A New Beginning

Guest (Male): To this rich young ruler, Jesus said sell everything you have, give it away to the poor, and follow me. Whatever it is that's keeping us from the Lord, it hasn't escaped the Lord's attention. Coming up today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out what we're to do.

Greg Laurie: To another person he might say break off that relationship that's pulling you down spiritually and follow me. To even another he might say break free from this lifestyle you're living in and follow me. But here's the thing he said, follow me.

Guest (Male): Nothing takes the place of a sold-out relationship with the Lord. Not a big check in the offering plate, not packing a pew with friends and relatives on Sunday morning, not even the "God is my co-pilot" bumper sticker on the back of a car.

No, as Pastor Greg Laurie points out today on A New Beginning, Jesus doesn't so much want what we have or what we can do. He wants us. He wants to be in first place, top priority in our lives, and he wants us to follow him.

Greg Laurie: Now before us here in the Gospel of Luke Chapter 18, we have the story of young people coming to Jesus. There's two movements in this story. The first movement is of young children coming to Christ and we read the famous statement of Christ when he says, let the little children come unto me and don't forbid them for of such is the kingdom of heaven.

The second movement in our text is of a wealthy young man coming to Jesus one day. We often call him the rich young ruler. Jesus looked at him, we read, and loved him, yet this man walked away sad. He's the only person who ever encountered Jesus and walked away sad.

Everybody else that came face to face with our Lord and were touched by him in some way, shape, or form went away glad, happy, forgiven, or healed, and this guy walks away sad or sorrowful, or a better translation, deeply distressed. And it's because Jesus said something to him he did not like, and he asked him to do something he did not want to do.

He did not have an open heart. The children, they had an open heart. This man did not. So let's read about the children here in Luke Chapter 18 starting in verse 15. Read with me if you would. One day some parents brought their little children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them.

And when the disciples saw this, they scolded the parents for bothering him. Then Jesus called for the children and said to the disciples, let the little children come to me and don't stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these little children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it. We'll stop there.

Okay, so here's point number one if you're taking notes. Jesus loves the little children and so should we. Jesus loves the little children as the song says, and so should we. He always made time for the kids. And it's always important to take time for children because they don't stay children very long. So take time with your children, take time to speak to them, take time to listen to them, and pray with them.

Number two, we need to bring our children to Jesus. Our job as parents is to point our kids to Christ. Listen to this parent: live in such a way that they will look at you and say, I want a relationship with God like they have. That's what it means to train up your children in the way of the Lord.

So the parents are bringing their kids to Christ here in verse 15. They brought their little children to Jesus so he would touch and bless them. In Mark's Gospel, talking about this same story, it says Jesus took them into his arms and fervently blessed them.

So he was passionate about this. He wanted to do it, and I think Jesus enjoyed being with kids. So when the disciples start pushing the kids away, he says what are you doing? Let these little children come unto me. In fact, even more, you can learn from these little children.

Look at verse 17: the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these little children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it. Now the conventional thinking is that a child should become as an adult to know God, but in fact Jesus says the opposite. An adult should become as a child to know God. Isn't that interesting?

And not childish and immature, but rather childlike. What does it mean to be childlike? It means you come in complete honesty to God. You know how a child feels: if they're happy they laugh, if they're sad they cry. If they fall they come running for help, usually to Mom, not Dad.

But children come with a complete helplessness, especially when they're really little. They're absolutely dependent on the parent for everything, and we in the same way come with complete helplessness to God, totally in need of his forgiveness.

Another thing: we need to evangelize our children. They're never too young to start reading the Bible to them. I remember when I was speaking with Pastor Chuck Smith once, he told me that his mother would read the Bible to him when he was just a tiny little guy. She'd be pushing him in the swing. He was around 21 at this time. No, not really, he was very little.

He said when I was just a little child, a little toddler even, my mother was reading the scripture to me. My mother was getting me to memorize the scripture. And he still remembered these scriptures he had memorized as a child well into his later adult years. It's never too soon to start getting the word of God into your kids.

I remember talking about Dr. James Dobson, and I asked him, Dr. Dobson, when did you become a Christian? He said when I was four years old. I said really, four years old? Yes, that was when he marked his conversion, when he was four years old.

You never know when they'll make that commitment, so you need to present the Gospel to them and build a bridge to them and keep it understandable. When I talk to kids, I get down on their level. I communicate with them in a way they will understand.

I think this is one of the problems with devotions with our children. We should have a devotion and a Bible reading. That's a good idea, do that. But they don't need a two-hour message from Leviticus. All right? Keep it short, keep it simple, don't be boring. Engage them, ask them questions so they understand what it is you're saying to them.

They're so open, especially in those earlier years. And you give them the same Gospel that saved you: the story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and give them an opportunity to respond. What a joy it is to pray with your little children, to ask Jesus to come into their hearts.

So let's shift gears now in our story. We've talked about Jesus and the little children. Now we come to the so-called rich young ruler. Like many young men of today that we talked about earlier, he came to Jesus. He was a ruler, which meant you had to be at least 30 years old to be a religious ruler.

But he was young, so he's in his early 30s. He's climbed his ladder, his corporate ladder if you will. He's been very successful. The Bible says he was very rich. So he's a wealthy young man. He probably had a tricked-out BMW chariot.

He came cruising up, thinking that Jesus would want this guy on his team immediately. And he approaches the Lord because he knew there was something missing in his life. And I think the thing that probably got him really interested is watching Jesus with the children. He saw that vulnerability, he saw that love, he saw that compassion.

He liked what Jesus said about the children and becoming like a child. And this young man, as we'll see in a moment, thought of himself as a very good person. And relatively speaking, he was. He thinks he had kept the commandments since he was a little boy. It's doubtful, no one really does, but he tried to be a good person, a religious person, but yet he thought Jesus was even better than him. So he thinks if I can understand who Jesus is I can get to that next level of goodness.

Guest (Male): Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. We're considering the story of the rich young ruler as Pastor Greg brings today's message called Jesus and the Open Heart.

Greg Laurie: So let's read his story. Luke Chapter 18 verse 18. Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question: "Good teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call me good?" Jesus asked him. "Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments: you must not commit adultery, you must not murder, you must not steal, you must not testify falsely, honor your father and mother."

The man replied, "I've obeyed all of these commandments since I was young." When Jesus heard his answer he said, "There's still one thing you haven't done. Sell all of your possessions, give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me."

And then it says finally, when he heard this, he became very sad because he was very rich. So let's give credit where credit is due. Here is an important man, a VIP for sure, and he comes to Jesus and bows before him. Another Gospel says he kneeled before Jesus.

You would have thought the first thing Christ would have done is say, man we need you on the team. And by the way, could you underwrite our mission? Because seriously, you have some extra cash here, we could really use you. I heard a story about a very wealthy man who called a church and the secretary answered, "Yes, can I help you?"

"Yeah, I want to talk to the head hog at the trough." She said, "What?" "I want to talk to the head hog at the trough." She said, "Well sir, we don't call our pastor the head hog at the trough." And he said, "Okay fine, I wanted to give him $200,000 for your ministry." A few moments passed, all of a sudden a voice is heard on the other end, and the pastor says, "Head hog at the trough here."

Yeah, let's get this guy on the team. He has potential. But what Jesus says to him is very surprising. This man says, "Good teacher." Emphasis on the word good. "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" He thinks Christ is at the next level of goodness, and Jesus says no one is good but God.

Now what was that all about? Well really, Jesus was saying, I am God because only God is good. No one is good except God. Well who was better than Jesus? He was the very definition of goodness. So effectively saying, young man, you are talking to God at this very moment.

Oh, you want eternal life? Okay, well obey the commandments. Don't commit adultery, don't murder, don't steal, don't lie, honor your father and mother. And then this guy says, "All of these commandments I have kept from my youth." It would have made sense if the Bible then said, and Jesus smacked him across the face.

What you talking about, Willis? You have not kept all the commandments since you've been young. You've broken these commandments. No one keeps them because Jesus took them to the next level. He said you've heard that it has been said you shall not commit adultery, but I say to you, if you've looked on a woman with lust in your heart, you've committed adultery.

You've heard that it's been said you shall not murder, but I say if you have hatred in your heart toward your brother, you've broken that commandment as well. So we've all broken these commandments in one way, shape, or form. And by the way, the commandments were never given to make you righteous. No one keeps them.

The commandments are not given to make us righteous, they're given to show us we're not righteous. The commandments are like God's moral mirror. Sometimes when I look in the mirror, I don't like what I see, especially if it's a magnifying mirror. Those are frightening, right?

And so we look at God's moral mirror. We look at those commandments and we realize I fall short. But I'll tell you which commandment this rich young ruler was really breaking: it's the last one, you shall not covet. Oh, that was his problem. You shall not covet. Covet means a greedy desire to have more. It means to pant after something.

And so we've heard it said, the Bible says money is the root of all evil. The Bible does not say that. Did you know that? That is not a verse in the Bible: money is the root of all evil. Here's what the Bible actually says. Listen, there's a big difference.

The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, while some have coveted after they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. So it's not just money. Money is neutral. Money isn't good, money isn't bad. Money is what you make of it.

You can use it for God's glory, for the extension of the kingdom, to help other people. You can do a lot of good with money. It can be bad as well, depending on what you spend it on. It's the love of money, while some have coveted after. That was this guy's problem.

Money was his god and Jesus put his finger on that and that is why he said to this man and this man alone, sell everything you have, give it away to the poor, and follow me. Why did he say that to him? Because he knew money was his god and he knew that his stuff was keeping him from a relationship with the Lord. Jesus never said this to any other person.

So it's not some proof text for what every person needs to do to become a Christian. It was to this guy alone because Jesus knew that was his issue. To another person he might say break off that relationship that's pulling you down spiritually and follow me.

To even another he might say break free from this lifestyle you're living in and follow me. But here's the thing he said, follow me. Jesus was offering this guy a spot on the team. I want you on the team. I want you in the band. I want you to be one of my disciples. Come on, follow me.

When Matthew heard those words, and Matthew was also affluent, he was a tax collector for Rome, sitting at his tax table and Jesus said two words to him. He said, "Follow me." Matthew bolted up from his tax table and never looked back. He left everything like no problem.

This is a privilege. The highest honor, privilege to be called by Jesus. And this man couldn't do it. Why? Because he was very rich and he went away sad. Another way to translate that is he went away in distress. Every other person that came to Christ went away glad, happy, forgiven, or healed.

This guy goes away sad. Now contrast him with another wealthy, important person who is seeking God. This guy is identified as the Ethiopian eunuch, and his story is found in Acts Chapter 8. He worked for Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia. He was a member of her cabinet. He was a VIP.

He came to Jerusalem visiting, wanting to have a relationship with God. He heard about the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Wanted to know more. Instead of finding a vibrant faith, he found dead, lifeless religion. But he did manage to obtain a scroll of Isaiah.

Now back in those days, needless to say, they didn't print Bibles, so to have a scroll of scripture was a precious object. Probably because of his status and importance, they gave him this hand-lettered scroll written by the scribes from Isaiah. So it so happens he's in his chariot, probably with an entourage around him, traveling along, reading aloud from Isaiah 53 that happens to speak of the suffering of the Savior written hundreds of years before it happened.

He's reading out loud sitting in his chariot and meanwhile the Lord had directed a guy name Philip, one of the followers of Jesus, to just go to the desert and wait for further information. When he sees this man from Ethiopia coming, reading out loud from Isaiah 53, he knew what to do.

He asked him, "Hey, do you understand what you're reading?" The guy says, "No, how can I unless someone shows me the way?" Philip then explained that this was about Jesus. This Ethiopian man accepted Christ and he was baptized right there and then we read that he went on his way rejoicing.

Two powerful men, two affluent men, came to hear the Gospel: one went away sad, the other went away glad. It's really up to us. Here's the offer of forgiveness. Whatever it costs you, it's worth it. The apostle Paul said, I look at all my accomplishments and all the things I've done and these things are nothing compared to the excellency of knowing God.

You ask, Greg, if I become a Christian will I have to give up anything? The answer to that question is yes, you will. You'll have to give up emptiness for fulfillment. You'll have to give up hopelessness for hope. You'll have to give up hell for heaven. Sounds like a pretty good trade-in deal to me. It's worth it.

So I determine how this will play out in my life. So in closing, let me ask you this: if this was your last opportunity to hear the Gospel, are you going to be like the rich young ruler and go away sad or are you going to be like this other man I mentioned, the Ethiopian, and go away glad?

It's your choice. What's holding you back? You know, sometimes people will say, well you know, I can't become a Christian because this would happen. My boyfriend or girlfriend would not like it or break up with me. Well maybe that's a good thing, I don't know. If I become a Christian, my cat will leave me. That's good. You want your cat to leave you.

If I become a Christian, it'll create tension in my home. If I become a Christian, this will happen. Look, maybe all those things will happen, but is it worth it? Whatever you trade in to follow Christ is more than worth it for what he gives you in the place of that thing that you gave up. But it's up to us to decide how we'll leave today: glad or sad. It's your choice.

If you've never asked Jesus to come into your life, you can do it right here, right now. Let's pray. Father, I pray for every person here, every person watching, listening wherever they may be. If they don't have a relationship with you, let this be the moment they believe. Let this be the moment their sin is forgiven and they come into a relationship with you.

While our heads are bowed and we're praying together, if you've never asked Jesus to come into your life, if you're not sure that you have eternal life, that you will go to heaven when you die, if you want Christ to come into your life, you could just pray this prayer with me right now wherever you are.

Just pray: Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. I turn from my sin now and I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Guest (Male): An important prayer from Pastor Greg Laurie today here on A New Beginning. And if you've just prayed with Pastor Greg and asked Jesus to forgive your sins and be your savior, we'd like to offer some help as you get started living as a believer.

Let us send you Pastor Greg's New Believer's Bible. It's full of hundreds of study helps for those who are new to the faith. Literally millions of people have this Bible. Let us send it to you. It's free of charge if you've prayed for the first time today with Pastor Greg. Just go to harvest.org and click on "Know God." Or talk with one of our operators at 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime 24/7. Again, 1-800-821-3300.

You know, Pastor Greg, we hear from people all the time who tell us how these daily studies have impacted their lives. So many have found the Lord and been encouraged through this teaching.

Greg Laurie: That's right.

Guest (Male): And we hope our listeners might pray about making an investment so these studies can continue.

Greg Laurie: Yeah, it's really true, Dave. And even a little bit helps. You know, people need to hear the Gospel so badly. They need to hear the teaching of the word of God. It changes everything because it changes us. And I'm so passionate about it and I'm called to do it and I'm thankful for it, but I can't do it alone.

So I'm going to ask folks that are listening, if you think more people need to hear the Gospel, if you believe more people need to hear the teaching of the word of God, then prayerfully consider investing in Harvest Ministries and maybe even become a Harvest Partner, which means you're someone who stands with us every month in your faithful giving and that opens up a lot of new opportunities for us. So thanks for that.

Guest (Male): Yeah, that's right, and we really are thankful for your partnership. You can reach us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300. Or write A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, California 92514. Or just go online to harvest.org.

Greg Laurie: Hey everybody, you can watch our Sunday services on a special broadcast that we call Harvest at Home. It's streaming on the Harvest Plus platform. So download that app right away, Harvest Plus, and you can enjoy being a part of our extended church family every Sunday.

Guest (Male): Ever failed, ever come up short in your walk with the Lord? Next time, good news as Pastor Greg points out the Lord's response to a man who needed a second chance. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.