What Do You Lack?
Luke 18:18-31
April 25, 2010 – ©Rev.
Dr. Linnea E. Carnes
Introduction
In June
of 2006, Warren Buffet, the world’s second-richest man at the time, announced
that he would donate 85% of his $44 billion fortune to 5 charitable
foundations. Commenting on this extreme level of generosity, Buffet said:
“There’s more than 1 way to get to heaven, but this is a great way.” [PreachingToday.com,
“World’s Largest Donation Viewed as Path to Heaven” (Associated Press, “How Do You Spend $1.5 Billion a Year?”
cbsnews.com (6-27-06)].
That
only leaves him with $6.6 billion to live on. The title of the article this
came from is “How Do You Spend $1.5 Billion a Year?” That would be hard,
wouldn’t it? I wonder how many people worry about having to live on only $1.5
billion dollars?
Perhaps
the bigger question is, does Buffet’s gift of $44 billion really guarantee him
a ticket to heaven? How can anyone be sure that they will inherit eternal life?
That’s what the man in today’s lesson from Luke 18:18-30 wanted to know.
Situation
This
ruler asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told him he
must follow the Law, the Ten Commandments: Don’t commit adultery, murder,
steal, or give false witness, but do honor your father & mother. He didn’t
mention coveting a neighbor’s possessions. And he didn’t mention the first 4
commandments about honoring God.
The Old
Testament tells us that following God’s commands brings us blessings. Not
following God’s commands results in curses.
Moses
reminded the people of this in Deuteronomy 30:15-16: “I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.
For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him,
and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase,
and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.”
The
ruler standing before Jesus had kept all the commandments. He was rich in possessions
and money. He was highly respected in the community. From all this, it would
appear that he was among the blessed. He had it all. He would inherit eternal
life.
Complication
So why
would Jesus tell him that he still lacked “one thing”? What “one thing” could
this man possibly lack that would keep him out of heaven?
What do
you think we have to do to inherit eternal life? Some people say that just
being a “good” person is enough to get into heaven. But in verse 19 Jesus said,
“No one is good—except God alone.”
Some
would agree that a person who has been blessed with riches, with status and
importance will get into heaven. However, the ruler who came to Jesus had all
this and still lacked “one thing,” according to Jesus.
Others
might say that a person who is very religious – who goes to church regularly,
serves in the church, gives money to the church, says their prayers, tells
others about Jesus – will go to heaven.
Again
the rich ruler was very religious. He did all the things the Torah said to do.
Yet, according to Jesus, he still lacked one thing.
Jesus
told the man, “Sell everything you have &
give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” The man turned away, very sad, because he
was very wealthy. [Lk.18:22,
23].
Maybe
if Jesus had told him to get rid of 85% of his wealth, he would have done it. Maybe
not.
Jesus
then said, “How hard it is for the rich
to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a needle than for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.” [Lk.18:24-25].
Well,
none of us are really rich. So, maybe there is hope for us who just have
“enough” to live on. Yet, we are all rich.
What Jesus told the rich ruler to do was get
rid of it all. He could not do that. He wanted to keep it all and follow Jesus.
· We
too want to keep our riches & follow Jesus.
· Jesus
wants us to let go of our money and let him give us what we need.
Jesus said, “What good will it be for you to gain the
whole world, yet forfeit your soul?” [Mt.16:26].
· We
want to be somebody.
· Jesus
wants us to be a part of his body.
Yet, who
we are in the world doesn’t matter to God. Philippians 2:3-4 says, “In humility value others above yourselves,
not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others.”
· We
want to be known in the church for who we are in the world.
· Jesus
wants us to be known in the world as his followers.
As long
as we refuse to let go of all the things of this world that make us feel rich,
no matter how much we have, we will still “lack 1 thing” to inherit eternal
life.
How do
we inherit eternal life? Jesus said, “What
is impossible with human beings is possible with God.” [Lk. 18:27].
You may
be thinking,
· “It’s
impossible for me to sell everything and give it to the poor.”
· It’s
also impossible for us to carry it all with us while following Jesus.
· It’s
truly impossible for us to take any of it with us to heaven.
So what
do we lack? What must we do to inherit eternal life?
Resolution
The man
was so intent upon gaining all that this life had to offer that he had failed
to truly consider where it all came from.
Everything
we have comes from God, who created it all & provides it all & blesses
us all with abundance. So, all that we have is a gift from God that we are to
use for God’s purposes.
Look at
the example of the early church, in Acts
Acts
4:32-34: All the believers were one in
heart & mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own,
but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles
continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was
so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among
them.
When
the Christians in Jerusalem were suffering during a famine, the churches in
Macedonia gave sacrificially. “In the
midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty
welled up in rich generosity,” 2
Corinthians 8:2 says.
They
held nothing back from God. They gave freely of all they had for God’s purposes
– to build the kingdom of God, to help those in need, to show the love of God
to others.
Why did
these new Christians give so generously? They had the one thing the ruler
lacked. They gave because God had given so much to them.
They
gave because they had experienced God’s love for them so powerfully that love
overflowed into the lives of others.
When we
hold onto what we have, when we don’t give, we show that we are afraid we might
not have enough, that we do not trust God. Our faith in Jesus should be evident
in both our checkbook & our soul.
· There
is not one person among us who cannot give some amount of money to the work of
God.
· There
is not one person among us who can afford not to give to God’s work.
When we
don’t give our money to the church, it’s not just the church that we deprive of
blessings, but our-selves. No matter how little we have, if we don’t give
something, we limit God’s blessings in our life.
The
disciples reminded Jesus that they had given up everything to follow him. Jesus
told them that every-one who gives themselves fully to the Lord will not “fail to receive many times as much in this
age, and in the age to come.” [Lk.18:30].
God
promises that the more we give our resources and ourselves to others, the more
we will be blessed today and our inheritance in heaven will grow. The more we
give, the more God gives us. “Generosity leads us to greater dependence on
God.” [Gordon MacDonald, Generosity (The National Christian
Foundation, 2009) 40].
The
rich ruler had accumulated much wealth. But he wasn’t willing to give it away
to help others.
He
could not follow Jesus because he loved his money and possessions more than
God. What he lacked was a true love for God.
The
people of Israel repeated these words several times every day. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord is our God, the
Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all
your soul, and with all your might.” [Dt. 6:4-5].
The 1st commandment is to love God & God alone. We cannot serve God and money. We
cannot love God and put anything else above our love for God.
Jesus
told his disciples, love God with your whole being and love your neighbor as
yourself. [Lk.10:27].
What do
you lack? The one thing necessary to inherit eternal life is a heart that loves
God more than anything.
I don’t
know how much you give the church. That’s not my business. But I want your
faith to grow so will not lack the one thing needed to inherit eternal life.
· If
you want your faith to grow, then increase your giving to the Lord.
· If
you’re feeling poor, give more.
· If
you’re feeling rich, give sacrificially.
· Trust
God to provide what you need.
· Don’t
just pray for God to provide for your needs.
· Act
like you believe that God will provide what you need.
Giving
to the church is an act of faith. Giving is also an act of love.
Celebration
A
ten-year-old girl was the last person in a soup kitchen line. More people than
usual had come that day & the volunteers serving the food realized they
were running out of food. But the girl was watching the 3 small children sitting across the street
waiting for her, not the food. When the girl finally made it to the servers,
the only thing left was 1 banana. She took the banana with a smile & thanked
them. Then she walked across the street. Carefully, she peeled the banana,
broke it into 3 equal pieces, and gave each of the 3 children 1/3 of the
banana. Then she sat down on the curb and licked the inside of the banana peel.
A person who happened to witness that little girl’s act of sacrificial love
said, “When I saw what that girl did that day, I saw the face of God.” [James W. Moore, Rich in the Things That Count Most (Nashville:
Dimensions for Living, 2006) 47].
“We love because God first loved us.” [1Jn.4:19]. “This is love: not
that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to
love one another.” [1Jn.4:10-11].
Jesus
Christ gave his life for us. He died on the cross that we would not face
judgment for our sins, but be able to stand before God forgiven. Then Jesus
Christ was raised from the dead that all who believe in him could inherit
eternal life.
God
gave us Jesus because he loves us.
Jesus
died for our sins because he loves us.
When we
love God more than anything in this world, we will show our love through our
generous acts of love for others.
Jesus
said, “Sell everything you have and give
to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” [Lk.18:22].
Don’t
lack the one thing needed.
Love
God first.
Love
God most.
Love
God because God loves you. Amen.
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This sermon is copyright ©2010 by Rev. Dr. Linnea E. Carnes,
Immanuel
Evangelical
Covenant
Church
,
Chicago
,
Illinois
.