“Say What?”
SAY
WHAT… The Camel and
the Eye of a Needle
Sunday, August 5, 2007
The Rich Young
Man
Matthew 19:16-26 ~ Now a man
came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good thing must I do to get
eternal life?" 17"Why do you ask me about
what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If you
want to enter life, obey the commandments." 18"Which
ones?" the man inquired. Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do
not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, 19honor your father and mother,'[a] and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'[b]" 20"All
these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
21Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect,
go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven. Then come, follow me." 22When the
young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. 23Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the
truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell 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."
25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly
astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" 26Jesus
looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all
things are possible."
Three Points about this Scripture:
1. The root
of the man's problem was not his RICHES but his HEART.
2.
Jesus does not CODDLE us, but instead forces us to FACE THE TRUTH.
3.
What does the EYE OF A NEEDLE mean?
A. It was a gate in JERUSALEM.
B. Camels are not OBEDIENT.
C. It required a CHANGE OF POSITION.
How could
this possibly apply to us???
Why the
rich man is like us today:
1. HE WANTED TO EARN HEAVEN.
2. HE WANTED INSTANT GRATIFICATION.
3. He had a good desire, but HE FAILED TO ACT.
Those who
follow the example of the rich man are only allowing others to be placed in
danger by their lack of action.
Our church
will be a church committed to EXTENDING...
Not only GIVING.
We will be SENDING.