I invite you to open the Bible and turn with me to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10, verse 17, and if you've seen the title of our sermon, maybe you're thinking, how could money make me sad? I wouldn't mind if someone gave me a Benjamin after the service. Why is there a tear in his eye? Well, that's why it's so important that we read this text, this man who comes to Jesus here in Mark 10:17, and the following verses. It says in one of the gospels that this man was rich. It says he was young. It says he was a ruler in the synagogue, a man who would seem like he had everything going for him, a prime candidate to become a disciple of Jesus. And I want you to see what happens to this man as we read Mark, chapter 10, verses 17 to 22. And out of respect for God's word, I invite you all to stand for the public reading of Scripture. Please give this your full and undivided attention. I don't want this to happen to any of you here this evening, so please follow along as I read starting in Mark 10:17.
And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
That's the reading of God's Word. Please go ahead, grab your seat. In your bulletin, there is a handout there where you can take some notes. The text is printed there for you, and I just want you to underline, “as he was setting out on his journey.” We are entering a very exciting part of the gospel of Mark, because Jesus and his disciples are going on their way up to Jerusalem. And if you just look ahead in chapter 10, you can see in verse 32, after we get through this account with this man who walks away sad. We'll talk about it this week and next week, then we'll get to verse 32, “they were on the road going up to Jerusalem.” And verse 46, “they came to Jericho, and they're leaving Jericho for Jerusalem.” And then when you get to chapter 11, verse 1, you'll see that they are drawing near to Jerusalem. And we'll get to Palm Sunday, where Jesus goes into Jerusalem. On Easter here at our church this year, Lord willing.
So, there's a theme that God has brought to our little church in Huntington Beach this year. If you're reading the Psalms with us right now, who's reading the songs of Ascents right now? Okay, so the next two weeks, we're reading these songs that they would sing on their way up to Jerusalem for the feasts. And in fact, in two weeks, on Saturday night, dinner is going to be back, and we're going to have an extra time of worship, singing through some of these songs of ascents. And so, while we're reading Psalms about going up to Jerusalem, we're studying through the Gospel of Mark about Jesus going up to Jerusalem. He's going up for the feast of the Passover, where he's actually going to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And not only that, some of us, we had a plan to go to Jerusalem in the month of June this summer. And so that's something we're praying about. If we're still going to be able to go on that trip, we're praying for the peace of Jerusalem.
And so, there's a clear theme that God has given us, is we're going to go up to the city where Jesus is going to die on the cross for our sins and rise again. And so, this is the beginning of that journey. But before we can even get going, here comes this man, and he runs up and he kneels before Jesus. So, a lot has been made of this conversation between Jesus and this man, commonly referred to as the rich young ruler, and sometimes this guy, people really expose some of the flaws with this man. And there are clearly flaws. But I want you to see that this man is running up to Jesus and kneeling before him. And he has a respect for Jesus, even though he may not have his eyes open to really see who Jesus is, he comes with respect also. I want you to see about this man, that even though he thinks he has kept God's commands, he knows that's not enough to save him. That's why he's asking, how do you inherit eternal life? And so, this guy is sincere, it seems, sincere in his desire to come to Jesus, but yet he walks away sorrowful, because when it comes to Jesus or his possessions, he chooses money and the things he can buy, he chooses the things of here and now. Materialism, greed. That's what this story is really about. And if there's ever people who needed to hear a good teaching about materialism, greed, and money, it might be people going to a church in Orange County in the year of our Lord 2026.
And so, let's go through this passage together. In verse 17, he says, “Good teacher,” or good Rabbi, “how do I inherit eternal life?” And that reference there to eternal life could be going back to Daniel, chapter 12, verse 2, if you want to write that down or for a cross reference, that this ruler in the synagogue may be referring to, Daniel 12:2 when he talks about this inheriting of eternal life. And then we want to pay attention to what Jesus says here in verse 18, where Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” Now notice Jesus just keeps talking there, but he makes that point, there is only one who is good. The Greek word agathos here, meaning good. Well, he's acting like Jesus is a good teacher. Well, Jesus is more than a good teacher. Jesus is the Son of God, and that's what maybe this man's eyes weren't fully open to see. Even though he treats Jesus with respect, he maybe doesn't actually see Jesus for who he really is. And I think this is very common, I think this is even common among church going people, where we have a high view of Jesus, but it is not nearly high enough for who Jesus actually is.
If you're taking notes, let's get this down for point number one: “Don't undervalue who Jesus is, because Jesus is God.” Don't under value who Jesus is, because Jesus is God, and that's what the hey, you know I'm good, but if you know I'm good, then your conclusion should be that I am God, because no one is good except for God alone. And so, this is what's going to happen to every single one of us. We're going to hear people say something positive about Jesus. And in fact, you might even think positive things about Jesus. Well, if you're thinking anything less than Jesus is one with the Father, then it can be positive about Jesus. But it's not accurate. You have to be able to see who Jesus really is. You’ve got to make sure you're thinking about him that way. And then you're going to hear other people say polite, respectful things about Jesus, but still undervaluing him. And what are you going to say in those moments? Are you going to let positive statements about Jesus pass by, or are you going to be ready to say, oh, well, I hear you're talking about Jesus, let me just tell you who he really is. Or, hey, do you know who he really is? Are you going to be ready to make sure here's your opportunity to proclaim the name of the Lord?
Go back with me here in the Gospel of Mark. Go back a few chapters to chapter 6. Do you remember when Jesus walked on the water? Do you remember even something we learned in this gospel of Mark when he was walking on the sea, how it says there in Mark 648, when they're making way through the sea in the middle of the night, they're not moving very fast, the wind is against them. And it says in the middle of verse 48 of Mark 6, that he came to them walking on the sea, and he meant to pass by them. Does anybody remember when we studied when Jesus passes by just like God passed by Moses on Mount Sinai, just like God passed by Elijah, and he revealed to them that he was God? So, Jesus is passing by his disciples to reveal to them who he really is. And then in chapter 8, Peter makes the confession in verse 29 when he says, “You are the Christ, you're the Messiah, you are the Holy One of God, the anointed one that all the prophecies are about,” the one that the Jewish people have been waiting for. So don't let people in your presence just say Jesus is a good teacher or a religious figure. Settle for nothing less than Jesus is God. Can I get an amen from anybody on this?
I find around here that there are plenty of people quick to speak positively about Jesus, while at the same time denying him the glory that is actually due him. And so, beware of that, beware of the false positive response to Jesus that affirms his moral teachings without acknowledging who he is. Go with me to John, chapter 8, just one of the things we learned. This was a while ago when we went through the Gospel of John at our church, but it stuck with me all these years. I regularly try to bring this up whenever I hear somebody talking about Jesus, but I'm not sure they're really talking about who he is. He is God. I regularly bring up, well, you know, even the enemies of Jesus knew he was claiming to be God. That's why they wanted to kill him. And I try to say that. I'm ready to say it. I try to be quick to say it when the opportunity arises. I already have prayed about it. I already have it on my heart for the moment when it comes. And you can see here in John 8:58, Jesus, when he's getting into it with the Pharisees here, he says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was I AM,” which takes it all the way back to the burning bush in Exodus 3, where God said, “My Name is Yahweh. I Am that I Am.” They understood what he was saying. Look at verse 59, “They picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple. So, it wasn't confusing who Jesus was. Jesus was claiming to be the Son of God, and that's the accusation they bring against him to justify killing him that he's committing blasphemy. How can a man claim to be God?
Go over to chapter 10, and you'll see it again when he says about his father in verse 29, of chapter 10, “My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.” That's what we were learning about last week. And then look at verse 30, John 10:30, “’I and the Father are one.’ The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.” Why? Because they think he's committing blasphemy, because he's claiming to be God. So even though this man runs to Jesus, kneels to Jesus and affirms that Jesus is a good teacher, by the comment of Jesus, highlighting no one's good but God, maybe this man didn't fully see who Jesus is. Let's make sure that we are aware of who Jesus is and ready always to speak his name whenever we get an opportunity, that Jesus is God.
And now go back with me to Mark, chapter 10, because Jesus begins to list some of the commands here, some of the ten Commandments, as we refer to them, in verse 19, hey, well, you know what you're supposed to do. “You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness,’” or lying. It's interesting. Instead of coveting, there it says, “Do not defraud,” because maybe that's a little glimpse that Jesus Jesus knows who this man is, and he already knows where the conversation is going to go, which is to his money, his possessions, his properties, his things, and so do not defraud. Maybe this man doesn't need to covet, because he's already got it, being the idea. And then it says, “’Honor your father and mother.’ And he said to him, ‘Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.’”
Now let's get that down for point number two: “Don't overvalue who you are.” Don't overvalue who you are, and this is why this rich young ruler has become a punching bag for preachers throughout the centuries of the church, because he just claimed that he was keeping the commands. It could remind you even of the apostle Paul before he became Paul after he met Jesus on the road to Damascus. He was known as Saul, a Pharisee of Pharisees, and he would have told you as far as the law, that he was blameless, he was good at externally, keeping rules, but not aware that internally, he was full of sin, and this is how a lot of people are, even people who go to a church like this because we avoid the really bad things, and because we do some of the good things, we begin to believe our own press, that we are keeping the commands. We are good people. We are different from others, just by our own efforts and actions. And so, this man, when he says this here, it reveals that not only does he not have a full grasp of who Jesus is, he has a higher view of himself than he ought to think.
Go back to Mark, chapter 7 and remember what Jesus taught when he was getting into it with the Pharisees about their traditions in Mark, chapter seven. And Jesus, he took us to hey, it's not about what's on the outside, and it's not about what you take in, like food isn't what makes you clean or unclean. In verse 20 of Mark 7, Jesus said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.” See, it seems like this man thought on the outside he was doing good things, but he wasn't aware that on the inside there was evil. People are ready to give themselves credit for all the good things they do, but who gets the blame for all the bad things you do, even if your good things outweigh your bad things? How do you explain the bad things? How do you justify the evil things? Where do your sins come from? And notice what Jesus starts out with comes evil thoughts. The Sin doesn't even have to leave your body for it to already be revealed that the things you desire are wrong to the core.
Now, go to Romans 3. One of the things that, again, that we've gone through at our church that has stuck with me over the years is when Paul lists all these Scriptures in Romans, chapter 3, saying, “There is none who are righteous. There are none who seek for God. There is no one who is good. No, not one.” And see this man, it seems to me like he's really seeking Jesus. And it seems like Jesus looks at him and he loves him, and the man really wants to come to Jesus. So, on the outside there, it looks like he's seeking God. But see then Romans three clarifies, no, we're not really seeking God, and that's what we're going to see by the end of our story is, if the man was really seeking Jesus, he would go and he would sell all that he has, and he wouldn't be caught up with possessions anymore, and he would leave that all to follow Jesus. But he's not willing to leave that to follow Jesus. Why? Because he's not actually really seeking Jesus, even though it seems like he was.
See, people are confusing themselves. They're deceiving themselves because they think I'm doing some good things, but in reality, they haven't got to the core, to the heart of who they really are. You're not good, you're not seeking God, you're not righteous. No, not one. There's only one who is good, and it's not you, it's not me, it's not us. Now, the thing that really helped was for me, in Romans 3 was verse 13, where he started getting very specific. Romans 3:13, “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” I love that the venom of asps is under their lips. It's like they've got the fangs, and they inject the poison through the things that they say.
See that's where I've made the most progress when people want to tell me they're good people, sometimes when I want to think of myself as a good person, where I've actually been able to make the most progress in talking with other people or considering myself, is when I remind myself of the things that I say when the fangs come out and I inflict poison, even in people that I would claim that I love. Why do I say those kinds of things to them? Why do I seek to lift myself up and bring them down? Why do I say things that are rotten speech, not giving grace, not building up. Where does that come from? Is it because I'm tired? Is it because I'm busy? Is it because I'm overwhelmed? Is it because of something they said, or does it come from me, because that's who I am, and that's the way I speak. See? So that could be a very helpful thing to mind yourself. Don't think too highly of yourself. One of the most common problems that we have is we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. It's a big problem. Even at church, it's a big problem. I'm doing pretty good. Just think back on some of the things you've said and let that remind you of who you really are before a holy God. Some of the things you have said. What does Isaiah say when he sees the holiness of God? He says, “I am a man of unclean” what everybody? And this guy is the prophet. He writes a masterpiece of prophecy, 66 chapters. And the first thing he thinks when he really sees God and he really sees himself is, my lips are unclean, all the things I've said, the things I shouldn't have said.
So, you could see that this man is coming to Jesus, but he's not really coming to Jesus. He's not seeing that Jesus is God, and he's not seeing that he's not good. But then we get to the heart of the issue. Go back to Mark chapter 10, and let's look here at verse 21 and following. And it becomes clear that Jesus knows what's going on. As we've seen Jesus hear conversations he wasn't supposed to hear. As we've seen Jesus know what people are thinking. See, Jesus, when he looks at people, he doesn't see them as skin and bones. He looks straight to their soul. He sees them as a spiritual being, and he sees this man, and he knows that even though this man has some kind of intention to follow him, or at least get eternal life, this man also is weighed down by the riches of this life. And that is clearly the theme of Mark giving us this account, because you can see if you jump ahead to verse 23 where Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.” So, in the whole next paragraph that we'll get to next week, about how can the rich enter the kingdom, see that clearly shows that was the takeaway from this man walking away sad.
The key issue here is the man chose his possessions rather than following Jesus, and then that's the conversation that Jesus and his disciples have. So there's a point you could make that he doesn't see Jesus is God, and there's a point you can make that he doesn't see himself as a sinner, but the real point of this passage is the thing holding the man back from denying himself and taking up his cross to follow Jesus. Notice that's how Jesus says it. Notice that this man is invited by Jesus to be a disciple. Look at how it says it in verse 21, Jesus looking at him, right? So, I think it's really awesome that mark puts that in there. It's like a pause. It's like a slow motion scene. It's like Jesus stops and he looks at this man, not for his money, not for his impressive appearance as a rich young ruler, but no, he sees him as an eternal soul. He looks at him it says that Jesus loved this man. That's why I like Mark's account the best, because of how it expresses the love that Jesus had for this man's soul. And Jesus said to him, “You lack one thing. Go sell all that you have and give to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven, and come follow me.”
Now look at what it says, “Disheartened by the saying he went away” what, everybody? He went away sorrowful. So, do you see here that this is an invitation to discipleship that is rejected? This is like that you got the Google invite on your calendar, accept, decline, right? So, we've seen these kinds of invitations before. Let's go back to chapter 1, verse 18. I mean, following Jesus has been a theme in the Gospel of Mark. What does it mean to be a disciple? This is a theme especially in chapters 8, 9, and 10 that we have been developing. And going back to the very beginning in chapter 1, verse 17, “Jesus said to Simon and Andrew, Simon,” who we know as Peter, “they're casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.’ And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” They accepted the invitation. Yeah, we'll stop being fishermen, and we'll become disciples of Jesus.
Go over to chapter 2, verse 14, where we saw another one who got invited to follow. This was Levi, who we know as Matthew, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth, and Matthew, who's going to end up writing a gospel of Jesus. “And as he passed by, he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he rose and followed him.” And we learned that being at the tax booth, that was a very profitable thing. It was hard to get a spot a seat at the tax booth table, and he just leaves it behind to follow Jesus. So, we've seen fishermen leave it behind to follow Jesus. We've seen the taxmen leave it behind to follow Jesus, and then go to Mark 8, where Jesus invited the whole crowd in Mark, chapter 8, verse 34. Do you remember when he was teaching the whole crowd here, because once they figured out who Jesus was, once Peter said, you're the Christ, then Jesus turned the focus to here's what I'm going to go do, and here's how you as my disciples need to follow me. And so, that's what we've been getting in 8 and 9 and 10, is this teaching of how to be a disciple of Jesus. And this is how the teaching began. Verse 34 of Mark, “And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life[d] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it.” And then Jesus said this, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?” Almost feels prophetic now, because that's what just happened. A man has great possessions. Many possessions could be many properties that he has, but he wasn't willing to leave. See the fishermen were willing to leave. The tax man was willing to leave, but the rich man, he walked away sad, and we all need to feel the weight of that.
You may not think that you are rich compared to other people in the United States of America, in Southern California. But if we were to compare the kind of life that all of us are living compared to people throughout history or people in the countries of the world, we would definitely be in a percentage that would make us rich. We have stores that you can walk into almost any time, and the doors magically part for you when you come in. And there are rows and rows and rows of fresh fruit, vegetables, breads, meats, anything that you and your family would need. It's right down the street What luxury we live in. See, we need to hear that in the Gospel. Jesus invited some people to be disciples, and some left what they were doing to follow him. But there's also an anti-disciple story in the Gospel where one man wasn't willing to leave behind his possessions, and he tripped on them. He stumbled on them badly. He stumbled in a way from which, as far as we know, he may never recover. He may have just lost his soul for things that two thousand years later don't really matter. This man doesn't still have those things, those properties, those possessions. There's a deceitfulness there.
Okay, there are some people now on social media, in the bookstore in our country, on the podcast, there are some people who are just openly saying their goal is to get as rich as humanly possible, and here's how to do it. Here's how to hack the system. Here's how you could get rich. And so, now greed has become an American virtue, and if you want to get rich, here are five steps to do it. Click on this, buy my newsletter, that's happening all over the place now. I would hope at church, if you just walked around saying, well, my goal this year is to get as rich as humanly possible, I would hope that your brother or your sister might say, hey, let's talk about that, right? So, as someone who goes to church, as someone who professes faith in Jesus Christ, if you're just out like, let's get as much stuff as we can, that's going to sound a little too much. So, people at church usually aren't going to talk like that, but that doesn't mean they don't think like that.
And so how do you know what you really think about money? And you need to hear this warning. You need to really process this. You need to get down point number three: “Money is not worth your soul.” Money is not worth its soul. And next to money, I just used the word money because it is the one I most commonly hear us use. But you could put houses. You could put retirement funds. You could put investments. You could put your house or your things that you have, your car, your boat, your bike, your E bike, whatever it is you what, whatever it is materially that you want to possess. That's the idea here, money and the things it can buy. And it might look a little different for, but there's a tension that Jesus is exposing here with this man. There is a tension between money and eternal life, and you can't take it all with you. To follow Jesus requires a leaving behind and money. Though not necessarily evil in and of itself, we know that the love of money becomes the root of all kinds of evil and money is not worth it when it comes to losing your soul, money is not worth it compared to the surpassing value of following Jesus. And this man, money has made him sad. Isn't that so interesting? And you have what you want, and you're still sad because money can't fill your soul. It can't buy your salvation.
Now go back to Mark, chapter 4, because we learned about the danger of this already when we went through Jesus' teaching on the parable of the sower, and he explained the man who was throwing out the seed, remember? And the crows came and snatched away the seed, and it fell on rocky ground and thorny soil. And then there was some good soil where it bore fruit. And then Jesus is explaining the parable, and in verse 19, he warns his disciples that the cares of the world. And then underline this or write this phrase down, if you're taking notes, “the deceitfulness of riches” and the desires for other things enter in, and they choke the Word and it proves unfruitful. Okay, so go back to verse 16 and you can see there in verse 16, the people, these are the ones who are sown on rocky ground, and when they hear the word, they receive it with joy, but they don't have root, and so it falls away. Verse 18, and others are sown among thorns. Those who hear the Word, so they hear the Word, and on the one hand, they've got the good news of Jesus, but on the other hand, they've got the riches and the desires of this life. And some people, even though they hear the good news about Jesus, even though they're inclined to say, Jesus is the good teacher, even though they're inclined to say, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Because they hang on to their riches, it chokes the seed, and they don't bear any fruit, they don't have the life.
Go over to Hebrews, chapter 11. Here's a reference to what you have to leave if you're going to follow Jesus when it comes to material possessions that you may not be as familiar with, because this is about Moses here. As we're going through the examples of faith in Hebrews, chapter 11, sometimes referred to as the Hall of Faith. There's a whole paragraph about Moses. And remember, Moses was a prince of Egypt, right? Remember, Moses' parents had faith, and he ended up with the Egyptian side. That's how he was able to stay alive when they were killing the Hebrew babies. And so, Moses, when he grew up, he was a son of Pharaoh's daughter. And look at what it says in Hebrews 11:26, it gives us a glimpse into the choice that Moses had to make. It says, “He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.” Wow. So, Moses had to do some kind of evaluation. As a son of Pharaoh's daughter, he could have lived a life of pleasurable sin. He could have lived a life of riches. And yet it seems like Moses made some kind of calculation that the wealth of Egypt was not worth it compared to the reproach of Christ, because only in Christ would you get the reward of eternal life and not lose your soul. And so, Moses, I love this because it gives us a glimpse back into what he was thinking with all that Egypt had to offer, on the one hand, and then what did Moses do? He ended up in the wilderness, and he ended up leading the people. There weren’t a lot of riches down that path, but he thought it would be worth it, because he valued the reward, the treasure in heaven.
So, you have to make a decision. You have to think this through and count the cost and weigh it out. If you're going to follow Jesus, you must leave behind the riches of this life. They cannot have a hold on your heart. They cannot deceive you. Okay, now go over to 1 John. Let me show you how John writes about this in 1 John, chapter 2. Maybe you know he describes here in verses 15 to 17, the love of the world, worldliness versus the love of God. Godliness. You cannot love the world and love God. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? We can't have any half in, half out Christians around here. We can't have one foot in here, one foot out there. You're either all in or you are not in at all. Can I get an amen from anybody on this? Okay, to be a friend with the world is to be an enemy of God. In 1 John 2:17 he says, it like this, “And the world is passing away along with its desires.” Don't you remember the thieves that come in and steal? Don't you remember where moth and rust destroy? Don't you realize that you cannot take it all with you? It's already passing away, “but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” So, verse 15 says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is” what, everybody? You are either loving God or you are loving the world. There is no middle ground.
And some might say, well, I don't love the world. I don't love Satan and the demons and the evil and the system and the governments and the nations. I don't love all that. Well, how about, do you love the things in the world? In fact, it gives three things that represent the love of the world. Here, in verse 16, “all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes.” And then it says this, “the pride of life. It's not from the Father, but from the world. Now the word there for life in 1 John 2, verse 16, the word there for life. Sometimes you might have heard this translated, pride of possessions, okay? And the reason is, go over to chapter 3, verse 16. Here's a very helpful cross reference that can prove to you what pride of life is referring to because it uses the same Greek word in chapter 3, verse 17. But if anyone has this world's goods,” circle that underline that “world's goods,” here is the same Greek word as pride of life in 1 John 2:16. So, the pride of what you possess, the pride of the goods you have that money can buy. Hey, look at me in my house. I'm living the American dream. Hey, you should come see my portfolio. Look what I'm doing. You should see what I'm building up in my business, in my career. See, there can be a pride in that. But then the very next chapter, verse 17, says, “So if you've got the world's life or the world's goods or the world's possessions, and you see his brother in need, yet you close your heart against him, how does God's love abide in him.” Oh, wow. So not only can we maybe pray and wonder, am I caught up in the pride of life? Am I caught up in my possessions? Is my heart idolizing money? Money is not evil in and of itself, but you can definitely have an evil attitude towards it where you don't want to leave it behind to follow Jesus. Well, 1 John, it says, hey, well, here's a test. When you see somebody in need, and you've got the resources, you've got the world's goods, you've got the possessions to give it to them, but you close your heart and you don't help them, then where's God's love in that?
So, we don't want to be in the love of the world and the things in the world. We don't want to be in the pride of life. And the test is when there comes an opportunity to share from the resources you have the world's goods to give to someone else in need. Does the love of God compel you to meet someone else's need, or does a love for the things compel you to keep it for yourself? See, there's a deceitfulness here that we all need to be aware of. There are people who are thinking, I want to go follow Jesus, and they're thinking, I'm ready to do whatever I need to do. I'm doing this, this, this, and this. But it's actually in money and the things that it can buy that will make them, in the end, sad. Apart from Jesus Christ, this is a real and present danger to the souls of men. And for you to think that's not me, without really considering it, taking to heart and praying about it, I would encourage that. Would be foolish to just disregard this. This guy is presented as a candidate who seemed like Jesus was ready to make him a disciple, and yet he walked away sad.
And so, we're going to spend two weeks on this. If you come back next week, we're going to get into the conversation that Jesus and the disciples have about this, because we need to take a heart check. We need to examine ourselves. We need to pray to God. God, am I caught up in the things? Am I caught up in the money? Have I really left it to follow you, or am I trying to bring it with me? Do I want the best of both worlds, this life and the life to come? Go back now to Mark chapter 10. If everybody could turn back to Mark chapter 10, I just want you to see this word, “possessions,” right? If you could circle that word on your notes, “possessions,” and it says, “He had great possessions.” You could even write down he had many possessions. Okay, so, so I think what I want us all to see here in Mark is that this man was invited to become one of the followers of Jesus. He was invited to become one of the disciples. And so, this is an example of a rejection of being the disciple of Jesus. In fact, Peter is going to say, look down at verse 28, “Peter began to say to him, ‘See we have left everything and followed you.’” Peter, once again saying the right thing. In this occasion, Peter is getting to the core definition of what it means to be a disciple. We've seen that when Jesus makes you a disciple, he makes you to become someone you were not. He makes you into who he wants you to be, but to really follow Jesus, there will always be something you leave behind. There will always be something you deny yourself. There's a cost to gain Jesus. You lose the world. To gain Jesus, you lose your idols. If you want Jesus, what are you willing to leave behind? And Peter actually says, not that they left their job as fishermen, not that they left their family. He says we left everything, is how he summarizes, it, we left it all, that's how valuable we thought it was going to be to follow you.
Go with me to Philippians 3, and let's just remember what Paul said, because Paul sounds a lot like this man in Philippians, chapter 3. Paul would have told you, when he was Saul, he would have told you that he kept the law. If you look at Philippians 3:6, he says, “I was so zealous in my Judaism, I was a persecutor of the church, and as to righteousness under the law, I was blameless.” So, Paul's saying, back when I was Saul, I had the perfect resume, right? And he's saying, hey, I would have really had a high value in myself, but now he says, in verse 7, “Whatever gain I had, I count as loss for the sake of Christ.” Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for his sake I've suffered the loss of all things, “and I count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith that I may know him.” Are you willing to lose anything to know Jesus, to gain Christ? See, this man was not willing to lose everything, not willing to lose it all. That's exactly what Jesus challenged him to do, go sell all that you have. And remember, Jesus knows his heart, and he's exposing the desires of his heart that the man is not willing to leave everything. He's not willing to count it as loss. He doesn't have a value of Jesus that's that high, and he doesn't see himself for his desperate need.
And so, you have to do this exchange. You in your soul, you have to count things as loss to gain. Christ, he has to be worth more. You think, Well, what? How can it be bad to be in the positive on money? Well, here's how it's bad to be in the positive on money. Here's how it's actually a negative when you lose your soul over it. And this is a real scenario. That's why Jesus is putting it in the parable of the sower. That's why this account is being put in the Gospel. Because this is a real and present danger in the hearts of men, that some people will choose money instead of Jesus, and they will regret it for all of eternity in sadness. And I don't want one of those people to be you.
So, when it says the word “possessions” in Acts, I want everybody to turn with me to Acts, chapter 4. And I want to read you two stories that are back-to-back in the book of Acts. And they use this same word, possessions. And they show how in the early church in Jerusalem, there were two different ways that people responded to having possessions, many possessions, which could be lands, properties, fields, houses. And here in Acts, chapter 4, the Church has been just exploding on the scene in Jerusalem. As soon as the Holy Spirit comes and Peter preaches the gospel, three thousand are saved. They're going to the temple every day to hear the apostles’ teaching. They're going to each other's houses every evening for fellowship and prayer, and these small groups have a meal together. And everybody in Jerusalem knows there's something going on with the church. Those people following The Way of Jesus, they're saying he rose from the dead. Something is stirring up the entire city. Persecution is beginning to come on Peter and John, and then we get this description of God's people at the end of Acts 4:32. “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul. Now look at how it says it here, “No one said that any of the things that belong to him was his own, but they had everything in common.” Wow. So, there was this attitude among the church that it's not my stuff or your stuff, it's our stuff. What a perspective.
And with great power, the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus’ great grace. Notice this. It's like Mega power. Mega grace was upon them all. And then look at this line. Look how beautiful this is. “There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses, sold them, and they brought the proceeds of what was sold, and they laid it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.” So, when thousands of people are getting saved, day by day, the Lord's adding to their number. One of the evidences, one of the fruits of genuine salvation, great power, great grace, Jesus is really building his church. One of the things you see is just this overwhelming generosity. Like, you know how people say, well, you don't really have to go sell everything you have and give it away to follow Jesus. Some people did that. That's exactly how some people responded. And now, you know, it doesn't say you have to sell everything that you have to be a Christian. But see, some people thought that's what they were going to do to be a Christian. Isn't that interesting? It sounds like there were many people who did this, but we get to know one of them. Look at how it says it there in verse 36, “Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles, Barnabas.” Who's ever heard of Barnabas before, which means “son of encouragement,” “a Levite, a native of Cyprus, he sold the field that belonged to him. He brought the money and he laid it at the apostles’ feet. Here's an example of a guy that when he made the calculation, when he balanced his budget, when he saw this field that he had, or his eternal soul, he was willing to lose his field to follow Jesus. And he came and he gave the money to the apostles, and they're like, wow, this guy's so encouraging. That's where the name Barnabas came from. Notice, his name was actually Joseph, but we know him as Barnabas. A lot of times, when God does a profound work in people's lives, they get a new name in the Scripture. We don't know him as Joseph. We know him as Barnabas because he was encouraging, and the first thing you learn about him is he wasn't caught up in the things of this world. Now that seems to be a positive, good example, and it's immediately followed up by a much different kind of example. Look at chapter 5, verse 1. It says, “A man named Ananias with his wife Sapphira, they sold a piece of property.” So, the word here for property is the same as possessions in our text. So, Ananias and his wife Sapphira, they also sell a piece of property.” And with his wife's knowledge, he kept back for himself some of the proceeds, and he brought only a part of it, and he laid it at the apostles’ feet.” So, I just want to be very clear to everybody here that the wrong thing that Ananias does is he presents it like it's the whole amount. He sells his possession, his property, his field, and then he doesn't want to give all of it. He keeps some of it. But see the lie is he acts like he's giving all of it. There's deceit there. Do you see how twisted this gets? Like, on some level, Ananias wants to do what everybody in the church is doing and he wants to give. But on another level, it literally says he wants for himself. It's divided; it's not that he's just totally in it for himself. No, he's ready to give maybe even a lot of it away. I mean, at least an amount that he thought people would have thought was the whole amount. So, he does have a desire to give, but he also has a desire to keep for himself. Now watch what happens when he comes to present this and he lies about it. “Peter said, ‘Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land. While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?’” So let's just understand that. Is it okay to have possessions and properties and fields and lands? He could have just kept it. He didn't have to sell it. That wasn't a requirement to be a part of the church, that you had to sell everything. He could have just kept it. And then look what it says right here, verse 4, “While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal?” See, even after you sold it, you could have just said, I'll get half of it to the church and I'll keep half of it to myself. He could have done whatever he wanted with the money, and it would have necessarily been sinful. “But why is this that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man, but to God. And when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.” We had great power. We had great grace. Well now we have great fear. “The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, not knowing what had happened, and Peter said to her, ‘Tell me whether you sold the land for so much.’ And she said, ‘yes for so much.’ But Peter said to her, ‘How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out. Immediately, she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And when the young man came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things. Have you ever felt that fear? See, it's your money. You can decide how you're going to spend it. You can give as much as you want. You can decide in your heart and give cheerfully. But why is there that need to lie? Why is there that need to lie to God? Why is there that need to present yourself a certain way to other people?
See, God, the Holy Spirit, they know what's going on in your heart right now. Jesus already knows who this guy is. He's got him pegged before he even came and ran up to him, before he even kneeled down.
The thing we need to understand is the only people we're fooling are ourselves. If you're caught up in money, don't try to act like you're not caught up in money. Confess. Cry out to God for forgiveness. Be honest between yourself and God. All Sapphira had to do was just be honest. We didn't really sell it for that amount. All Ananias had to do is just decide how much he wanted to give and cheerfully give it. But see, within our hearts there's something more that we want. We want God's blessing, but we want it for ourselves too. That's what we need to watch out for. And so, we need to really ask God to search our hearts and make it clear to us. And I'm just going to ask everybody here, will you pray for our church? Because when we come back next week, we're going to talk about this same theme, this same concept, and will you pray that God will make it clear to us that we've left the things of this life, the possessions, and we're all in to follow Jesus. What a surpassing value it is to follow Jesus. I am so thankful that he called me to be one of his disciples, and I think it's worth leaving everything to follow Jesus. Can I get an amen from anybody on this? Let me pray for us about this. Please pray with me.
Father in heaven, we want to thank you for this classic account of a man who seemed like the ideal candidate, oh, instead of fishermen or tax collectors, now we could get a rich man. He could really bankroll the disciples. Now we could get a ruler of the synagogue, probably somebody who really knew the Scriptures. And I'm sure that many people, when this man came up to Jesus, they thought, aha, what a value he'll add to the church. And yet the man was divided in his heart, wanting eternal life, wanting Jesus, but not willing to leave behind the possessions. Father, I pray that you would open all of our eyes to see that a man who had many possessions was actually possessed by these things himself. The love of money was a root of losing his soul, and even if he gained the whole world. It wasn't worth the sadness of walking away from Jesus. And I pray that you will help us to see very clearly that it's one or the other. We either have Jesus or we have this world. We cannot go back and forth between the two. And I pray for maybe somebody you brought here tonight, and they know in their heart that they're in it for the love of money. I pray that they will leave that behind to follow Jesus here tonight. And I pray for all my brothers and sisters here at Compass HB, God, thank you for blessing our church. Thank you for blessing the families of our church. Thank you for providing for us, God, we need to admit to you we're so thankful for how you provided for us and our families. In fact, you have provided more than what we need. You have blessed us with an abundance of your goodness. We have more than just a daily bread. And so, God, please let us be grateful. Let us be thankful, and please let us be generous. Please don't let us get caught up with the deceitfulness of riches. Please let all of us weigh carefully that I'd be happy to give it all away to follow Jesus. What a joy it is to follow Jesus. What surpassing value there is in knowing Jesus. To think what this man could have experienced if he had left it all behind. To think of the things he could have been taught, the miracles he could have seen, the last supper he could have attended, and he missed out on all of Jesus for the fading things of this world. Father, I pray that if anyone here is caught in this in between, where, yes, they want Jesus, but they also want the things, the possessions, the pride of life, I pray that you would search our hearts, that you would try our thoughts, that you would expose any love of money, any desire greed, to be rich, that we're still hanging on to follow Jesus, and that we would leave it behind tonight because Jesus is worth it to us. Even if we did go and sell everything we have, it would be worth the treasure in heaven. It would be worth knowing our eternal life in Jesus Christ. So, Father, please search our hearts as a church and show us that we have left everything to follow Jesus. We pray this in his name. Amen.