“Then who in the world can be saved?”

Numbers 32; Numbers 33; Mark 10
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Scripture

Mark 10

The Rich Man

17 As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. 19 But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.”

20 “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”
21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!”

24 This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard to enter the Kingdom of God. 25 In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

26 The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

27 Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

Observation

The rich young ruler had come to Jesus to ask him how he could have eternal life, but the answer was too costly for him. You see Jesus told him that he would have to get rid of the god of money that he was worshiping and the rich young man would have to follow Jesus. Everybody worships some god. I watch so many in our country worship the god of pleasure. By the worlds standard even the poorest person in the United States is very rich. Alcohol, drugs, and sex seem to be the gods of choice for so many these days. In our affluence we refuse just like the rich young ruler did to turn from the little gods of pleasure to the one true God.

I am reminded from this passage that it is impossible for us to do anything to gain eternal life it is something that only God can give. I remember back to my days before I surrendered my life to Christ and I worshiped those little gods of pleasure. I remember the emptiness, I remember how my life didn’t have purpose, and I remember how those little gods didn’t feel the hole in my heart.

Have you ever thought to yourself about someone that you love about someone that is living a life controlled by alcohol, drugs, or sexual addiction, have you ever asked yourself, “What in the world is it going to take from them to turn their lives around and turn to God?” Have you ever asked that question? I sure have.

The answer is found in verse twenty-seven of Mark chapter ten when Jesus looked at His disciples intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.” He looked at his disciples “intently”. He was totally focused on His disciples - His gaze was penetrating through to their hearts.

And He then gave His disciples the answer to their question of “Who in the world can be saved?” and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

Yesterday I counseled people at Mission Tampa that had come to receive free food and I asked every one of them this question, “If you were to die today where would you spend eternity?” and every one of them answered “Heaven”. I then asked them this question, “If you were standing at Heaven’s gate and God said, “why should I let you into My Heaven - what would you say?” and everyone of them responded ‘because I think I have been good enough’.

Then I explained to them “Humanly speaking, it is impossible for us to be good enough! We don’t get into Heaven through doing good works, or by being wealthy. God has only one way for us to go to Heaven.

We must turn from the little gods in our lives and we must turn to God. We must surrender our lives to Jesus Christ. He must become Lord of our lives. We must ask Jesus Christ to forgive us of our sins and we must turn from our lives of sin and self and turn to God. The little gods are not going to satisfy the emptiness in our lives. This rich young ruler walked away from Jesus. He could have transferred his riches where they would have lasted forever, but He said “no” to Jesus.

The people around us that are trapped in addiction (to the little gods) must say, “yes” to Jesus. They must put Jesus on the throne of their lives. Only God can help them understand this truth, but He uses you and uses me in their lives because we are God’s ambassadors, we are His hands and His feet. So don’t give up on them because “Everything is possible with God”.

As I think back to when I trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ and how He came into my life and saved me I remember that it wasn’t Eddy that suddenly decided to seek out God. No I remember that it was God that brought people into my life so I could be saved. God saved me. He used people to show me the way.

Application

I will not give up on any person that is still lost or that is still under the control of something other than God!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, You know how frustrated I am with the people in my life that refuse to let go of those little gods. I watch them live for drugs, alcohol, sex, or the god of money instead of experiencing the real life that You want them to live.

I pray for their salvation today Lord. Set them free. Do a mighty work in their hearts Lord. Show them through the Christians that surround them and through those Christians that are trying to help them the way to salvation and the way to a life of victory. Open their eyes. Open their hearts to the truth so the truth can set them free! Amen.

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