[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hey, thanks so much for listening to this message. My name is Jason, and I'm one of the ministers here at the Madison Church of Christ. It's our hope and prayer that the teaching from God's Word you hear today will bless your life and draw you closer to Him. If you're ever in the Madison, Alabama area, we'd love for you to worship with us on Sundays at 8:30 or 10:30am if you have any other questions about the Bible or want to know more about the Madison Church, find
[email protected] Be sure to also check out our Bible study podcast, Madison Church of Christ Bible Studies. Thanks again for stopping by.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: In 1930s, Levi Strauss brought a new product to all of us that we would recognize today and be excited about. And that was the blue jeans. Now, it came after many years. It had already been in production in other places, but it came to America. And it was supposed to be like a rugged type of.
In fact, it came across at a time in American history where the culture was, like, really in love and enamored with western wear, with dude ranches and cowboys and all those kinds of things. And so for people who were out on the ranch or out working hard, they needed some kind of fabric that was really durable and tough. And so Levi's created that. They had, like, this intensive stitching that took place in all the seams. But even on top of that, they had these metal rivets. And the rivets, wherever seams would come together, they would put a rivet there to kind of hold that fabric together even tighter. And so you can imagine it was great for those kinds of outdoor working and those kinds of things to the point where it was very successful and they loved it and the market was abundant and everything was going great. But the one thing about the rivets was as these cowboys would get together around a campfire and start telling their crazy, outlandish stories, if they stayed to the fire too close, those rivets would get really hot. And if you think about where the seams would be and where those overlapping seams would be in very tender areas, they would get burned. All right? And so I don't know if that is where we got the, you know, liar, liar, pants on fire from or not, but that was something that they had. And when they took those rivets back out of people saying, hey, we want those rivets removed, you know, it began to kind of take the market back down, and they didn't do as well. Well, maybe this is one that you remember in 2009, Tropicana had been kind of the king for the orange juice industry for a long time. And they had a very distinctive logo and a very distinctive packaging where, you know, the straw was coming directly out of the orange. And so that was kind of a symbol of, you know, purity and, and authenticity and those kinds of things. And PepsiCo took over and decided, hey, we're going to be more modern, we're going to be a little bit sleeker in the packaging, be more minimalistic. And so they came up with this other packaging to which people came to the grocery store and said, where's my Tropicana? And they thought that this was like the generic form or what have you. And so it wasn't very well received. And it sat on those shelves for a long time because people were buying, you know, looking for Tropicana, and it didn't look like Tropicana anymore. And don't even get me started on this one.
I mean, Uncle Hershel has to be left alone. Those chairs have to be there. The bear.
I mean, I don't know what in the world we're doing here, but I do know this, that there was something very nostalgic about Cracker Barrel, right? The idea that we could go and it's almost like being around family and a fire is nearby. You can hear that crackling.
We like the fact that there was an old school, old fashioned general store with all these products that you can come through and occupy your mind while you're waiting six hours for your reservation to be filled. All those things are great, right? But someone came in and decided, hey, this is old fashioned. We need to bring it up to date. We need to make modern and we need to make it so it's more farmhouse, like the way we see it now, not the way it was so long ago. But in the process of those things, what's happened is each of these products, while they had their original intent, different people came around and decided that things needed to be different. And as a result of that, somehow, some way, the origin of that got lost.
[00:04:10] Speaker A: And so, you know, whether you're looking for, you know, something that's more comfortable, or whether you're looking for something that's a little bit more minimalistic or a little bit more modern, or maybe something that just escapes that old fashioned way of life, you know, it appears to me that sometimes we in our society and even in our own hearts have some of the struggles that they may have in thinking there's different ways to do different things. I say all that to say as we're In Matthew chapter 19 today, we're going to be talking about something that is not a super popular conversation. It's not one that preachers really enjoy getting up to talk about, because we know.
Not because of what it says, and not that it's difficult to understand, but we know so many people have been hurt by this. And it's divorce.
And of course, as you can imagine, God gave us in Genesis chapter two, this beautiful situation right there in the garden as God has created everything and everything is good. And there's only one thing that God said wasn't good, and that was that man needed a companion. And so he went about providing for that companion. Y' all remember, he went into a deep sleep and God took a rib from his side and fashioned this woman and then walked her down the aisle. And it was one of those most beautiful moments where if you can just imagine the scenery and the surroundings and the romanticism of that moment, the beauty of that bride being presented and Adam says, hey, this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.
You know, I would call her woman because she's come out of me. She's specifically for me.
The idea of that and him doing anything to abuse her or cast her aside would be completely foreign because of what we know God was putting there, that beautiful provision for a husband and wife to enjoy that relationship forever.
But, you know, we're human, we're people. We make mistakes. It's dirty sometimes, it's actually really ugly sometimes, the way we behave. And. And you can get to the point where, you know, marriage is seen maybe more dispensable. And I think we've seen that over and over as time has gone by. Divorce rates at one point were like one in a thousand people in our country in the early 1900s. By the 1980s, they were talking about 40 and 50% marriage, you know, divorce rates.
And then as you got a little bit lower, maybe the divorce rates have come down a little bit. But it's mostly because people are living a wilder lifestyle and not settling in, not really being committed to a relationship. And so we're at a time now where there's some other images that you see that make light of what marriage was supposed to be. And you see stuff like this, and it's coming away from what God has originally planned for marriage. And that makes this very difficult for us. As we see this and we see this attitude that's prevailing, that it's just easy, that it's easy for us to put this aside and that we don't stay committed to our marriages.
And our world is embracing that concept and making it as easy as possible it can for us to leave our relationships that God has given us and that we have committed ourselves to.
So here we are in Matthew, chapter 19, and context really matters. And I'll share a little bit more about that in just a moment.
But here in Matthew, chapter 19, after Jesus has done all this teaching in Galilee, he's left that part now, and now he's gone into Judea, okay? And it says, a region beyond the Jordan, okay? So as we look at this situation, I want you to understand sometimes the place matters. And in this case, it does. The place is Perea, okay? And Perea is a place where you may have heard this before Herod Antipas was ruling. And just In Matthew, chapter 14, we read this story about John the Baptist and about how he is doing his ministry there. But he's also confronting Herod about his adulterous relationship with his brother's wife.
Her name, oddly enough, is Herodotus. And so Herodotus is his brother's wife, but he's taken her to be his own. And so John the Baptist, in his ministry and in his confrontations with him, tells him, you are living in an adulterous relationship. And to which he ends up finding himself in prison. Herod probably wants to put him to death right there. But he's scared because there are a lot of people who are following what John the Baptist is saying. And so he doesn't do that.
But Herodotus, his mother, or Herod's new wife, has a daughter.
And she comes out and she dances for him seductively.
And in that frivolity, and in that crazy moment, he says something completely obnoxious like, hey, whatever this girl wants, up to half of my kingdom she can have.
To which she runs to her mother and says, mom, what do I ask for?
She says, the one who condemned us, John the Baptist, I want his head on a platter.
And so this happens. John the Baptist is beheaded, plate brought on a platter. And you remember that situation. Why did it come?
Because we were talking about adultery. Because we were talking about something that's sensitive, that's hurtful to people, that is condemning of some people who have participated in something that they know is not what God intended. And so in this situation, that's the area that Jesus finds himself teaching. Now, why is that important? Well, because there could have been some sensitivities there, but also some division over what the law actually taught.
So the Pharisees come up to him and they say this. They say, hey, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for anything for any reason at all?
And as he. As he says these things, it's like Jesus kind of recognizes that this is a test that they're not actually looking at to receive any dialogue. They're looking for the problem. Okay? They're looking to come in. And these Pharisees are coming in because they know there is this divisive thinking. And so they're coming to find a place to drive it home, to see exactly what Jesus would say and to see how that might impact all of those multitudes who are following him.
But because someone cast the bait doesn't mean we need to take it. And I want you to understand that Jesus doesn't necessarily jump right in and answer the question right away. Yes, he does give them an answer here in just a moment.
But he recognizes what they're doing. They're not sincere. They're not listening. They don't want to know really what the Bible or what the law has to say. What they're actually looking for is a dispute, a disruption, and a problem that might get Jesus caught. It might get Jesus put in the same predicament that John the Baptist was. So he doesn't take it. I'm reminded of this passage in second Timothy 2, verse 22. It talks about not engaging in, like, these frivolous and crazy disputes, that what we need to do is be kind to people, be patient with them as they are in the midst of evil and as they're trying to do these things that are not very wholesome, but as we're doing that, be able to teach them with kindness and humility and to know that if we do that and they hear the truth and they're receptive to it, that that may save them, that they may pull themselves out, that that God may save them, and that they may be escape the snare of the devil. That's kind of the thought here, is that Jesus doesn't necessarily engage immediately. He actually points them to something much different.
So he says to them as they ask this question, have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female?
Therefore man shall leave his father and mother shall be joined to his wife, and the two of them shall become flesh.
[00:11:35] Speaker A: So they are no longer two, but one flesh.
Right. It's almost like Jesus is saying, so if I understand that correctly, the two of them become one.
What therefore God has Joined together, let no man separate.
So that's Jesus answer. Notice that he doesn't give them the answer to their question initially.
Instead of doing that, instead of looking at the divisiveness of what they're asking, he takes them to the original intent of this, which is more of a kingdom perspective. And I'll explain that a little bit more as we go along as well. He gives him the better picture, which is what we really need to hear in this moment. Jesus is not talking about divorce, he's talking about marriage and what God has given us.
So they're persistent. They ask the next question, well, why is it that Moses commanded that they give a writing of divorcemen?
And so this is a fair question as he does this. And so maybe it's good for us to go back to Deuteronomy chapter 24, where he's talking about. So if you will, and you will turn your bibles to Deuteronomy 24:1 4, let me read them for you. Because this is not exactly what they're asking about. Right?
But you'll see that this is what the law actually had to say and what provisions were there. I should probably tell you as we read this that at this point, obviously, as Moses is giving the law, part of the reasons they had to have the law is cause they needed direction and needed some clarity about what they were doing.
Some of them had already made a disaster out of their marriages and all been frivolous. And so Jesus or the Lord is coming back through Moses to give them a concession about this and help us understand it a little bit better.
So this is the law concerning divorce. When a man takes a wife and marries her, if she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some indecency in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, and. And she departs out of his house. And if she goes and becomes another man's wife and the latter man hates her and writes her a certificate of divorce and puts it in her hand and sends her out of his house, or if the latter man dies, who took her to be his wife, then her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife after she has been defiled, for that is an abomination before the Lord. And you shall not bring sin into the land that your Lord, the Lord, your God is giving you as an inheritance. Do you catch that? He's not, you know, trying to.
[00:14:07] Speaker A: Deal with their. Their frivolity. He's not. He's not necessarily looking at them and going, hey, this is what you're asking. They're asking about for any cause, any reason that someone should be divorced.
He says, let's go back to the very beginning. Let's go back and see what God gave us in marriage. But also, let's go back and understand these divorce laws.
And what I see in this text is here is God saying, okay, people have already messed this thing up. They don't understand it. And some men maybe are putting away their watches because they get tired of her, but then going, but I really did love her, and so they will bring her back. And God's saying, no, that's not how this worked. They're not disposable. So it was a protection not only for them in that they needed to be held accountable, but it was also protection for those women who were being discarded so easily.
And so that's what the law has to say about it. So not necessarily dealing with the exact thing that they are asking.
And so here it is. If she loses favor, it was because of some kind of indecency. And the word for indecency is uncleanness. We'll get into that in a little bit as well. If he gives her a writing of divorcement in her hand, she departs, marries another divorce, again, cannot return to her first husband, because that is considered abomination. So as we look at that text, just understand what it's really kind of saying is a man can't discard a woman, you know, go be with someone else, or she can't be with someone else, and then come back and bring her back in. That's what the law is saying, that that is an abomination and a disgusting way to look at marriage.
[00:15:38] Speaker A: So by the time this gets to Jesus, and this is really important because this, there were two schools of thought that kind of came as a result of all of this abuse of what marriage was. You had this school of thought that came from the man named Shammai, okay?
And these are rabbis who were well respected, highly thought of, and they had different mindsets about how this should be understood. One says, hey, it's very narrow. It's just this one thing. And the other one says, hey, this is kind of open to interpretation, and you can take it in whatever direction you really need to take it. And here are a few things that we know for sure. So one of them said, it's adultery only.
The only way this can happen is if someone is sexually immoral with someone outside of their, of their marriage relationship. That's the only way that a person could be considered out of favor and unclean or indecent.
But the other guy was like, well, let's just take a moment. There could be lots of ways to view indecency. There could be a lot of way for us about loss of favor. So just look at these. Wife's erratic temperament, talking about husbands, parents going outside without a head covering, spinning quickly enough to reveal the knees over seasoning food, burning bread, talking to strangers, speaking loud enough to be heard by neighbors, and a partridge and a pear tree. Right? Basically, anything you could think of, they could pull it up. And in fact, some suggest that Hillel had some followers after him that actually went ahead and put down that if a person were to see, if a man were to see a woman that was more favorable to him than his wife, then that in a sense was her losing favor so he could leave her just for that.
Well, I mean, which do you think the society drifted to? Do you think they drifted more to the conservative? Or do you think they opened themselves up to the new interpretations that were cool and fun for everybody?
Well, that's what you've got in this situation. And these are the tools called these two schools of thought.
And as they are trying to drive a wedge in Jesus followers and him dealing with these things, imagine the sensitivity at which Jesus dealt with this.
[00:17:43] Speaker A: So Jesus comes back to them and explains some of that Deuteronomy 24.
Why is it that they were given and by the way they said command, and that's not in the text.
He says, because the hardness of your heart.
[00:17:59] Speaker A: It'S because you people were abusing this beautiful setup that I had.
It's because marriage was meant to be forever, one man, one woman, forever.
[00:18:10] Speaker A: And you took you and you threw that mentality away. So because of the hardness of your heart and the hurt feelings and the hurt relationships, God gave this concession to the writing of divorce. But it was meant to be a protection to the man and to the woman.
And that's why it was. But catch this and everybody underline this in your Bible.
But from the beginning it was not. So.
[00:18:36] Speaker A: He still is. Going back to the very beginning, he diffuses this argument about divorce.
And instead he deals with the fidelity that was supposed to be there in marriage from the get go.
[00:18:50] Speaker A: But then Jesus doesn't hold back as he finally gets to the real answer. And the real thing that they needed to hear was simply this.
I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual, immorality and marries another, commits adultery.
And those are Jesus words. And so I don't want to conflate those in any different way. I just want to say them exactly like he said it. You know, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery. That's Jesus terminology about that. But this should come to no surprise to those who had followed him before. You may remember this. Weeks ago, we talked about how revolutionary it is in the kingdom mindset that Jesus oftentimes would say to them, you've heard that. It's been said.
But I say to you, what Jesus is doing is not undoing the law that was there before. He's clearing up their misunderstandings about it. So he ultimately says, and we had this on a slide a few weeks ago, says, if you live this way, you're going to be great in the Kingdom. Well, what does that mean?
What do I need to do to be great in the Kingdom? Well, here are a few of those suggestions. Disarm anger, guard your heart from lust, be measured in the words that you say and pray for and love your enemies, which are absolutely countercultural even today and difficult for them certainly in that time. But notice the highlighted line. Close selfish doors of escape. Well, what are we talking about? Well, let's go. Matthew, chapter 5, verse 13.
He says this, Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate. Right before that, he says, and I say unto you again, this is in a series of those things where you've heard it's been said, but now I say to you, he says, I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery. And whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. Do you see how Jesus is also going back to the requirement, which is these two people remain faithful to each other forever.
Now, there are other Gospel accounts, Mark, chapter 10, Luke, chapter 16, that we could read those. They leave out that exception clause. And some people say, oh, well, Jesus must not have meant that when Matthew was writing that. Well, there's two different kinds of audiences here, okay? In Matthew, that audience is purely Jew. They know all the nuances of the law. They know all the abuses. They know everything that has been written or said about these things in Luke and Mark. Those are both gentile Roman worlds where those things are. They didn't get into the deep weeds of the law because those people would not have understood those things or been heavily loyal to those kinds of things. So they just gave this simple truth that Jesus was teaching so Jesus, the bottom line, I guess, is all this is Jesus emphasis was on that original plan, not necessarily opening up those doors for escape, but also this.
And I feel like this needs to be said.
So the Bible says, except for sexual immorality, and so sometimes we'll have a marriage that's struggling, and that a person is unfaithful to their spouse, that they'll go out and they'll be with someone else sexually, and they violated that covenant.
What I do want you to understand is Jesus here is also not saying, because of that, you must go and divorce that person.
You know, I think still Jesus is trying to tell us that there's strength and there's beauty in us fighting together for the marriage, working hard, working through our challenges, and getting to a place where we can begin to rebuild those bridges, and that we find a way to show our love for each other again, that we begin to learn forgiveness. And by the way, let's not forget what Jesus just got through saying to us, and that our forgiveness is oftentimes tied to our ability to forgive other people first.
[00:22:43] Speaker A: And so this is a really, really important thought process.
[00:22:48] Speaker A: That Jesus is not saying, because someone did, you need to go ahead and. And divorce them.
In fact, when I read in Malachi Chapter two, and in other texts of Scriptures, whenever you see adultery in the scriptures in the Old Testament, a lot of times it's talking about infidelity to God.
And so I think on some level here, as we're talking about this, even in infidelity, God is saying, I hate divorce.
I hate this breaking of that covenant. I want us to stay together. And so that is also the encouragement for us in our marriages as well.
But also, let me take you to Ephesians chapter five, because I believe this connects some of these things too. I always wonder, how does those things in Genesis chapter two work their way all the way down?
And as Jesus is talking about marriage, and later, then the apostles will come along and they'll be talking about marriage too. And Paul specifically In Ephesians chapter 5, he draws this beautiful cycle of love and respect. How a husband loves his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, and the wife is to submit herself to. To her husband in honor of him, showing respect and trusting in his leadership. And the idea is, as it goes further down in Ephesians chapter five, eventually it gets to this statement. This is a great mystery.
[00:24:03] Speaker A: And when you see mystery in the Scriptures, it's not always talking about, like, there were some clues laid out along the way. And we pieced these things together and all of a sudden we come to this. No, it's in scriptures when you see mystery. It's the Bible is. Or what God is saying is that there was something that was held hidden for a time that was to be revealed in something else. So Here in Ephesians 5, what Paul is doing is saying, go back to Genesis chapter two. That's why it repeats it again. For a man leaves his father and mother and he's joined to his wife when they become one flesh, you know, And God, what God has joined together, let no man put asunder. As Jesus has said that that whole thing is tying all of these things together, that the marriage relationship is actually this. And this is the mystery that that back in Genesis 2 was meant to be a picture of Jesus and his church. Now.
[00:24:55] Speaker A: So let's ask ourselves the question.
[00:24:58] Speaker A: Do I want to be divorced from Jesus?
[00:25:02] Speaker A: Would I want to separate myself from Christ?
Well, no.
Because my only hope of salvation is that I submit myself to Jesus Christ.
He paid the price for my sin. It's up to me to submit to that and to give my life to him and to be faithful to him forever.
[00:25:25] Speaker A: I don't want to cast that aside. That would be to lose it all.
But no, what he's saying is that this is all tied together to bring us into this relationship. So as we understand Jesus love for the church and our submission to him, that's what God meant in marriage, to be something that we would understand.
[00:25:43] Speaker A: And that Jesus would show us perfectly how to do that.
And so every time we honor marriage and we fight for our marriage and we stay strong and we stay committed, it's a reflection of that covenant that we have with God and the blessing that we have in salvation through Christ and the connection and the relationship that we have, it's unbreakable. It's a covenant that we don't want to lose.
He's tying all these things together through marriage.
So these standards seem very difficult.
[00:26:21] Speaker A: But not if you ask the question, to whom am I loyal?
[00:26:25] Speaker A: That's a question all of us need to ask.
We gotta forfeit our will for what God's will says. And so we honor everything that he says and we put those things into practice and we live that way. It's our way of saying, hey, I want to live with this kingdom mindset with a mind that says, I'm going to trust God for everything.
Well, man, his apostles, those following him having a tough time with this are like man, because they know the society situation. They know how frivolous divorce has been. And they're like, hey, if it's that difficult, maybe we should never get married at all.
And I think they're saying it kind of in jest, but also like, whoa, this is kind of tough because you know how many people are out there doing this?
And Jesus is saying, yeah, he says not everyone can receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.
So then he goes on to say, there are eunuchs. And he talks about people who, you know, are not able to sexually reproduce, talking about people who were born that way with maybe some deficiency or some inability. And then there are others who are made that way. Maybe they were servants of rulers or kings who were meant to watch over their harems and to make sure there wasn't any funny business going on. They were made eunuchs.
But what he's saying here is not only physically, but spiritually, there are some who will keep themselves pure for the sake of the kingdom.
Like, they understand it. They're able to receive that understanding.
They're able to grasp that that is the commitment level. And so Jesus says, whoever's going to be able to receive this, receive it.
So let's talk about receptive hearts.
If you looked at all of what we studied in Matthew.
[00:28:11] Speaker A: And literally every bit of it could be kind of gelled down into these things. And really all of this New Testament is this.
God is looking for our hearts. He's looking for us to be open. He's looking for us to be receptive to what he says. And he's wanting all of us to embrace it and put it in our hearts and live that way.
And no sooner have we start thinking about these things. This next part happens in Matthew, chapter 19. The little children are brought to Jesus.
They're going to come, and he's going to sit with them, and he's going to put his hands on them. He's going to pray for them, and he's going to bless them. And the disciples are like, hey, we don't have time for all this. And so they kind of push those kids away. But Jesus says, no, no, no, let the children come to me. Because these are the ones that have the kind of heart that resembles what we need within the kingdom. Well, what does he mean by that?
Well, I think this.
I think it's about being one sincere.
It's about being open, and it's about being moldable. We just sang the song have thine own way, Lord, have thine own way. You know, you're the potter, I'm the clay.
Mold me and make me after your will.
[00:29:22] Speaker A: That's a powerful thing that we all sang.
But it's also got to be a prayer of our heart that we say, God, whatever your will is, I want to shape it into that. One of the blessings I get from time to time is to be able to study with some of our children who are growing in their faith. And their parents have taught with them and studied with them. And I get an opportunity to spend some time with them. And last week I got to do that with Emily Butler. What a precious child. What a heart. Receptive, open listening, ready to make whatever changes aren't necessity. She asked questions, she had answers that she had as well, but she also just had curiosities about some things. She wanted to understand things fully. Why? Because she wanted to do the next best thing for God.
What a precious soul she was. And I think about that with regard to us in our hearts, are we that way?
Are we so open to what God says that we're willing to change whatever it takes to bring us into that relationship with him?
And now we move on to the rich young ruler. And I know many of you know this story, but let me summarize it. In Matthew, chapter 19, this rich young ruler walks up to Jesus and he says, good Teacher, what must I do that I can inherit eternal life? In other words, what can I In my checklist of things that I've accomplished in my life, what are the things that I can do to give me eternal life?
And Jesus says, well, follow all the commandments. You know those, right? And Jesus lists like six different things that he should do, including, you know, don't steal, don't murder, don't commit adultery, love your neighbor as yourself. He says all these things. And the guy's like, whoa, I've done all those things since I was a child. I've been doing those all of my life. And so he says, well, what do I lack? And so that's interesting, isn't it, that Jesus gave him the answer. He could have just said, oh, well, great, I feel good about that. I'll just keep doing those things. No, he wanted to know something else. And so because he was asking, Jesus kind of zeroes into his heart.
And he says, well, actually, as I see you here and I can read your heart, there is one thing that you're lacking.
[00:31:28] Speaker A: I need you to sell all that you have.
[00:31:32] Speaker A: Give it away to the poor and come follow me.
[00:31:37] Speaker A: And so as I see it, there is this guy, and this is not the best depiction of it. Okay. But there's a guy who has two choices at this point because he asked Jesus for clarity. How many of us would love to hear that, by the way? How. How many of us would love to have Jesus right here in front of us to say, okay, what am I missing? I think all of us, if we're honest, would want to know that. Right? He actually gets the opportunity to do it. He asks the question, Jesus says what it is, and now he's got a choice to make. Right?
[00:32:04] Speaker A: Maybe he's looking at all these things that have made him who he thinks he is.
Like, this is what defines me. All this stuff. My wealth, my possessions, my power, my influence.
[00:32:16] Speaker A: Give all of that away.
[00:32:20] Speaker A: Give it to people who've never worked for it.
[00:32:25] Speaker A: That seems a bit much.
And the Bible says, this young man.
[00:32:31] Speaker A: Walked away.
[00:32:35] Speaker A: Because he was loaded with possessions.
[00:32:40] Speaker A: Look at that. And I'm like, man, that's terrible.
So Jesus says, truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich man enter the kingdom of heaven. Why is that?
Because so often people who hold onto those things to hold onto the wealth, to hold onto those things that quote, they have done to make themselves powerful and enriched in life, people think that that's who they are. So it's really hard to distinguish that, and they're not willing to give those things up. And he goes on to say this phrase, you know, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. And, you know, there are different people who have said, oh, there's a gate in Jerusalem that has a smaller door. And, you know, sometimes the camels can't get through there, so they put them down on there and they scooch them through all the way through, and it's really difficult. No, I think Jesus may have used that as an illustration. But to say this threading needle, like, it's very difficult for a person who holds onto things and doesn't let me have priority.
[00:33:41] Speaker A: So before we get too hard on him.
[00:33:47] Speaker A: What'S that thing in your life?
[00:33:51] Speaker A: What's that thing.
[00:33:54] Speaker A: That is your highest priority, where you spend all your time, where you spend all of your mind power?
What is that thing that if Jesus were right here and you got to ask him that same question, he looked at your heart and said.
[00:34:07] Speaker A: Well, there is that one thing that you're missing.
[00:34:11] Speaker A: If Jesus said that to you, could we do what we needed to do, or would we do what he did?
[00:34:20] Speaker A: Kingdom standards seem Hard until we ask that question, to whom am I loyal?
[00:34:30] Speaker A: When the disciples heard all this, they were greatly astonished and they said, well then, who can be saved? This seems really hard. This seems really difficult.
And Jesus gave them the best answer ever. He said, with man it's impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Do you understand? The thing that you're lacking.
[00:34:51] Speaker A: The focus, the priority that you're pushing away is the very thing to come into your life, make sense of things and to change your perspective and to give you a sense of clarity on what your role is in this life.
[00:35:07] Speaker A: I'm afraid sometimes that's the problem, is we push away the very thing that can come in and transform us from within.
And Jesus saying it's impossible on our own, you can't accomplish it on your own.
That has to be a relinquishing of things so you can allow God to drive your heart and to live for him.
So three hearts in this Matthew 19, there's one that's exception seeking. It's like loophole lookers. It's like how can I justify what I'm doing to see that it's okay?
Then there's people who are receptive, like those children who are just moldable.
And in this case there's one who knows exactly what he's supposed to do. He's got clarity, but he's non committal.
And it probably is good for all of us to ask our which one of those hearts do I most resemble and how do I get to that receptive part?
Kingdom hearts are kind of a combination of all those things, right? We're open, we're sincere, we're moldable, but also we're willing to take that next action when we've been convicted of things that we need to change, when we've, it's been made, you know, brought to our awareness of what it is that we need to do to change, that we're willing to actually take that next step, that we're willing to step beyond what we have always been, to be what God wants us to be.
And then the other part of this, as a kingdom minded person, means that my fidelity is important. My faithfulness to God and his will is my highest priority life.
And that becomes the resonation from our heart.
[00:36:48] Speaker A: So with all of us in our life and all the things that we go through and the way we live our life, we can come to some of the same conclusions. Some of those people we were talking about with those products, you know, we can begin to think that.
[00:37:02] Speaker A: You know, maybe, maybe I need something more comfortable in my life. You know, this is kind of difficult and hard and maybe I just need to remove that thing that's so difficult in my life and I'll just take the easier road because that'll be better. But you're going to miss something along the way.
Or maybe you're the person who says, hey, we just need. I just need to be more modern and more, you know, thinking clearly in connection with the rest of my culture. Maybe that's where you are, but you guys know where culture leads us.
[00:37:33] Speaker A: Or maybe you're one who says, this just all seems so old fashioned. It just feels like we need a facelift in the way we think about things.
All of those things are detrimental to the kingdom mindset.
[00:37:49] Speaker A: But God is sitting there loving you, longing for you, ready for you to make the choice to come back to Him.
And if there's anyone here this morning that is in need of that kind of renovation, that reprioritizing, that sense of fidelity that says, I'm going to be faithful in all of my obligations to God and you're ready to make that decision and you just need support and encouragement from people. We're here today and I hope you'll respond while we stand and sing.
