The Rich Young Ruler - Luke 18:18-34

The Reverend James E. Anderson encourages listeners to uplift and support one another. He emphasizes the importance of love, compassion, and standing up for what is right. He discusses the story of the rich young ruler, highlighting the need to prioritize God over material possessions. Jesus reminds his disciples of his purpose and the sacrifice he will make. The disciples struggle to understand, but the message is clear: repent, believe, and trust in God's plan. The Reverend Anderson urges listeners to humble themselves, confess their faults, and prioritize their relationship with God. He concludes with a reminder to walk by faith and not by sight. Greetings and Dematchless, name of Jesus, you've tapped into the encouragement corner once again. My name is Pastor, the Reverend James E. Anderson, Hopeful Outreach Ministries. We are reaching out to you to encourage you, to lift you up. You know in the kingdom there's no room right now for anything else but encouragement. You know we've gone through so much, a hurricane just passed us, a lot of people lost their lives and it's still affecting people as it goes up the east coast. So we need to definitely keep them lifted up in prayer. You know 1 Thessalonians 5 and 11 lets us know that we should encourage one another and build up one another just as you also are doing. So if you're encouraging someone, building someone else up, trust me you are doing the right thing. You know real quickly let's go into prayer. Father in the name of Jesus Lord we just honor you this morning. We thank you. We glorify your holy name. We worship you right now. We bow down at your feet. Lord we just ask you right now to help us Lord in our endeavors this week. Lord give us a mind to serve you, to worship you, to glorify you in all that we do. Oh God Lord we just thank you for being God for you. Sit up high and you look down low and you're the one that's making the crooked ways, the crooked ways straight. Oh God so we just ask you right now Lord to continue to bless us in heavenly places and allow your love to manifest in our lives. Oh God Lord we just ask you to forgive us for all of our sins. Lord cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Lord we confess our faults to you right now in the name of Jesus Lord we ask you to continue to help us, strengthen us because the greatest commandment is love oh God. And so there is no room for any other response but love and compassion. For we are all in the same boat and we recognize this oh God. We must stand for what is right and against what is not. And Father we must shine the light into the darkness and we must do it all manifesting the truth in love and with that we'll praise, magnify and glorify your name. It's in Jesus name we submit this prayer. Amen. Once again you have plugged in, tapped in, getting charged up in the encouragement corner. This is the Reverend James E. Anderson, the pastor of Overflow Outreach Ministries. You know we're reaching out to you, bringing the word of God to the four corners of the earth. Today I have an interesting piece. We're going to be talking from Luke chapter 18 verses 18 through 34. Amen. Luke chapter 18. We're going to talk about the rich young ruler and I'll get some nuggets from this teaching piece. Amen. Amen. The rich young ruler. Luke chapter 18 verses 18 through 34. Watch this, a ruler questioned him saying, good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And that's a question that all of us, we have, some of us been asked that by other people. What shall they do? What should they 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 commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother. Now watch what the rich young ruler, he began to justify himself because he has done these things. And he said, I, and he said, all these things I have kept from my youth interested. We love to talk about the things that we do good, but we never like to shed light and admit the things that we do wrong. We do that in relationships. You know, we do it on the job. We do it out in the social realm. Even the politicians do, you know, like to talk about the things they do right, but no one wants to improve on the things that they do wrong. And when Jesus heard this, he said to him, one thing you still lack, sell all that you possess and distribute to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven and come follow me. Wow, he didn't commit adultery. He didn't murder. He didn't steal. He didn't bear false witness and he honored his father and his mother. So he did a lot of things right. And not only this, he kept these commandments from his youth. So he, he knew the commandments, but it was one of them that he didn't keep. And that was the first one. Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor like you love yourself. Now, these are the two that sum up all the 10, but in the 10 commandments, the first one is thou shall have no other gods before me. And so if I had to put a title on this message today, I would ask you, what are you putting before God? What are you putting before God? Because obviously money was his God. Wow. And so the Lord asked him to take all that he had and distribute it to the poor and he shall have treasures in heaven and come follow me. So he lacked the most important piece. Money was his idol. God wasn't his idol. You know, God wasn't first in his life. Now watch this 23rd verse, but when he had heard these things, he became very sad for he was extremely rich. Man, he was extremely rich. Now that's a major blow to a lot of people out here today, because most people feel as if I've worked for it. They didn't work for it. I did what I needed to do. What about them? If a man don't work, neither should you let him eat. But this is not what God is talking about. It's okay to work. It's okay to be wealthy. But watch this. If you don't have time for God and the pursuit of wealth and money is the only thing that's on your mind, then guess what? Money is your God. So again, what are we putting before God today? And Jesus looked at him and said, how hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. Now Jesus is speaking explicitly this morning, how hard it is, because you know, as well as I know, most of us work eight to 10 to 12 hours a day. And it is extremely hard to focus on anything else but our jobs, the things that we're supposed to do. But if we put God on the back burner, then watch this. What does it profit for a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? Wow, staggering, because a lot of us, the world right now, everybody wants to secure the bag. But watch this. It's not even a guarantee that you'll wake up tomorrow morning. Tomorrow's not promised to any of us. Your retirement is not promised to you. The next moment is not promised to you. So what are we putting before our relationship with God? And watch this. If you don't have a relationship with people, you cannot have a relationship with God. Because how can a man who has never seen God at any time close up his bosom to his fellow man? So Jesus said, how hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. For it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Now we can look at this from a theological place or we can look at it from a literal place. So let's look at it literally. You know as well as I know a camel cannot go through the eye of a needle. That's impossible. But in the ancient of days, a camel would have to go into this city and there was this gate called the needle. And the needle was a narrow passageway. And it was so narrow that this camel with this tall neck, long neck, had to bow himself to get through. And so Jesus is saying, people who are wealthy, he's a big man, she's a big woman, you know, you have a lot of money, you're tall in the world, you're somebody where everybody knows your name. You can buy anything you want, you can go anywhere you want to go. So most people who are wealthy, they do not have to pray. What are you praying for? Who are you praying for? Why are you praying? You know, you got it all. But the person who's wealthy, just like that camel, have to humble themselves. And so that camel had to contort the body to go through the eye of the needle. Had to bow his head, its head, to go through the eye of the needle. And this is what Jesus is saying, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Because most human beings, when they become somebody, they become lifted up in pride. They don't want to share with anyone. Most people who are wealthy, they think they're better than everyone. You know how we do. He or she need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps and get it like I got it. But watch this, Christ didn't treat us like that. He didn't tell us we have to, you know, work it out on our own because of what the sins of the first man Adam. Hallelujah. But he humbled himself and came off of his throne, manifested himself in Christ Jesus. This is what God did. And Jesus became the express image of God and he gave his life for everyone. He humbled himself. Wow. Then who heard it? They who heard it said, then who can be saved? Who can be saved? But Jesus says the things that are impossible with people are possible with God. But watch this. God resists the proud and he gives grace to the humble. That's why it's possible with God. Because we can do all things through Christ only if we humble ourselves. And to humble ourselves, that means we have to die daily to our flesh. Basically we have to repent. We have to turn from evil. We have to acknowledge the Lord in all of our ways and he will direct our paths. But he said, once again, the things that are impossible with people are possible with God. And then Peter said, behold, we have left our homes and followed you. Man, I love this. For those out there who have left everything to follow the Lord, and you may be misunderstood, you may be battling with mood disorders. Amen. Sometimes you can't get your thoughts right, your speech right. It's hard for you to articulate what's really on your mind. But you know in your heart you have forsaken all to follow the Lord. Notice what Jesus said to them. Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom who will not receive many times as much as this time and in the age to come, eternal life. It's going to come with a little persecution, I can promise you that. But I'm a living witness that when you choose God over the things of this world, God will bless you tremendously. Amen. God will bless you tremendously. He will receive many times as much as this time in the age to come in eternal life. Amen. And then he took the twelve aside and said to them, behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. Now Jesus now is talking about his purpose, why he's here, why he has to do what he needs to do. Basically, he's talking about the self-sacrifice that he has to do. You know, because we have the tendency to talk about and refer to the things that we have to give up to serve the Lord. Amen. The things that we have to give up, how uncomfortable we are, what's coming against us, how it's coming against us. We get a tendency to complain. We start looking at what other people have, you know, how other people are getting along and we start to become ungrateful. But Jesus starts to explain to them that he's making the ultimate sacrifice. He's telling them, the twelve, what is written in the word of God and what he has to endure. Amen. Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, behold, we are going up to Jerusalem and all the things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. So now he's fulfilling and walking in his purpose. And my question to you today is, are you truly walking in your purpose? Are you really walking with the Lord? Do you really understand why God put you here on this earth? Are you just walking around, you know, still trying to figure things out, still trying to reconcile why you went through what you went through, why your father wasn't there, why your mother was so cruel? Are you still sitting around wanting someone to give you something? What are you giving up for God? What is your God? The very thing that you think about the most, the thing that you're involved in the most, the thing that you sacrifice for the most, guess what? That is your God. And so Jesus is making the ultimate sacrifice. He's doing the will of the Father to give up his life for the sins of the world, for everybody, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. So this life eternal is the reason why our Lord and Jesus died and resurrected the third day. For the scripture says in the 32nd verse, for he will be handed over to the Gentiles and he will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon. And after they have scorched him, they will kill him. And the third day he will rise again. Watch this. But the disciples understood none of these things and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them. And they did not comprehend the things that were said. There's another scripture in the Bible says that the natural man receive it, not the things of the spirit of God for his foolishness unto them. Neither can he know them because it's spiritually discerned. Listen, until we repent and give our lives totally to the Lord and believe the gospel and trust him at his word. A lot of things that is going on in your life right now, it will continue to be hidden. So listen, receive Jesus right now into your heart and allow him. I promise you to guide you so that you can do the things that you need to do in this lifetime so you can be ready when he comes back and or when is your time to be taken out of here. We must have love. We must have joy. We must have peace. We must have patience. We must have kindness. We must have goodness. We must have faithfulness. We must have gentleness. And above all, we have to have self control. Listen, if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God have raised him from the dead, you will be saved. It's just so simple. Repent and believe. Repent and believe. You want to be in the will of God in everything that you do. Don't repay evil for evil. Always see the good in other people. Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. And in everything give thanks for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. You have to do that. You have to be humble if you want to enter into the kingdom of God. We all must repent. Die daily. Confess your faults to the Lord. Listen, this is the message we've heard from him that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. And if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. The Lord is faithful and just to forgive us our sins if we confess our faults to him. And he will cleanse us of all unrighteous. Don't be like the rich young ruler keeping the part of the commandments that you want to keep but you want to leave out the number one part. And that's the part where you're saying that you have no sin in your life. Listen, we all have to humble ourselves to the almighty God. God must be first in our life in all that we do. Once again, this is Pastor the Reverend James E. Anderson, Overflow Outreach Ministries. I'm reaching out to you. You've tapped into the encouragement corner every Monday. Every Monday the encouragement corner is coming your way so that we can encourage you in the things of God. Listen, I love you all in Jesus name. Continue to walk by faith and not by sight. Lean not to your own understanding. And I promise you God will continue to bless you, build you up, and lead and guide us in all that we do. I love you all in Jesus name. Have a wonderful day.