Luke 18:18-30
(NRSV)
A certain ruler
asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said
to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the
commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall
not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’” He
replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said
to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute
the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow
me.” But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. Jesus looked
at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom
of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than
for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
Those who heard it
said, “Then who can be saved?” He replied, “What is impossible for mortals is
possible for God.”
Then Peter said,
“Look, we have left our homes and followed you.” And he said to them, “Truly I
tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or
children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not get back very much
more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
OK are you ready for this --- this is one of my favorite
passages in the Bible
SERIOUSLY!
This is one of those passages that tell us exactly what we
are supposed to be doing.
I don't what to hear it
YOU don't want to hear it
But Jesus is pretty clear!
Today we celebrate ALL SAINT'S DAY
Sheri and I read through a list of
all kinds of people who have died in the past year
Some of them you know
Others are just names to you
I average about 25 funerals a year that I preside over
I attend a number
of others
What is it --- at a funeral --- that makes a person stand
out?
How much
money they had?
How
much stuff they had accumulated?
Or is it
How much they
loved?
How
many people were changed because they knew them?
When I die ---- when you die --- WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE
REMEMBERED FOR?
That is the question that Jesus is really asking each of us this
morning.
We have been sold a bill of goods and are convinced that possessions
bring us happiness --- but they really don't
So let me share with you SEVEN lies that most of us have
come to believe, that rob us from living to our full potential.
Now you may not have fallen into the trap of all seven
But I am
going to be honest with you
All
seven of these have some level of reality in my life
and to be honest with you . . .
I am pretty convinced that my
health issues this year (my vertigo and back issues) are a warning
God (and Nancy) are, not so subtly
telling me, if you don't rearrange your life, you are going to get that funeral
a lot sooner than you bargained for
Are you ready? SEVEN
LIES THAT ROB US
1. MY POSSESSIONS
ARE ADDING VALUE
Books ---
make me look intelligent
Cars --- Make
me look successful
Honda fit vs. Hyundai Sonata
House
·
The United States now has 2.3 billion square
feet of self-storage space. (the self storage association notes that, with more
than seven square feet for every man, woman and child, it’s now “physically
possible that every American could stand — all at the same time — under the
total canopy of self-storage roofing.”)
·
Fifty percent of [self-storage] renters are now
simply storing what won’t fit in their homes — even though the size of the
average American house had almost doubled in the previous 50 years, to 2,300
square feet.
2. MONEY WILL
BRING HAPPINESS
ACCOLADES
WILL BRING FULFILLMENT
Always want more and think that
will make us happy
Bigger raise --- means I am better
person
1 Timothy 6:9 (NRSV)
But those who want to be rich
fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that
plunge people into ruin and destruction.
1 Timothy 6:9 The Message
But if it’s only money these leaders are after, they’ll self-destruct in
no time. Lust for money brings trouble and nothing but trouble. Going down that
path, some lose their footing in the faith completely and live to regret it
bitterly ever after.
The thinking goes like this: The busier we
are, the more we can accomplish and the more respect we can earn.
And the more respect and accolades we
receive, the more we can surely prove our worth and value to others.
Unfortunately, if you are trying to find
fulfillment in someone else’s opinion of you, you will never find it. You
will always be left searching (and working) for more.
3. EVERYTHING IS
IMPORTANT
Our world has a tendency to make
everything appear urgent, important, and beneficial to our lives.
But not everything is.
Those small things add up and rob
us of our happiness because we are too busy chasing . . . EVERYTHING
Warren Buffett ---
"The difference between successful
people and really successful people is that really successful people say NO to
almost everything.
4. I AM NEEDED
Pride is defined as holding an
excessively high opinion of oneself or one’s importance. And it leads to
overwhelmed schedules because of the foolish thinking that follows it: “Nobody
else can do what I do.”
5. I DON'T HAVE A
CHOICE
We almost
always have a choice
We choose the debt we have
the house we live
in,
the car we drive,
the stuff we by
on credit.
Sure there are seasons when we have
no choice --- illness is a good example, but they are the exception and not the
rule.
6. I AM MORE
PRODUCTIVE IF I AM BUSY
You know the saying --- if you want
to get something done, find somebody who is busy.
But is that the goal?
Aren't we searching for
opportunities to make a lasting impact --- not just chasing.
And we can't do it all --- I CAN'T
DO IT ALL!
Myth of multi-tasking
Seminar
on how to multi-task better
Their
answer DON’T multi-task
We need to say no to some things,
so we can say YES to the right things
7. QUIETNESS IS
LAZINESS
Have you ever just tried to be
quiet?
Turn off the phone, the music, the
computer and TV and just be quiet and spend time with God.
It is hard as heck to do ---
because we have convinced ourselves that doing that is WASTING TIME --- but
there may be no better use of your time then just a quiet conversation with
God.
Seven lies that rob us of our happiness
1. MY POSSESSIONS
ARE ADDING VALUE
2. MONEY WILL
BRING HAPPINESS
ACCOLADES
WILL BRING FULFILLMENT
3. EVERYTHING IS
IMPORTANT
4. I AM NEEDED
5. I DON'T HAVE A
CHOICE
6. I AM MORE
PRODUCTIVE IF I AM BUSY
7. QUIETNESS IS
LAZINESS
How many have you bought into?
So, what am I going to do?
I am going to work with the SPRC and the staff of Ridge
Church to look at my schedule and determine
What are the things I need to do
What are the things the staff needs
to do
What are the things YOU need to do
(Sheri)
I have to discover when to say YES
But even more
importantly --- HOW TO SAY NO
When we ask Jesus what we must do to inherit eternal life
(life in Jesus) the answer is remarkably simple --- love people more and stuff
less
And when I die --- and my name is read at Ridge Church on
All Saints day, I want you to stop and remember --- not how busy I was --- but
how much I loved!
And I want the same for you!
Can we pray about this?
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