and follow me. And when
he heard this, He was sorrowful, for he was
very rich. And when Jesus saw that he was
very sorrowful, he said, how hardly shall they that have riches
enter into the kingdom of God. Now that, if you look at that,
every punctuation is very important in scripture when you read. If
you look at that, that wasn't a question. You see it there? There's an
exclamation mark at the end of that sentence. This was an exclamatory
statement. For it's easier for a camel to
go through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into
the kingdom of God. And they that heard it said,
who then can be saved? And he said, the things which
are impossible with men, are possible with God. Now seven
of these ten verses begin with the word and. I'd like to go
through some time and just for my own benefit count the ands
that verses begin with in the scripture. If you tally them
up in chapter 17 and thus far where we're at today In chapter
18, there's 30 verses that begin with and. We say, why are you
telling us that? Because these things are connected.
That's what that and is all about. These things are intertwined
together. And so as we look at these things
in the Word of God, let's keep that in mind. These things are
all intertwined. So many of the commentators,
and I understand why they do it, but they isolate these things
like they're one of a kind. And that's not what our Lord's
doing. He's connecting this man with what he had to say about
infants. He's connecting this man with what he had to say about
the Pharisee and the publican in the temple. He's connecting
this man with everything he'd been talking about. This man is not a rare example,
but another example of a sinner being saved by grace. What do
we know about this man? What do we really know about
him? Here's a man who came to Christ. It doesn't tell us his
name. They said he was a rich man.
So what do we really know about him? Well, this much I know. I know he was a son of Adam and
an heir of his sinful nature. I know that. Every man that comes
to Christ is an heir of that sinful nature. We were by nature
sinners, children of wrath, even as others. That's what he tells
us. There was no difference. No difference. And no matter
what you acquire in life, no matter what your life may be,
you are, as he is, a son of Adam. Is that important? You better
believe it. You better believe it. Ruined
by the fall. What's that mean? That means
you're an active convict, showed up in the prison of a fallen
nature. That's what that means. Totally
depressed. Do you ever look at yourself
as a convict? Huh? An active convict. Now sometimes there's advantages
given, as Israel had the prophets, the word of God, the endless
types and figures of Christ, and the redemption he would accomplish,
all set before them. While the Gentiles worshipped
gods of their imagination. What then, Paul writes, we've
had all these advantages, are we better than they? Does that
give me a special qualification for salvation? Am I better than
they? You young children raised, you've
been given, I can't even tell you what kind of advantage you've
been given sitting under the gospel of God's sovereign grace.
What's being preached out there is so contrary to this, it's
like night and day. It's just totally opposite. That's
what a guy asked me one time. He said, what do you believe?
I said, well, if you take everything you believe and take the very
opposite, I think you'd be close. That's how contrary it is. And
yet you've been raised under the sound of the gospel. Does
that make you better in your nature than that man who's never
heard the gospel? No, it don't. That's what Paul
said. No. And know why? Why? Because I have before proved
both Jews and Gentiles, heathens, heathens, and these ones called
the children of God. They're all unseen. All of them. Takes the same saving grace,
the same means that he ordained. It takes everything is the same.
They have to hear. They have to hear. Now I've got
advantages. Our Lord told the Jews, you search
the Scriptures. For in them you think you have
eternal life. And they are they that testify
of me. But you won't come to me. Why
not? Because the natural man receiveth
not the things of the Spirit of God. That's why. They all
understand. They all understand. It takes the same means. It takes
the same provision. All of these things, they're
all needed, no matter how you were raised. Well, so is it not important
that our children hear the gospel? Well, sure it is. Sure it is. You know, Paul knew the Bible.
You couldn't stump him on a verse of Scripture. You scratch your
head and say, now, who was that fourth child back there in the
Old Testament? He could tell you. He knew the
Bible forward and backward. But he didn't know Christ. He
didn't know Christ. And there's advantages to hearing
what you're hearing. But it still takes the work of
grace in your heart. We're under its curse, under
its influence, under its reign. Sin reigns under death. And this
man, whatever else he was, was a son of Adam. documentaries. I like watching documentaries.
And I've seen pictures of what men call savages. You used to see them a lot more
than you do today. Or maybe I don't have the right
panel. I don't know. But anyway, I watched old Marlon
Perkins. And he'd always be over there
in the jungle. And they'd come into some tribe. And here they
are. They hardly got any clothes on,
if they had clothes on. And then, you know, they're just
savages. Absolutely not aware of anything
going on around them. Not aware of it. Living in that
jungle, hunting for their food every day. Savages. But then you see another man.
Here's the president. Or a king or a queen. Or here's
the founder of a great company. Or I seen a documentary one time
on Henry Ford. He was quite a man as far as
his accomplishments in life. Is his nature any different than
that, Sammy? Is it easier for him to be saved?
That's how we think, though, ain't it? We'll get somebody
who's not really fighting with us over the dock, and we'll give
him, you know, we think if we can get him in here, he'll receive
the truth. That takes the same grace. Takes
the same grace. and no difference in the nature
of men. Who maketh thee to differ from another? Is there a difference? Then why? Why? It's the providence of God, the
gift of God, and the purpose of God. This man who came to
Christ was a son of Adam. And this man, like many, Here's
the second thing I know about it. This man, like many, thought
he could do what God requires to live forever in paradise.
Now he didn't know what it was. He was asking him what to do.
But he was fully persuaded that whatever it was, he had something
to contribute. All I need is direction. Just
tell me what to do. And the Lord told him. Keep the
lock. Every jot and tittle. Every jot
and tittle. The thought of foolishness is
sin. You going to keep that law? He
thought he did. Outwardly he did. He did. He went to the synagogue on the
Sabbath. He didn't do any kind of work on the Sabbath. He loved
his father and mother. I'm sure in his heart he could
say what Paul said is touching the righteousness which is of
the law of blameless. outwardly. But the law is spiritual, and
we're a carnal soul to understand. We're not going to keep that
law. He didn't keep that law. And having said that to our Lord,
our Lord told him this. Well, you just lack one thing
then. You kept the whole law. Now,
everything you got, get the auctioneer out and sell it. Take it over
here, and we're going to give it to the poor. Now you bust
it. You got nothing. Now, you're
going to take up your cross and you're going to follow me. He wasn't expecting that, was
he? He wasn't expecting that. This man, like many, thought
he could do what God requires to live forever in paradise. What shall I do? He's not asking Christ what he
did. He's asking Christ what he could
do. And many have come to the Lord
on the same basis, ready to do whatever's required, ready to
give whatever they're asked. They come believing they're savable,
that they have what it takes to please God. They see themselves, I'm trying
to think of something to help me get this point across. They
see themselves like an old car. It needs fixing. It ain't what
it was when it was new. It needs fixing. It's got some
problems, but you can fix it, and it's still a good car. That's
how they see them. They see themselves savable. They see themselves like a failing
business in need of reform, in need of instruction and change,
but not bankrupt. They see themselves like unattended
silver. blackened by circumstance, but
still yet possible to clean. You ever seen silver when it tarnishes? It's black as coal. Boy, you
can put a little of that silver polish on there. This man had been to the synagogue,
listened to what they told him, and outwardly reformed his life.
He did exactly what they told him to do. He was a moral, religious,
Devout man. He was given the title of ruler. Given authority of some kind
over men. He paid his tithes. He went to
church. He read his Bible. He kept the
Sabbath. Honored his father and mother. Paid his bills and on
and on. All these have I kept from my
youth up. His life as a whole, if you look at it outwardly,
was commendable. Commendable. Here's this man, and he comes
to Christ. And he thinks he has something in
himself, some potential in himself of being saved. And I know this
about this man. In a day of unbelief and ignorance,
he came to Christ. Where he came was the right place
to come. He came to Christ. He came in a time when coming
to Christ was not recommended. Surely it would be met with persecution. If he persecuted Christ, do you
think they're not going to persecute those who come to Christ and
trust in Christ and promote Christ? He'd surely be met with persecution
and a man's reputation is put in jeopardy. And I find His coming on the
heels of our Lord showing us our helpless condition as an
infant. Very instructive. My friends, salvation is an absolute
impossibility with man. This is what our Lord is teaching
us here. When the disciples saw how the Lord dealt with this
man, they said, who then can be saved? This man had every
advantage. And see him walk away. The Lord's
not chasing after him. I didn't mean that. I didn't
mean to say that. No, He meant to say it exactly
as He said it. Did He know that man would walk
away? He sure did. He sure did. Did He run after
him to get him back? No, He let him walk away. When you hear the words from
Christ's own mouth with man, this is impossible. You can read those very words
in Matthew 19.26 and Mark 10.27. That's what he said. What's impossible? Salvation. If we left ourselves, no matter
what we attain in this world, we cannot and will not be saved. And don't get man's potential
to make something out of himself in this world mixed up with trying
to reconcile himself to God. It's not the same thing. Am I
telling you don't go out here and do works? You better do works
out there or you ain't going to get a job. It's all about
works out there. It's all about knowledge out
there. But don't get that confused with being reconciled to God.
This is God's work. Don't get man's potential to
make something out of himself in this world mixed up with this.
You can read and study, you can practice and get experience,
you can earn a degree in social science, medicine, engineering,
and so forth. You can build a business and
make money at it, and you can wisely invest and make even more
money. Getting ahead in the world is
not the same as drawing near to God. It's the opposite. This man was all about gain.
He understood money answers all things. You got to have it. You
got to have it. You can't in one form or the
other, barter or however you want to look at it, but money,
you can't do anything without money. But what the Lord said, get rid
of all that. It's not going to do you any
good here concerning eternal life. Might as well not have
it. Or count yourself as not having
it. Luke words it a little different
than Matthew and Mark. Luke says the things which are
impossible with men are possible. What are some of these things
which are impossible with man but possible with God? A spiritual
understanding of God, of Christ, and of the work that he accomplished.
A spiritual understanding of the Word of God. That's impossible with man. You
can pile books up around and get a Bible, I don't care what
you get. I've seen men and talked to men who's surrounded by books. I was dumbfounded by how many
books. And they could tell you what they read it. But had no
spiritual understanding of scripture at all. Go off on tangents of
this and that and something else. Arguing about presbyteries. All
these things. Arguing about unanswerable questions. Had no spiritual understanding.
Paul was a brilliant man. A brilliant man, but he didn't
know Christ. He didn't know God. Thought he
did. Man, it's impossible with man
to have a spiritual understanding of God, of Christ, and the salvation
of sinners. Our Lord had a large following
over John chapter 6. Multitudes followed. And they
gathered there and they sat down and they were all reverent on
the outside. And they said, we're going to
hear the Master speak. And they sat down there, just
like you're sitting here this morning, looking right up at
him, you know. And he stood up and he said, except you eat my
flesh and drink my blood, you have no life in you. And they
looked at each other and said, what's he saying? He's talking
about cannibalism. Ah, we don't get it. We don't
get it. That's because he had no spiritual
understanding. That's why he didn't get it.
Isn't that what he tells them when he goes on down? He said,
my words are spirit and they are life. That which is flesh
is flesh. It's never going to understand.
Here's Adam's race, all of them. All of them. From the beginning
of time to date, all the way to the end of time. Adam's natural
Right. And the Lord looks at him and
he said, there's none that understandeth. Huh? Yeah, but I can. Really? Not without a revelation of the
Spirit of God you can. And I can stand up here and put
it in any kind of language. I can illustrate it so simple
in a in an example or in a figure or in a type and those who know
God and have a spiritual understanding will just about want to stand
up and dance and the rest of them will just stand there and
look at you like you're from another planet or something. Whoso eateth my flesh, drinketh
my blood, he hath eternal life. I'll raise him up at the last
day. He said these things in the synagogue at Capernaum. sit
in a church service. They gather just like you're
gathered this morning. And from that time, it's as many
of his followers said, this is a hard saying. Who can hear it?
Can I hear it? Can you hear it? You can't part
from the Spirit of God. You can't do it. Verse 63, it's the Spirit that
quickeneth the flesh, profiteth nothing. And the words that I
speak unto you, they're Spirit and they're life. There is a
message. Now hear what I'm saying, there's
a message, a testimony of God in that book. There's science
recorded in that book, but it's not a book of science. The history
of man is recorded in that book, but it's not a history book.
It's a book of redemption. This book sets forth the glory
of God in the face of His Son. That's what this book is all
about. And you can know all the rest of it in the abstract. You
might be a little smarter in conversation, but it's not going
to get you anywhere with God. He said, I have not seen nor
ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, fallen
man. The things which God hath prepared
for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto
us by his Spirit. Except you be born again, you
can't perceive the Kingdom of God. Talk about it all you want
to. None that understandeth, none
that seeketh after God. And then another thing, impossible
with men, but possible with God, is a providential meeting with
the means of salvation. God's providence arranged Christ
to be here and for that rich young ruler to be there. He couldn't
arrange that meeting if he wanted to. He thought he did. He woke
up that morning. It was on his mind. He said,
I'm going to go down there. He thought that was all of him. Don't wait some time. God told me one time, he said,
I can be saved anytime I want to. I said, do you want to? He
said, no. I said, you never will unless
the Lord puts it on your heart. That's the problem. The want
to ain't there. But his people willing in the
day of his power. You could not and would not arrange
this meeting. This rich young ruler saw this
as something common and ordinary. He saw this like a public library
or a public school. He could go down there any time
he wanted to. I kind of think that's what the
Ethiopian Union thought too. Somebody told him that. He went
all the way to Jerusalem. Took an envoy with him. Went
all the way to Jerusalem. Sit through all the feast days.
Went through all that. Come back as ignorant as he was
before he went down. This man saw this, he could do
this at his convenience anytime he wanted to, and this was the
day. But it says in John 6, 44, no man can come unto me except
my Father draw him. And that covers a lot of ground,
that drawing. But one of them is the providence
of God. And God's providence is a wonderful
thing. It's like an invisible hand.
You ever think about that, what? It's like an invisible hand leading
us through this present evil world. God's hand is here. You got up this morning and you
say, you know, I think I'll go to church. I think I'll go down
there. I need to go down there. I'm
going to go. God's providence is what brought
you here. He will put that thought in your head. No man can come unto me except
the Father which sent me draw him. And it's a wonderful thing. It's just like this invisible
hand leading us through the world. God's people are led. Did you
know that? We're led. We don't act like
it. But we're led. And we need to think about it.
Every minute, every circumstance, everything comes We're being
led. Richard's death was no accident.
I've got providence. It's time. As many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they're the sons of God. Well, you say
that's talking about hearing. Yeah, that's inclusive of that,
but I'll tell you this, when Paul couldn't go somewhere, what'd
he say? The Spirit forbade me. Isn't
that what he said? He got my hand. He said, no,
you ain't going there. You're not going there. I want
to. Yeah, but you ain't. You ain't going. They're led. As many as are led
by the Spirit of God, they're the sons of God. God led Israel
through the wilderness, didn't he? They came to that bitter
pool. How come? What in the world?
What are they doing at a bitter pool in the middle of nowhere?
God led them there. Had a purpose in it, didn't he? He led them into the promised
land and he led some into glory. To not recognize God's providence
in your life is to see everything in it common. Just like you used
to. Just common. Something brought
about by chance and circumstance. And here's another thing, it
was impossible for this man to change his heart. You can't do
it. You can't do it. Jeremiah the
prophet wrote these words, and these are the words of God. He
said, I'll give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. What's that mean? That means
he's in charge. That means he's running things. He's arranging
things. I'm the Lord, and they shall
be my people, and I'll be their God, for they shall return unto
me with their whole heart. Salvation's a heart work. Yes,
it goes through the head, but it lodges in the heart. And if
it don't, it's just one ear and out the other. A God-given heart
is a submissive heart. What do you mean? I mean it listens.
It listens. It obeys. It follows. If you don't believe me, read
1 Thessalonians 1. Paul said, I know your election
of God because you become followers of us and the Lord. How? You wouldn't listen to men
before. But they listened to him. Why? Why? God gave them a new heart. A
God-given heart is a submissive heart, a God-given heart, and
repents. There is no repentance in the
rich young ruler. He came on the basis of his own
righteousness. He came with nothing but a desire
for gain. What is repentance? You ever
think about it? What is repentance? Well, we
all know that repentance is a turning to God. You turn to God from
your idols. That's what he told the Thessalonians.
There's a turning, but it's a lifelong turning. Forty years ago I turned to God.
Well, you better not have to go back forty years. You still
turn. It's a turning. What is repentance? It's absolute disgust with yourself. That's what it is. I don't remember
what I did the other day. I got mad at myself. And one
said, you got a lot on your mind. That's why you can't remember
this or that. I was so angry at myself. But that's just it. That's what repentance is. It's
absolute disgust with yourself. You can't do anything. And of
all people, you owe him everything, and you can't do anything. Don't
that make you, oh, Paul said, oh, wretched man that I am. He was disgusted with himself. Who's going to deliver me from
the body of this dead? Christ is. Christ is. Repentance is a turning to God.
It's disgust with yourself. What things were gained to me,
those I counted lost for Christ. You think you got something to
brag on? I'm old. Yea, doubtless he said, I count
all things but loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things,
and count them as done, that I might win Christ and be found
in him. That's repentance. Total disgust
with yourself. But it's also seeing something
better. The goodness of God leadeth thee
to repentance. You've got to be led to repentance.
It's not natural. It's not a natural act. A guy
got up on the plane in the Air Force training. My son was telling
me he got up there next to the door and these guys were jumpers. You know, they had to go out
on the plane. My son was just part of the crew on the plane.
And he said, that guy that stood there, that guy was trying to
move him up. Boy, he was fighting. He was
pulling back. He said, let me tell you. He said, I'm scared.
Well, he said, you ought to be. Jumping out of a plane is not
a natural act. Neither is repentance. You've
got to be led to repentance. Well, what leads you there? The
goodness of God. Leadeth thee to repentance. You
see something better. Now that little boy was covered
with corn and he couldn't get that corn gobbler out of his
hand. And Mr. Steinecker pulled out that Hershey
bar. Boy, that corn hit the table. You got to see something. All
through Hebrews, isn't that what Paul just kept trying to tell
his kinsmen? Here's something better. Something
better. His people are willing. willing
in the day of his power. His people give themselves to
him in the day of his power. In that passage I quoted from
Jeremiah 24, it says, that's the one where he said, I'm going
to give them a heart. I'll be their God. They'll be my people.
The verse before that, listen to this. He said, I'll set mine
eyes upon them to do them good. I'll build them. That's what
my message about this morning. I'll build them, God said. I'll
bring them. Now listen to this. I'll pluck
them up. You couldn't make a man move
from his family to a gospel church with a stick of dynamite. Boy,
you show him something better. You show him Christ. You show
him the purpose of God in his church. You show him there's
no other reason for a man to be on this earth. except to preach
his gospel and minister his gospel to others. You show him that,
he'll move. He'll move. I'll pluck him up,
God said. I'll pluck him up. You know what
else he's going to do? He's going to plant him. He's
going to plant him. One more thing before I end the
lesson this morning. Mark 10.21 says, Then Jesus,
beholding him, loved him. Before he told him that one thing
he liked, the Lord said, I love him. I love him. I don't know
when our Lord was pleased to save this man, but I do know
this, He saves all them He loves. Nothing can separate us from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. And oh,
what an encouragement to me as I watch some get up to an age
and go out the door and I don't see them anymore. He's going to save everyone he
loves. I may not get to see it. I may not get to see it. God
didn't save this man on that day, but he did save him. He did save him. And as we bring
our children and we see them go away impressed with the world,
May be that I'll never see it, but the Lord will save all them
he loves. He's gonna save them. Oh my,
so isn't that encouraging? Oh, it is to me. All right, thank
you.