Greg Laurie - How to Come to Jesus (12/28/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie celebrates Mother's Day by sharing humorous insights moms teach us and preaches from Matthew 19 on how to truly come to Jesus. He contrasts the humble, childlike faith of little children welcomed by Christ with the rich young ruler who went away sorrowful, unable to surrender his wealth—showing eternal life comes through simple, dependent trust in Jesus, not self-effort or possessions.
Honoring Moms on Mother's Day
Matthew chapter 19. And the title of my message is "How to Come to Jesus." Of course today is Mother's Day. And we are so thankful for our moms. Aren't we? I mean really. The example they give us. The sacrifices they make. And you know we learn so many things from our mothers over the years.
For instance, our moms taught us about anticipation. Right? They did. When they said, "Just wait until your father gets home." Our mothers taught us about foresight. When they told us to always remember to wear clean underwear in case we were in an accident. Our moms taught us about genetics. When they said, "You are just like your father." They also taught us about stamina. When they said, "You will sit there until all of your spinach is finished." Our mothers taught us about the circle of life. When they said, "I brought you into this world and I can take you out." Our mothers taught us about the value of prayer. When they said, "You better just pray that stain comes out."
You know things have really changed a lot though. You know when I was a kid discipline was a little harsher than it is today. Nowadays they have time out. No more spankings. It is just time out. Go sit over there for your time out. In my day time out was when I was unconscious. Okay. Because... Anyway.
The Right Way to Bring Children to Jesus
Well here before us is a story of mothers bringing their children to Jesus. And that is really what we are supposed to do as parents. That is our objective. To bring our kids to Christ. I am talking to moms and dads right now. How good of a job are you doing in that? Bringing your children to Jesus. How do you do it?
Let me tell you first how you don't do it. You don't do it by providing a bad example. And far too often kids come from homes where Jesus Christ is named but He is not followed. And this hypocrisy drives them away from the Lord. So first of all, be a genuine Christian and set a good example for your kids. And when you mess up, admit it. And say you are sorry.
Another way you do it is by praying with your kids. And reading the Bible to them. And bringing them with you to church.
Well here is the story now of mothers that brought their children to Jesus. And this is an important story because we have a contrast provided in this story that shows us how to come to Christ properly. Because there is a right and a wrong way. And to illustrate that we have the story of the little children that came to Jesus as well as the rich young ruler. The kids came the right way. The rich young ruler came the wrong way.
But this scene that we are about to read I see is a happy day. A lot of laughter and joy. As the little children were coming to the Lord and climbing up into His lap and having a great time together. And inexplicably the disciples thought this was a bad thing and started to drive the children away. And Jesus was indignant and He rebuked them for doing that and said, "Let the little children come unto Me. For of such is the kingdom of heaven."
Jesus Welcomes the Little Children
Let's read about it. Matthew 19:13. "Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray. But His disciples rebuked them." And Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven." And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.
Mark's gospel tells us He was indignant when the disciples drove the kids away. Clearly these guys had sort of missed the memo on what He was trying to communicate. It was only a few days earlier when Jesus had interrupted their argument about who would be the greatest in the kingdom and had a little child stand up. And He said unless you are converted and become as this little child you will in no way enter the kingdom of God. And yet here on this day as the children approach Him they drive the little ones away. And this made the Lord mad because He loved the kids.
You know kids are a pretty good judge of character. And you know where you stand with a child real fast. I am not sure where I stand with my fourth granddaughter Allie. Because every time I see her she starts crying. I say, "Hi Allie." And she goes, "Wah!" Every time. So I am working on winning her over right now.
But a kid will give you a read on how they feel in the moment. If they like you they will smile. If they don't like you they will actually turn their face away from you. You get a pretty fast indication. Well the children loved Jesus. They wanted to be next to Him. It is not like making your kids stand in line to sit on Santa's lap and it kind of freaks them out. No. The kids wanted to be with the Lord. The children were drawn to Christ. And so Jesus welcomed these little ones to Him.
And then according to Luke's version of this story He said, "Unless you become like a little child you will by no means enter the kingdom of God." It is a fascinating statement. Conventional wisdom would say that a child should become as an adult to know God. We must grow up. But according to Jesus an adult must become as a child. The child is the model not the adult.
That doesn't mean that we are to be childish. But it does mean we need to be childlike. How does that play out? Well for starters children are honest. I already mentioned that. If they are happy they laugh. If they are sad or they are tired or they are hungry they will cry. If they fall they come running always to mom. And if mom is nowhere to be found they will accept dad only in the absence of mom.
But we should come with childlike honesty to God as well. And children come to you in a state of helplessness. They are aware of the fact that they can't do a lot of things for themselves. They can't care for themselves. They can't feed themselves. In the same way we should come to God in an acknowledgment of our complete helplessness and our dependence upon Him to forgive us of our sins.
Another thing about kids is they know how to receive a gift. If you give a gift to a child they will just take it and open it. Now adults they will take it and say oh thank you and maybe open it later. That is what my wife does. It drives me crazy. I will give her a gift and she will say oh I will open it after I am done eating. And I will be like open it now. That is what a kid will do. And if they like the gift they will smile. And if they don't like the gift they will literally take it and just throw it. And walk off. Okay. That one didn't go over that well.
And if they are really little they will be more excited about the box and the wrapping the gift came in than the gift itself. But you know a child will not say oh I am not worthy. I don't deserve it. No. They will just open the gift up. And that is what we need to do with the gift that God has given to us.
The Rich Young Ruler – A Wrong Approach
So it is a beautiful story unfolding. And people were watching. And there was one person in particular paying careful attention. We know him as the rich young ruler. This was a man who had been raised in a very religious home from his youth. He was very successful because he was a ruler. However he was still young. Therefore he had climbed this corporate ladder if you will rather quickly. Here was a devout man. Here was a successful man. Here was a powerful man. And a very wealthy man. The Bible says he had great wealth. In other words this guy never had to think about money again. His only concern was how to spend what he had.
He was respected by many. He was looked up to. But something was missing in his perfectly ordered life. I read a fascinating interview the other day with a radio personality, Howard Stern. Howard Stern has achieved a lot of success. He has been broadcasting for 35 years. He is at the top of his field. He has two stations or two channels on the Sirius XM radio and a cable channel dedicated entirely to him called Howard TV. Howard Stern makes $80 million a year. And he just signed a five year contract worth $400 million.
So surely Howard Stern is a happy man. Right? But this article points out that he is not happy. He has been driven to therapy because of a divorce and the attempted suicide of one of his radio sidekicks. And so the interviewer asked him this question. He said, "If you were to look at your life now, you are on radio, you are on TV, you have a beautiful wife, you have succeeded in all of your goals, you are paid better than almost anyone, and you are still not happy, what would it take to make you happy?" Howard Stern responds, "I don't know. That is so complicated. There is a lot of anger inside of me. Once in a while I can douse it with some water, but it never goes away. I don't know how to get rid of it. I am tired of walking around angry. It is a burden. But I am trying to find balance."
So then Howard Stern was asked, "Well what is the brass ring for you now?" Stern replies, "Years ago I would have said to do another movie or this or that thing, but now I am not sure how to answer it. The brass ring is to actually find some balance. The whole idea of balance is to live with anger. I have or somehow understand it. I don't know how to get rid of it. I think that would be beautiful, but I don't know what it would take."
So here is a man who signed a contract worth $400 million and he is not happy and he is mad. It sounds to me like Howard Stern needs Jesus Christ. Everyone does. And he was a little bit like the rich young ruler. Unlimited wealth. Incredible power. But something was missing.
But he had been watching Jesus. And he saw the Lord blessing those little children. And there was a vulnerability about Christ. A touchability, if you will, that even the children could see. The rich young ruler, a very religious man, familiar with other religious leaders, had never seen this kind of thing in any of the other rabbis or teachers of the day. They would be aloof or above it all. Or you couldn't get close to them. But here was Jesus taking time for children. And then he uses one of them as an example of how we can enter the kingdom of God. And it touched the rich young ruler's heart.
The Rich Young Ruler's Question and Rejection
So our story picks up. Matthew 19:16. "Now behold, one came to Him, saying, 'Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?'" Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, "'You shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?"
Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
This man wanted eternal life. His money, and even his religiosity, did not assure him that he had it. Now let's give credit where it's due, because I will critique him in a moment. But he came in great humility. We know over in the Gospel of Luke that he kneeled before Jesus. Now that was pretty amazing in itself, because our Lord would have been wearing the garb of a peasant. It would be like someone driving through an impoverished area in a stretched limo. And suddenly the back door opens up, and this finely dressed man, all blinged out, bursts out, and gets down on his knees before a man who was obviously very poor. That would certainly attract a crowd.
And that is what happened here. The rich young ruler comes cruising up in his stretched chariot. And he sees Jesus. And he observes Him. And he goes and bows down before Him. And he asks Him this question. "What can I do to inherit eternal life? What good thing do I need to do?"
Now here is the interesting thing about the rich young ruler. He may be the only man in the Gospels who came to the feet of Jesus and went away in worse condition than when he came. Why? Because he didn't listen. Sort of like going to the doctor. And he tells you what to do to get better. And you ignore him.
I actually had this happen to me recently. I get a checkup every year. And my doctor is a wonderful Christian man. And after my last checkup and complete physical, he said, "You know what, Greg? I am a little concerned about your blood pressure. It seems to have gone up." And I said, "You know why my blood pressure is up? It is because you are talking about it right now. I said, My blood pressure is fine until I walk in here. And then I get nervous about you telling me something is wrong. You ought to just find me sometime randomly. And I bet if you tested me, my blood pressure would be fine." He sort of laughs. And I said, "But then when I saw you, it would go up again."
See, but that is the problem. And he said, "No, your blood pressure is up, Greg. And I want you to take this medication. And do this for the next six months. And we will see if it goes down." So he writes out a prescription. And he gives it to me. I say, "Thanks." And I never fill the prescription. I didn't follow his orders.
One person is clapping. The anti-doctor person right there. Yeah, those doctors are all crazy. No. So I go back to see him again a year later. And he does all the tests. And he says, "You know, Greg, your blood pressure went down. That medication really worked, didn't it?" I smiled. I said, "Well, I didn't get your medication." He goes, "You didn't." And so I said, "Na-ni-na-ni-na-na." See, doctors are not always right, but most of the time they are. So that is the exception.
But this young man should have done what Jesus said. He really wasn't honest. First, look at how he describes Jesus and really in effect himself. Verse 17. He says, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus said, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God."
In his mind, the rich young ruler thought he was good. Very good. In fact, the only one he had ever met that he thought was better than him was Jesus. He thought, "You know, I'm good. But Jesus, he's super good. And I want to find out how I can go to the next level of goodness. I don't want to just be good. I want to be goody good."
So "Good Teacher, what good thing must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus starts reciting the commandments to him. Why would he do that? You should not steal. You should not commit adultery. You shall honor your father and mother. Love your neighbor as yourself. Why? Because he felt if the man would be honest and do some reflection here, he would recognize that he wasn't as good as he thought he was.
By quoting the commandments, it was there to point out to this man that he fell short of the standards of God. Here are some commandments. What about this? And then this young man amazingly says, verse 20, "All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?" In other words, "Lord, I've nailed that. What else do you have?"
And Mark's gospel tells us, at this point, Jesus looked at him and loved him. I find that to be a very significant scripture. After brashly saying, "I have kept all of these commandments from my youth up," which clearly is impossible, because no one has kept all the commandments. In fact, the only man who has ever kept all the commandments of God is Jesus himself. So for him to say that was so completely untrue. But yet, after he makes this false statement, Jesus looks at him and loves him.
"Look at you. I love you." I mean it would have made more sense if it would have said, "And Jesus looked at him and smacked him." "What you talking about, Willis? Don't be lying to me. I am God. I see your heart, buddy." No, he loved him.
But he quoted the law. He quoted the law because the law is like a moral mirror. It shows us ourselves. See, the mirror tells the truth. Unless it is one of those funny mirrors in an amusement park that distorts things. You look in a mirror, and you see what is really happening.
I heard about two blondes that were walking down the street. Why are you laughing? Is it amusing to hear that two blondes walk down the street? One of them looks down and she sees a mirror. She picks it up. She looks into it. And she says, "Wow, I know this person. I have seen her somewhere before." The other blonde grabs the mirror, looks at and says, "Duh, that's me."
All the blondes are going to write me letters. "If I knew how to write, I would write." You know how to drown a blonde? Put a mirror on the bottom of a swimming pool. And for the record, I used to be blonde when I had hair, so I feel I can mock blondes.
But the mirror shows you things maybe you don't like. Especially those magnifying mirrors. Those are awful, aren't they? But you know as you get older you need to use those because you start missing things. Like, "Wow, I missed a whole spot on my face shaving that. How long has that been there, you know?"
Well, the law is a moral mirror. I look at the standards of God and I realize that I fall miserably short. But why was the law given? To make me righteous? No. The very opposite. It was given to show that I am not righteous. The Bible says that the law was given to shut our mouths and to open our eyes. Romans 3:19 says, "We know whatever the law says it says to those under the law, so every mouth may be silenced, and all the world will be held accountable to God."
So this rich young ruler didn't get that. Jesus didn't quote the commandments to say, "If you do these things it will get you to heaven." Because the commandments cannot do that. He quoted the commandments so the man would say, "Oh wow. I am a sinner. I need help. Oh right. You are the Savior. Help me."
But he missed that all together. "Oh yeah, I have done this since I have been a kid. I have got this wired. No problem." Jesus said, "Oh really? Kept all the commandments?" "Yeah. Kept them all." "Okay."
The Heart Issue – Covetousness and Surrender
And now Jesus gives one of His most misunderstood and misapplied statements. Verse 21. "If you want to be perfect, go sell what you have, give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come and follow Me." When the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
Here is one commandment we know that he broke. Thou shalt not covet. And the word covet means a greedy desire to have more. "Oh you have kept all the commandments?" And to prove the point he had not. Okay. "Sell all that you have, give the money to the poor, and follow Me. And you will have eternal life." "Oh yeah." He couldn't do that.
Now why is this misunderstood? Because sometimes people will say, "If you are a real Christian, this is what you ought to do." But that is simply not an accurate reading of this passage. This is not a call to anyone who wants eternal life, to give up every material thing, because Jesus never repeated this demand to any other person.
That would be like saying, "If you want to be cured of leprosy, you have to go dunk yourself in the Jordan River seven times." Or "If you want to be healed of your disability, you have to go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam." No. Those were specific situations, with specific people, that had a specific command given to them. And that is what this is before us. This was given to this man in particular, because of where his heart was at.
Now there are other passages that apply to all of us. For instance, in John 3, Jesus spoke with Nicodemus. But then He went on to say, "For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son. And whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." So that is a universal call to all people.
And then we are told over in Romans 10:13, "Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved." These words of Jesus were specifically for this man because of where his heart was. It is not a sin to be wealthy. It is not necessarily a virtue either. The Old Testament is filled with people of wealth that God blessed. Abraham, Boaz, David, and Job. Whose wealth actually came as a result of the blessing of God. Joseph of Arimathea was a man of great wealth. And he made his tomb available to Jesus, as you recall.
And when the Lord encountered Zacchaeus, who also was a man of great affluence, He did not require him to give up his wealth just to pay the people he legitimately owed money to.
Now listen. Money is not an evil thing. Money is not moral or immoral. Money is amoral. It really comes down to what we do with money and how we view money. Here is what the Bible says. 1 Timothy 6:10, "The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And those who have pursued after it pierced themselves through with many sorrows."
Listen. The problem with wealth is not in having it. It is how we get it, how we guard it, and how we give it. Let me repeat that. The problem with wealth is not in having it. It is how you get it, how you guard it, and how you give it.
And the fact of the matter is, is a person who does not have much can love money as much as the person who has it. By telling this rich young ruler to sell all that he had and divide the money among the poor, Jesus was laying his finger on the primary sin in this man's life, which was the love of earthly things. For someone else, it might be different. You see?
To another person he might say, "You need to break off that relationship with that non-believing person and come and follow me." To another he might say, "You need to forsake that career choice that is hurting you and come and follow me." To another he might say something else. The idea is he wants to be the Lord of our life.
Jesus was asking this man to dethrone his wealth and enthrone the Savior. But he wasn't willing to do it. You wonder what would have happened if he did. If he would have said, "Lord, no problem. It is done. Done, done, done. I will start getting rid of it today." If Jesus might have said, "Oh, then I don't care. You can keep it if you want. I was testing your heart." That is what happened with Abraham. God told Abraham to go and offer his son, his only son whom he loved, as a sacrifice. Abraham obeyed. As he was getting ready to take Isaac's life, there was a last minute reprieve. His son was spared.
Maybe his son would have been spared. I don't really know. I don't think that is the point. I think the big issue is, he was told what he must do, and he was unwilling to do it. And the story of the rich young ruler ends in sadness. Verse 22. "But he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions."
See, this young man didn't know about the joy of giving. He only knew about the joy of hoarding and clinging. But there is a blessing attached to giving. Jesus said in Acts 20:35, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
Now when you are a child, you don't know the truth of that statement yet. When you are a kid, your world view, if you will, is, "It is more blessed to receive than to give." I mean, it is all about getting stuff. And keeping it. And not sharing it. By nature, children don't like to share, do they?
You ever see what happens when there is a toy just sitting there and suddenly one kid goes to play with it and another kid comes to pull it away. I was playing with my granddaughters the other day and there was a doll. And one had the doll. The other wanted the doll. Now they are pulling on the head and the feet of the doll. I feel like I am Solomon. I have to cut the doll in half. It is like, so I got a doll for everyone. So when they come, everybody has a doll now. And so they can all, but then they will fight over something else. That is just human nature. That is mine. Mine.
One of the first words a child will often learn is "mine." But do we really outgrow that? Have you ever been out shopping and maybe there was something on sale and you were thinking of buying it. I don't know. Do I really need it? And suddenly someone comes along and grabs it. All of a sudden, "Hey, mine."
Or maybe you are in a parking lot and you are patiently waiting for your space. You have got your little blinker on. And someone, the person pulls out and someone just comes out of nowhere and goes in your face. You lay on the horn. You roll down the window. "Mine."
That is what the rich young ruler was saying. It is mine. And you can't have it. Too bad. There is a joy in giving. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7, "Let each one of you give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or out of necessity. For God loves a cheerful giver." And the word cheerful could be translated a "hilarious giver."
Listen to this. It says every believer should be giving faithfully of their finances to the work of the kingdom of God. In fact, I think you can tell a lot about a person's real spirituality or lack thereof by taking a tour of their checkbook. It will reveal their value system. The Bible says, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
So he was distracted by stuff. So now Jesus elaborates. Drop down to verse 23. "Then Jesus said to His disciples, 'Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'"
When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."
Some have suggested that this statement, "A camel going through the eye of a needle," is a reference to a supposed gate in Jerusalem that is known as the "eye of the needle," in which a camel would have to get down on its knees, shed any bags, and crawl through. The idea being, if you come to Christ, you have to do the same.
Now that is a nice idea. I am not so sure of such a gate, known as the eye of the needle, ever really existed. But if this is what Jesus was alluding to, why the question of the disciples, "Who then can be saved?" If he was referring to a gate, they would have said, "Oh yeah, we get it. Right." But because he probably said what he meant, and meant what he said, it didn't make any sense.
Let's go back to being a child again. A child would understand this. Can a camel get through the eye of a needle? No. Why? It is too big. That is right. So are you saying then that a rich man cannot enter the kingdom of God? Jesus is saying, "With God all things are possible."
See, this isn't about rich people. This is about all people. It just so happened that the rich young ruler's hang up was the stuff. But for someone else it might be something else. Really what Jesus is saying is, "It is impossible to get into the kingdom of heaven through self-effort of any kind. We can only come through God's grace, admitting our sin."
Simon Peter has been listening very carefully to this, hearing that the rich young ruler would not make a sacrifice. He then wonders, "Well wait a second. We have made big sacrifices. I mean, me and the guys here, we have given up everything to follow Jesus. We have literally left our homes, and our families, and our livelihood, and we followed Jesus. And is there something for us?"
And now Jesus, here is Peter, make this statement. Verse 27. "Peter answered and said to Him, 'See, we have left all and followed You. Therefore what shall we have?'" I wonder if the other disciples kind of flinched. "Oh no. I can't believe He just asked that question." But it is interesting to note that Jesus did not rebuke him or correct him.
Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Listen to this. Because this applies to all of us. That statement applied to them. This applies to us.
Verse 29. "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first."
Powerful statement. Far too often we think only of the here and now. And very rarely of the by and by. Jesus is looking at the big picture here. And He is saying whatever losses you have made, or incurred, for following Christ, will be more than made up to you.
Have you lost something to follow Jesus? After you became a Christian did it cause a break in a relationship, maybe in your family, with your father, or your mother, or your brother, or your sister, or your mom or your dad. I already said that father or mother. Mom or dad. Another way of saying it. Or your son or your daughter. Or a close friend. Or a business associate.
Here is what Jesus is saying. It is going to be made up to you in this life and the life to come. I mean not always in this life, but to some degree it will be made up. I mean I think of the fact that when we become Christians we become a part of a family. The family of God. The church. And there are people that I know that are my friends and really my brothers and sisters in the faith that are closer to me than blood relatives are.
See Jesus is compensated for the losses that you have incurred and I have incurred. But there is much more to come in the next life when we get to the other side. When we get to heaven. And then one day when heaven comes to earth. There will be rewards for your faithfulness to God.
I was speaking with two girls after church recently. One was in a wheelchair with a severe disability. And the other was speaking at length. And I listened to her for a while. And when she was done I turned to the lady in the wheelchair. And I said "Well how are you doing?" She said "I am doing fine." And then her friend said "Well actually she just had two brain surgeries done to remove cancer. And they were successful."
But I looked at this young lady who has just come through this and also with her disability. And I thought and where is she right now? She is at church. And I think of people. "Oh I can't go to church today." Why? "I have a cold." Really? Wow. "Oh you know it is so hard to get in the parking lot. It takes so long." Well I don't know. All the excuses we come up with.
Here is this young lady despite her severe disability and recent surgeries at church praising the Lord saying she is doing fine. I was just touched by her example. And I said "You know the Bible promises a special blessing and crown to those who have suffered in this life." And I said "I admire your faith. You are an inspiration to me."
And that is true for all of us. James 1:12 says "God blesses the people who patiently endure testing. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those that love Him." It is all going to be made up to us in the life to come.
Make no mistake about it. Our life on earth is not all that there is. Allow me to quote that great theologian Russell Crowe who played Gladiator Maximus Decimus Meridius in the film Gladiator. And Crowe in this role leading his troops in the battle says to them, "What we do in life echoes in eternity."
That is an Australian accent by a Roman general there as portrayed by Russell Crowe. But it is a true statement. What we do in life echoes in eternity. We act as though everything that can be done must be done during our life on earth. And we must do all that we can with our time, abilities, and resources. And there is a great element of truth to that because we certainly don't want to waste our lives.
But then what about when life is cut short or hindered by a disability or an illness? What about when a child dies? Or a young man or a young woman. And we had no control over those circumstances. So I guess these people just lose out. Oh what a loss. What a tragic loss.
And then we see other people almost living, well I don't want to say too long. But there are people who have lived wicked lives. And done nothing with what God has given them. And have opposed God in every way. And even done damage with their life. And you say, wow, well, and they live on. And this other one who had so much promise a potential is gone.
Why do we think that way? Because we are thinking all that is going to happen is going to happen in this life. And then it is over with. But that is not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that life goes on. And God will not waste or squander any life or gifts. And we must remember that death for the believer is not the end of life but a continuation of it in another place.
And He has other places and times that that life can perhaps reach its full potential. We are told in the millennium, that is that time when Christ comes back to the earth and rules and reigns for a thousand years. And then heaven comes back to earth. And we are here living with the Lord. Worshipping Him. Serving Him. It tells us there that we will build our own houses and eat the fruit of our own vineyards. We are going to build houses. We are going to live in a real place. And real resurrected bodies. And do real things. And build real homes.
So you are going to get that dream house after all. It is all going to be made up to you. Husbands. Wives. Brothers. Sisters. Land. Whatever sacrifices you have made will be made up to you. God will not be your debtor. And I am completely confident that in that final day you will recognize it was worth it all.
Two Responses – Sorrowful or Rejoicing
The rich young ruler. He went away in worse shape than when he came. Most people were changed for the better by Jesus. Not this man. He went away sorrowful. The Bible tells a story in the book of Acts of a man from Ethiopia that came to Jerusalem searching for God. This man was in a high cabinet position. Serving the queen of that kingdom. He no doubt traveled with an entourage. He too was a man of power. A man of affluence. A man of influence. A man of importance.
He heard about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He heard about the faith of the Jewish people. So he went to Jerusalem looking for God. And he did not find Him. But he did obtain something of great value. A scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Which he happened to be reading as he made his journey back home. And it just so happens he was reading from Isaiah 53.
So as he is cruising along in his chariot. Probably with secret service guys running alongside you know. Little flags of his country on the side of it. Out there in the middle of nowhere is a guy named Philip. Because God told Philip to go to the desert. He did not know why he was supposed to go to the desert. But he went. He was just standing around waiting. "What am I supposed to do here?"
And along comes this entourage. And Philip looks up and he sees this dignitary reading from Isaiah 53. "As a lamb is led forth to the slaughter. So he opened not his mouth." Philip walks up and says, "Hey, how is it going? Do you understand what you are reading?" The man from Ethiopia says, "How can I unless someone tells me and shows me the way?" And he invites Philip to join him. And Philip climbs up into his chariot. Explains Isaiah 53. Tells him that speaking of the Messiah, Jesus is the one that fulfilled that. Jesus died on the cross. Jesus rose again from the dead. And the man wanted to believe. He says, "I am ready to believe. What would stop me from being baptized right now?" Philip says, "Nothing if you believe in the Lord Jesus with all of your heart." And he did.
And the story ends this way. And that man from Ethiopia went on his way rejoicing.
Two men of power. Two men of affluence and influence hear the gospel. One rejects it and goes away sorrowful. The other accepts it and goes away rejoicing. It is really up to us. You decide how you are going to go out of here today. Rejoicing or sorrowing. If you will follow Jesus, you will leave rejoicing.
Well Greg, if I become a Christian, do I have to give up anything? I won't lie to you. Yes. Certainly God wants you to turn your back on sin. Certainly He wants you to follow Him in obedience. But let me tell you about some other things you are going to give up. Emptiness. Loneliness. Guilt. And the fear of hell.
Let me tell you what God will give you in the place of those things. Fulfillment. Purpose. The removal of guilt. And the guaranteed hope of heaven. That sounds like a good trade to me. Amen.
Invitation to Receive Jesus Today
So we are going to close now in prayer. And if there are any of you that have joined us today who have never asked Jesus Christ to come into your life, I am going to give you an opportunity to do that. You can't buy your way in. But He paid for it at the cross. And shed His blood for all of the sins you have committed. You can't get to heaven by living a good life or being moral and keeping the commandments. The rich young ruler knew that. But Jesus died on the cross for our sins. And if we will turn from them and receive His forgiveness we can know with certainty we will go to heaven.
If you don't know that yet, respond to this invitation that I am going to extend now. Let's pray. Father thank You for Your Word to us. And thank You for Your promise of forgiveness. And now we pray for any that have joined us who do not yet know You. Lord help them to see the words we have shared today are true. Help them Lord to respond to You so they can leave this place with joy in their hearts instead of misery and emptiness.
I don't want them to leave in sadness like the rich young ruler. I want them to leave in joy like the man from Ethiopia. Help them to come to You now and believe.
While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying together. How many of you would say today, Greg, I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want to be forgiven of my sin. I want to know with certainty that I will go to heaven when I die. Pray for me.
If that is your desire, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want your sin forgiven, if you want to go to heaven when you die, I want you to stand to your feet right now wherever you are sitting. Just stand up. Stand to your feet.
Now I am going to lead you in a prayer. Just stand up. If you are outside in the amphitheater, stand to your feet there. If you are up in the court building, you stand up watching the video screen. You at Harvest Orange County, stand to your feet right now. And I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment to Jesus Christ.
Just stand up. I will lead you in this prayer. I am going to have you pray right where you are. God bless you. Anybody else? Stand now. Wherever you are, wherever you are hearing me say this, If you want God's forgiveness today or if you have fallen away from the Lord and you want to come back to Him, stand to your feet right now. I am going to lead you in this prayer. God bless you. Anybody else? Stand up. There might be a few more of you. God bless you and you. God bless you.
Again, wherever you are, it doesn't matter if I can see you or not. Stand to your feet. This is a commitment you are making to Christ. Stand up in this final moment. Anybody else? God bless all of you standing.
Alright. I am going to pray a prayer and I am going to ask that you will pray this prayer out loud after me. This is where you are asking for God's forgiveness. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me. Pray this now.
Lord Jesus, I am sorry for my sin. I believe you died on the cross and shed your blood for me. I turn from my sin now. And I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for calling me. And loving me. And accepting me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.