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Ridgecrest Baptist Church is located in Dothan, AL and exists to Reach the lost, Build the believer, and Connect people of God to the mission and purpose of God.
Enough of that.
Take your Bibles, if you will, this morning and open back up to the Gospel of Mark, chapter 10.
It's where we were last week, and today I want to revisit our message from last week and really continue that message.
It's really a two-parter.
We're talking about the rich young ruler.
and his interest in being saved and becoming a disciple of Jesus.
So the first thing I want to do, we'll read the text in just a bit, but the first thing I want to do is I want to give you just a quick review.
Maybe you weren't here last week, so let me give you just a quick review.
We talk first of all about the seeker, that is this young ruler,
His desire.
Now, I told you there are many good qualities about him.
He was eager.
The Bible says he ran up to Jesus.
He got to Jesus.
He was humble.
The Bible says he knelt down before Jesus.
We talked about the fact that he was respectful.
He recognized and addressed Jesus as a revered and trusted.
He called him a rabbi, a teacher.
He was concerned about his own spiritual condition.
He didn't believe that he had it all figured out.
He had a desire to be right with God.
He didn't assume that everything was right with his soul.
And then we talked about the fact that he went to the right source.
He went to the right place for answers.
He went to Jesus, and it caused him to seek the answers that he needed for his life.
So we saw his desire, and there's a whole lot of positive there, things for us to emulate.
All of us could learn from those characteristics of this rich young ruler.
But secondly, we talked about his deception, the seeker's deception.
We talked about as well-intentioned as he was, he was deceived about himself.
You see, he believed because he was fairly moral, he was better than he really was.
He believed he had kept all of the law.
Jesus dealt with him on the basis of the law then, but he believed he was a little bit better than he actually was.
He was self-deceived, and not intentionally.
Self-deception is rarely intentional.
but he was a bit deceived about his real condition.
And then we talked about the Savior's directive.
We talked about the fact that Jesus, instead of pointing out the man's self-deception, Jesus simply gave him a command that was directed at the real problem that this man battled with.
Now, this is a story that's rich with principles.
It's rich with application.
And by the way, it's full of conviction regarding our own discipleship and our own commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ.
I read about some years ago some construction workers, they were laying a foundation for a building outside of the ancient city of Pompeii.
If you know anything about Pompeii and Herculeum, you know they were destroyed by Mount Vesuvius that erupted a massive volcano that wiped these great Roman islands out and cities out.
And as they were laying the foundation for this new building outside of the ancient city, they found the corpse of a woman who must have been fleeing from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
And she was frozen in time.
She had evidently been held fast by the superheated hot ash that consumed her as she was trying to escape.
And they found in her hand she was still clutching jewels.
And those jewels were preserved.
They were in excellent condition.
She had the jewels, but death had stolen them from her.
And that's really the bottom line in life, if you think about it.
That worldly treasure is not a wise investment because you can't take it with you.
Jim Elliott, a great missionary who was martyred by the Inca Indians in
for his faith, understood the reality, and he wrote something in his journal before he was executed.
He wrote, he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.
The story that we're looking at in these couple of weeks is about a young man who was confused over what was most valuable, and his confusion would cost him everything that really did matter forever.
So this morning, I want us to read again our text.
If you're physically able to do so, why don't you stand with me?
We're going to begin reading in verse 17 of Mark chapter 10.
And as he was setting out, that's Jesus 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 great treasure in heaven.
And come and follow me.
Disheartened,
By the say, he, that is the man, went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
And Jesus looked around and he said to his disciples, how difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.
Father, would you again take this passage, this story, this true story of this rich young ruler?
And teach us from it, Father.
Help us not to make the wrong decision of a lifetime.
Help us, Father, to learn on his nickel.
Help us, Father, to be instructed and convicted about who the Lord and Master of our lives is.
And, Father, help us.
to make right, smart, wise, spiritual decisions and choices about our destiny.
For we pray and ask you to speak now in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Thank you.
You can be seated.
Now the setting is, and we talked a little bit about this last week, and the setting is that Jesus has just set out for Jerusalem.
I don't know if I told you that or not.
Jesus has just set out for Jerusalem, and he's going for the Passion Week.
Easter's coming soon for us, and this is Jesus beginning that journey to Jerusalem.
It would culminate with his entry, you know, the triumphant entry in, and the people crying, Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna.
And so this is the path to Jerusalem.
And it is also the journey that would take Jesus to his death on the cross.
When this young man, this young ruler came up to Jesus, he probably didn't understand what lie ahead for Jesus.
He probably had no idea about what was to transpire.
He certainly recognized that Jesus was a superior.
And he certainly recognized that Jesus had the kinds of questions that he needed answered in his life and for his soul.
How can I have eternal life, he asked.
I think one of the dominant themes of this young man's experience is his sincerity on one hand and his desperation on the other hand.
And in his quest for answers, in his quest for direction, he faced what we would call the decision of a lifetime.
And with that in mind, this morning I want to pick up and I want to show you three additional insights from our story.
It's number four on your outline, but it's the first thing I want us to focus on this morning, and that is in verse 22, the seeker's dilemma.
The seeker's dilemma.
The Bible says that Jesus gave him the answer.
He said, now, the young man was counting on being able to earn his way or work his way into the kingdom.
Jesus said, okay, you keep all the laws.
You've got to be perfect.
The young man said back to Jesus, well, I've kept all of these things since I was a youth.
And Jesus, though, instead of, as I said, addressing those things, Jesus looks at him.
He loves him.
I love that.
He loved him unconditionally.
Agape love.
He loved him, but he said to him, there's one thing you lack, because Jesus knew what was the real controlling influence in his life.
And he said, this one thing you lack, he said, go and sell all that you have and give it to the poor, and then you'll have treasure in heaven.
And when he did, this man was faced with a dilemma, because he really did want to follow Jesus.
The problem is he wanted to follow Jesus on his terms, not Jesus' terms.
And so the Bible says that he was disheartened by the saying.
He was disheartened by this challenge that Jesus put before him, and he went away sorrowful.
One of the accounts of this in Matthew and Luke says that when Jesus spoke those words to him, that his face fell.
It means his countenance changed.
He was probably standing there enthusiastically waiting on Jesus to tell him, okay, all right, that's great.
You've done good so far.
Here's what I want you to do.
There's just one more thing that I need you to do.
And this man is probably waiting, waiting, waiting with anticipation.
What Jesus is about to tell him, it's going to kind of push him over the top.
It's going to answer the question of his soul and his desires.
And then Jesus says, take all that you have and sell it and give it to the poor.
And at that, this man wasn't prepared.
It's the one thing that Jesus knew had to be addressed in his life.
We talked last week that it may not be money for us.
In this man, it was his possessions.
It can be all kinds of things.
It can be a relationship.
It can be a vocation.
It can be any number of things, a hobby, whatever it is that might control you.
And this is what Jesus knew controlled this man's heart.
And it says his face, he was disheartened.
You could see it on his face.
He went from great enthusiasm at what was about to be told him to this just forlorn.
His face dropped.
It means it failed.
You can see him, he just went, that?
Not that.
Not that.
Not that.
In fact, you know, I don't know.
I might have approached him and said, look, I want to tell you, you've got great wealth.
Let's use your money for the kingdom of God.
We don't have much.
This band of roving disciples, they didn't.
You can't.
Look, there's a guy on my team, and he's crazy about money, and it's going to drive him to do something.
We're going to kick him off the team.
We're going to need a new treasurer.
You can be the new treasurer.
But he didn't do that, did he?
And at that, it says the man's face fell.
He was disheartened, and he went away sorrowful.
He was sorrowful.
He didn't go, well, I'm not doing that.
That's too much.
He realized that's a dilemma that he was faced with, and he wasn't prepared to respond to.
And he went away with great sorrow.
Jesus presents this dilemma about what's really his God.
Jesus wanted him to face the reality of what was controlling his life.
And you know, every once in a while, you and I need to do the same thing.
We need to say, God, I need to face reality.
What's really the master of my life?
What really controls my life?
What is it, Lord, that you would speak into my life and say, all right, you want to follow me?
Here's one thing, Ray, that you lack.
I need you to do this.
if you want to be a fully devoted follower of me.
What is it?
Every once in a while it's good for us to ask that same question.
And when Jesus' point registered with the young man, it just discouraged him because he wanted to follow Jesus, but as I said, he wanted to serve Jesus, he wanted to be a disciple of Jesus, he wanted to be saved by Jesus, but he wanted it to be on his terms.
This is the lordship dilemma for all of us.
Someone has said, and rightfully so, that Jesus is either Lord of all or He's not Lord at all.
And there's truth to that, but it's hard, isn't it?
As I mentioned last week, it's hard because this Lordship thing about Jesus ruling our life isn't something that just happens once and then it goes away.
It's not even something that may occasionally occur when we come to reality that we've wandered away from Him and He needs to be restored as the Lord of our life, and so we say, I've
You know, I came back and I rededicated myself.
Nothing wrong with that.
We need to do that.
But I want to tell you something.
This is not an every so often kind of thing.
Friend, I want to tell you this is something you're going to have to do every day of your life.
The lordship of Jesus Christ.
And you know what?
Sometimes you may have to do it several times a day for him to be lord of your life, lord of your life.
Because our flesh, as I said last week, is so powerful, isn't it?
And it jumps up there and it takes control.
And it will take control of your soul and you don't even recognize it.
It's subtle.
That's why I think Jesus told us to take up our cross daily.
You want to be a disciple?
Take up your cross daily.
Lordship is a daily thing.
Lordship is an event kind of thing.
Lordship is something where I may have to go from one thing to the next and say, Lord, I need you to be Lord right here.
Lord, I need you to be Lord right here.
Lord, I surrender, I surrender, I surrender, I surrender, and I keep on surrendering.
It's the lordship dilemma.
Kevin Ball has his own country.
Kevin Ball has his own country.
I read it in an article in the Chicago Tribune some years back.
And he gave it a name.
It's called the Republic of Melosia.
Now, if you don't mind, he would prefer that you call him His Excellency Kevin Ball.
After all, he has an impressive reputation.
khaki uniform that he wears with six big medals, his gold braids on his uniform, epaulets on the shoulders, he has a blue and white and green sash, and he also has a general's cap with a gold starburst across the bill.
You've never heard of the Republic of Melosia, have you?
Well, that's understandable because it consists of Kevin Ball's three-bedroom house,
and his 1.3-acre yard outside of Dayton, Nevada.
And according to the article in the Chicago Tribune, he has his own space program.
He has a model rocket.
He has his own currency, which he has pegged to the value of chocolate chip cookie dough.
He has his own railroad.
It's model train size.
He has a national sport called broomball.
And in his landlocked desert region, he has a navy.
He has purchased an inflatable boat.
The article went on to say that Baal is a micro-nationalist.
One of a wacky band of do-it-yourself nation builders who raise flags over their front yards and declare their property to be a sovereign kingdom, the kingdom of me.
For Baal,
It's really just a fun joke.
But he's joking about what all humans really want to do according to the Bible, and that is to build their own kingdom, the kingdom of me, which is just the opposite of what kingdom God wants to build in our lives.
And that kingdom is all tied to lordship.
Who is lord?
Am I lord?
If I'm lord, then I'll build the kingdom of me.
I'll focus on the kingdom of me.
The Bible says no man ever hated his own flesh.
In fact, it says, but loves and cherishes his own flesh.
We're far more self-focused than we want to admit, aren't we?
In fact, in the Greek, the idea there, it says when he cherishes and loves himself, the idea is this, literally that he hugs himself.
He's in love with himself.
She's in love with herself.
No man ever hated his own flesh.
No, he wants to be lord of his own kingdom.
But what does Christ's lordship mean in our life?
Well, there are several things.
If you can write fast, jot these down.
One thing it means is that we relinquish the throne and exchange the kingdom of me for the kingdom of God.
Just put exchange the kingdom of me for the kingdom of God.
We live in two worlds.
We live in this kingdom, this earthly kingdom.
But we also, if we're saved, we belong to the eternal kingdom of God.
And if Jesus is going to be Lord of our lives, then we have to relinquish the kingdom of me for the kingdom of God.
The second thing lordship means in our life is it means that Jesus has the right to overrule anything in our life.
He's the boss.
Jesus has the right to say no to you.
You belong to him if you're a Christian.
The Bible says you've been bought with a price, therefore glorify God in your body.
Jesus has the right, if he is Lord of your life, he has the right to say yes and no.
And by the way, he doesn't have to explain himself.
I've told this story several times over the past, I don't know, 20 years.
But when our daughter was, when she was still in her early teens, one of the things that she did with me every Sunday is she would ride home with me after church.
And sometimes she would bring something up, something that she wanted to do or something that her mother and I had already decided was a no.
And on several occasions, she would bring something up and I'd say, sweetheart, no.
And she would do what teenagers do.
She'd go, but why not, Dad?
Or she would say, well, my buddies are.
And those kinds of things.
And she would say, but why not, Dad?
She wouldn't fuss and fight.
She'd just say, why not, Dad?
And you know what?
The Lord gave me something to respond with.
I really believe he gave me this.
Because, you know, how do you go into all the, no, you can't.
So finally I just said this, well, sweetheart, let me tell you why.
Because I'm smarter than you.
I really believe God gave me that.
I just said, because I'm smarter than you.
Oh, daddy.
No, it's true.
I really am.
I'm smart.
Right now, at this time in life, I'm smarter than you.
It may not always be that way, but it is right now.
And then I would go, and this is really because she's a girl and her mom, you know, and I say, and this is really going to shock you.
Your mother is smarter than you are too.
We are smarter than you.
And she would go, okay.
And so the next time I'd come up, I would say, you really want to know why?
You really want to know why?
And I'd say it again, because I'm smarter than you.
God has entrusted you to us, and I'm smarter than you.
And so I can say no because I know better.
So let me tell you, if you're a parent, let me tell you how this works.
So this will keep playing out, and they will ask again, and then you'll say no.
Why not?
And then you go, do you really want to know?
And eventually, they answer the question themselves.
They start going, no, no, I know.
You're smarter than I am.
And then all you have to look back and say is, that's right.
And it's done.
Well, I want to tell you something.
I may not always be smarter.
I may not always be smarter.
But at that time, I was.
I still think I am.
But the environment has changed, you understand.
But do you know God has the right to say to you no?
He has the right to say to you no, and he has the right to say it and say, I'm smarter than you are.
I don't have to explain it.
You don't even have to understand it.
But I'm smarter than you are.
Listen, lordship means that Jesus has the right to overrule anything in our life.
Do you understand that?
So he can say no.
You say, but you said yes to somebody else.
That doesn't matter.
For you, it's a no.
It may be a yes for them, but for you, it's a no.
That's how lordship works.
Number three, lordship, what does it mean in our life?
It means that Jesus sets the agenda for our life.
Now, let me just quickly say, oftentimes our approach to life is to make our plans.
Nothing wrong with making plans.
The Bible even talks about making plans.
But we oftentimes make our plans and then we ask God to bless the plans that we have made instead of asking God to instruct us in the plans that we ought to make.
And lordship says this, Lord, instead of me making my plans and asking you to bless them, Lord, show me your plans and I'll adjust.
That's lordship.
You show me your plans and I'll adjust instead of me saying, Lord, here, here are my plans.
Now you put your blessing on them.
And then fourth, lordship in our life means that Jesus has the authority to change the priorities of our life.
Jesus has the plans to change the priorities of our lives.
Do you know what I said?
I've been in pastoral ministry for right at 30 years.
But do you know before that?
I have a friend that reminds me of this, an attorney friend.
He still reminds me to this day.
But do you know before I became a pastor, you know one of the things I said?
I know one thing, God's called me to serve him, but I will never be a pastor.
Famous last words, right?
Now, I don't need anybody coming up to me afterwards and say, you should have stuck with the first thing.
But do you understand Jesus has the authority to change the priorities of your life?
He has the authority to say, I know this is the way you're headed, and I even directed you that way, but now I'm directing you this way.
He has the authority to do that in our lives.
That's what lordship is about.
And listen, Jesus didn't tell everyone to do what he told this young man to do.
Jesus didn't every time somebody said, how much money you got, go sell it and give it to the poor.
He didn't do that.
He didn't tell everybody to do the same thing he told this young man to do.
The point is, lordship is about what is your God.
And that means Jesus has the authority to change the priorities.
Jesus knew what needed changing in this young man's life, and so he commanded change at that point.
And so this man faced a dilemma about whose king and whose kingdom he would serve.
But because of that, I want you to see the next thing on your outline, and that's number five.
But the second thing I want us to focus on, and that is the seeker's decision.
Again, in verse 22, the last part of that says he went away sorrowful.
Jesus did not negotiate an alternative discipleship plan, nor did he offer another path.
Jesus said, here's what it means for you to follow me.
And Jesus' response to the man demanded a response from the man.
It always does.
Jesus' response, the man initiated this conversation, what do I need to do?
You want to know?
All right, here's what you need to do.
Jesus' response to him demanded that he respond to Jesus.
It's always that way.
And the man went away sorrowful.
His response was to leave.
It was to walk away because the decision he made, or he would have to make in his case, would take him in a direction that he was not willing to take.
All decisions have consequences, don't they?
All decisions have consequences.
In 1943, a young pastor was offered the opportunity to take over a popular Christian radio program called Songs in the Night.
And since the cost of that program was high to keep on air, this young pastor, he went to his church board.
He had a large vision.
He wanted to reach as many people as he possibly could.
And he went to his board at the church and he said, I'll be willing to forego part of my salary to help defray the cost involved to keep this program on the air.
The suggestion was debated and discussed and the church board eventually came back and they said, okay.
Let's do it.
And the young pastor then approached a well-known Christian singer at that time, very popular national Christian singer, and he requested him to help with the broadcast, to sing and to lead the choir during the program.
The singer initially tried to get out, to back out.
I'm not going to be able to do that.
I don't know if my schedule is going to allow it, that sort of stuff.
But eventually he said, okay, I'll help out for a little while.
But his decision to help out for a little while would change the course of his life and the course of his ministry forever.
He later said, and I quote, this singer said, it was the beginning, the humble beginning of an unbelievable journey.
It was exciting to be a part of something wonderful that was unfolding.
Oh yeah, the singer, his name was George Beverly Shea.
And the young pastor's name was Billy Graham.
You see, the fact is our decisions have consequences for good or bad.
Imagine what would have happened if George Beverly Shea, y'all know who George Beverly Shea is, don't you?
Imagine what would have happened in George Beverly Shea's ministry had he said, no, I'm not going to do that.
Now, it wouldn't have shut down what God was going to do.
It would have just shut him out.
of what God was going to do.
Our decisions have consequences.
Our spiritual decisions have consequences, and that's why it's so important that we respond when Jesus calls us, when Jesus puts us in a place where he says, okay, if you want to follow me, here's what it might mean in your life.
We must remember that an opportunity from Jesus is an opportunity for Jesus.
The young man in our story made the wrong decision.
It was a decision that would change his life forever.
A couple of thoughts.
Your spiritual decisions are the most important decisions in your life.
And that's because they have both earthly and eternal consequences.
Your spiritual decisions have earthly consequences because they affect the reason for which you were created.
You see, you're not here just to consume things and then die.
You are here on purpose.
God has purpose and meaning in your life, and that's why your spiritual decisions in this life are important because they're tied to why God created you.
In one scene from the movie Superman, Clark Kent is upset after a football game because he is reduced to being the team manager or water boy.
And he possesses, of course, we all know, supernatural powers, but he has to hide those from his peers who don't accept him.
They don't accept him because he's not a star.
He's just the team water boy.
But Clark Kent, this young teenager at that time, his father in this scene slips his arm around the soon-to-be Superman and says to him, Son, you're here for a special reason.
I don't know what that reason is, but I know one thing.
It's for more than scoring touchdowns.
Friend, I want to tell you something this morning.
You are here for a reason.
That's why your spiritual decisions, just like this man, and he had the ability to make a decision that Jesus offered him.
Your decisions, your spiritual decisions affect your life here and now, not just forever.
And that's the second reason they're so important.
It's because they have not just earthly consequences, they have eternal consequences.
They affect your future.
You know, eternity and rewards and heaven, they're all affected here.
by your spiritual decisions.
And that leads me to the last thing that I want to show you this morning.
Number six on your outline, but the third thing that we're focusing on.
That leads us to the seeker's destiny.
Verse 23.
Look there at verse 23 again.
And Jesus looked around and he said to his disciples how difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.
Now, I know that you know it.
But not all stories have a happy ending.
In fact, some stories have a tragic ending like this one.
This young man's materialism was his stumbling block.
It was the thing, if you will.
It was the thing that prevented him from surrendering.
It was the thing that prevented him from trusting.
And it was the thing that prevented him from following Jesus.
And I'll say it again as I said it earlier in this message.
This man wanted to follow Jesus.
He really did want to follow Jesus.
It's just that he wanted a relationship with Jesus on his terms.
This man had so many things going for him, so many positive qualities.
But friend, listen, positive qualities, a charming personality, and even a passion alone is not enough to get you into the kingdom of God.
This young man had all the world could offer him.
But you see, a thousand years from now, what difference will it make how much you have?
That's what Jesus meant when Jesus said, what shall it profit a man if he gained the whole world and lose his soul?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
There's no better illustration of it than this story that we've just looked at.
I know again, and let me just say it again.
You might ask, why does it seem that Jesus is picking on wealth?
The answer is because wealth has a way of making us depend less on God and more on wealth.
It can cause us to consciously or even unconsciously forsake trusting God with our lives.
I told you about the...
enormously wealthy man that i visited in north atlanta some years ago and and i walked into his mansion and shared the gospel with him he was a kind man a nice man but i said is there any reason you couldn't trust christ as your savior and he stretched his arms out he said look look at all of this why do i need christ
He said, what is Christ going to give to me that I can't go get if I want it?
Or that I don't already have?
Now, he was looking at the world in purely materialistic terms, wasn't he?
He wasn't looking at it through the lens of his soul and eternity.
And I tried to explain that.
But it reminded me of this passage, or this passage reminds me of that incident, I should say, because he was the classic example of a man who so believed that his materialism would keep his soul safe.
Jesus wants us to have treasures.
Don't think that Jesus is opposed to treasure.
But Jesus just wants us to make sure we get the right treasure.
He wants your 401K to be out of this world.
He wants you to have eternal treasures.
He doesn't just want us to sacrifice eternal rewards on the altar of the temporary things.
Jesus wants us to seek the things that last.
Jesus doesn't want us to be deceived by trusting in the things that are passing away.
And the things of this world, the Bible says, no matter what they are, are passing away.
You say, well, I don't have money.
I don't have to worry about those things.
Oh, yes, you do.
You see, what happens to a person that has money is if they're not careful, they can trust their money instead of trusting God.
And what happens to a person that doesn't have money is that they become controlled by the pursuit of having money.
And so the pursuit becomes the God instead of the possession.
Does that make sense?
So don't say, well, I don't fit this category.
Listen, all of us can be in this same category.
In the end, this young man chose his own destiny.
And Jesus had spoken to him of reward.
Look at verse 21.
Look again at verse 21, if you will.
And Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, You lack one thing.
Go sell all that you have.
Give it to the poor.
And look, Jesus doesn't say, And you'll have nothing.
He says, And you'll have treasure in heaven.
Jesus doesn't say, This isn't you.
Give it up, and there's nothing in return.
Jesus said, You'll have treasure in heaven.
Jesus said, There is an exchange going on here.
Don't misunderstand.
There's an exchange going on.
When God has all you have here, then you'll get all he has for you there.
It's a great swap.
It's about control.
And this young man, he chose his destiny.
And there's no indication anywhere else in Scripture that he came back to Jesus.
Don't you kind of, when you read that, look, he's sad and he seems so serious and everything.
Don't you kind of feel, oh, I hope he got it right.
And you know, maybe he did.
We may get to heaven and we may find him there.
He may be in heaven and we may go, you're the rich.
You got it right.
I'm so relieved.
But there's no indication of that.
There's no indication anywhere else in the gospels that this man came back and said, you know, I thought about it.
Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do.
There's no indication of that.
He may have.
But there's no indication.
And the interesting thing to me is that Jesus did not chase him down.
Jesus didn't even go, hey, you really sure you want to leave?
You're not thinking this through, young man.
Just stop.
Just wait a minute.
I want you to take a day.
I want you to take a week.
I want you to just process what we're really talking about here.
Jesus didn't do that.
Let's get together next week.
You think about it.
Let's sit back down.
Let's have a cup of coffee together.
Let's talk about this a little bit more.
You want to do that?
Let's do that.
But Jesus didn't do that.
Jesus didn't chase him down.
Jesus didn't attempt to persuade the young man.
Otherwise, Jesus let him walk away.
It's a tragic ending to the decision of a lifetime.
And the same is true for you and I. You have a say in your destiny.
That's why Jesus said in Matthew 7, enter by the narrow gate.
For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction.
And those who enter by it are many, but the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life.
And those who find it are few.
That's an interesting passage because the invitation is to everyone, enter by the narrow gate.
Jesus didn't say only some can.
He said enter by the narrow gate.
The invitation is extended to all.
Anybody can enter by the narrow gate.
But he said there are few that find it.
There are few that are willing.
This man was one of those.
He wasn't willing to enter by the narrow gate.
He said, but it is the way of life.
William Culbertson, in listening to the giants, writes this.
He said, I find that discipleship means...
first truly living.
It does not mean a joy ride to heaven.
It does not mean that there are no trials and no burdens along the way.
But it does mean peace in your soul and joy in your heart and a sense, a supreme sense, of the smile of the Lord Jesus upon you.
It's real life.
It's real living.
The Lord Jesus said so.
Jesus, whether you're watching by television, live stream, listening on radio, or in this live audience, invites you, if you're not saved, to be saved.
To enter the narrow way.
If you are saved, Jesus invites you to the deeper walk of a disciple.
And he may deal with some stuff in your life.
You don't come on your terms.
You come just as you are.
You have a say in your destiny.
Have you made the right decision?
Are you making the right decision?
Father, Lord, we see so much of ourselves in the life of this rich young ruler.
There are so many positive things.
But there's so many tragic things.
Lord, would you help us to be introspective enough in our own life to find out what is that thing that creeps up and controls us that becomes the Lord of our life and help us to dethrone it as often as we need to to be your follower, your fully devoted followers.
For those, Father,
who this morning would cry out like this man, what must I do to be saved?
Would you whisper in their hearts right now the simple truth, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
And whosoever shall call on the Lord will be saved.
And right now, if that's you, that's you, you call on Him.
Your heart of hearts call out to Him, Lord Jesus.
I ask you to come into my life, forgive me of my sins, and be my Savior.
He will hear that.
Thank you for loving me and dying on the cross for my sins.
I know I need you.
I want you to be my Savior.
If you've been wandering away, why not tell him today, Lord, I call you Lord because I want you to be Lord.
Lord of my life, again, I surrender, I surrender.
And Lord, help me each day, maybe hour by hour, to surrender afresh so that you can rule over my life.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Well, I'm so glad that you have tuned in to the broadcast today.
I hope you've been encouraged by God's word.
Sure has been a joy to share it with you.
And even now, people at Ridgecrest are making decisions for Christ.
Perhaps as you've watched this broadcast, you've recognized the need for your own decision for Christ.
The prompting of the Spirit has caused you to recognize that you need Christ as your Savior.
And the good news is you can receive Him right where you are.
The Bible says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
Right where you are, you can call on Him.
Say something like this from your heart to Him.
Lord Jesus, thank you for loving me.
I know I'm a sinner.
And I know that you came into this world and died on the cross for my sins.
And right now, I invite you to come into my life.
Forgive me and be my savior.
I can assure you, if you'll call on him, based on what God has already told us in the Bible, that he'll hear that prayer and he'll answer that.
And he wants to begin this new journey in your life with you, transforming you into his image.
we'd love to help you with that decision as well.
You'll see a QR code on your screen, and if you would scan that, or you'll see contact information, or if you'll contact us about your decision today, we'd love to help you take next steps.
There are no strings attached, no fees involved.
We'd just like to help you begin that journey with Christ.
You may be watching this broadcast today and say, I need a church family to belong to.
I already know Christ as my Savior, and I'd like to be a part of the Ridgecrest family.
Also, if you will, scan that QR code.
That'll take you to a location, and we'll be able to help you make those kinds of decisions like becoming a member here or if you've never been scripturally baptized, those kinds of things.
So contact us through that QR code or through the contact information on the screen.
Well, again, it's been a joy to have you with us today, and I hope you've been encouraged by God's Word.
Whatever decision we can help you with, by all means, contact us.
May the Lord bless you.