Leading The Way

Dr. Michael Youssef: How much effort is it going to take for me to make it to heaven? I don't want you to miss this point, because this is really an important one, very, very important. Big capital I. What can I do? How can I earn my way to heaven? How can I pay for my eternal life? How can I atone for my sins that I know that are burning inside of me? How can I have the key or the formula or the secret to going to heaven?

Guest (Female): Welcome to Leading The Way with best-selling author and international Bible teacher Dr. Michael Youssef. Today, eavesdrop on a conversation between Jesus and a wealthy young man who asked the age-old question, "What must I do to get to heaven?" It's all part of Dr. Michael Youssef's life-changing series, Encountering Christ. Listen with me.

Dr. Michael Youssef: We live in a time when we have lots of choices in life. We really do. Choices that most people around the world will never have. Choices that our grandparents wouldn't even be able to dream of. Choices. We've got all sorts of choices in life. Sometimes having too many choices can work against us. Having too many choices at times can paralyze us. In fact, having too many choices causes confusion in the mind of some. Having too many choices can confound us, and I know for a fact that to some, choices perplex them. It's like the horse who died between two bales of hay because he couldn't decide which one to eat first.

The Bible actually, from the very beginning, gives us two choices. But these two choices always come with a clear warning of the consequence of each choice. When God gave Adam and Eve a choice in the Garden of Eden, He said to them, "You can eat from all of these trees. This one you must not touch. But the moment you eat from it, you will spiritually die." We all know what the consequences were. We are the inheritors of the wrong choice because we all inherited their DNA of wanting to choose the wrong way.

In his farewell speech, Moses was speaking to the people of God. They were getting ready to get into the Promised Land, and he said to them, "Be sure to choose the right way. If you obey the Lord your God, you will be blessed." In fact, through Moses, God was appealing to His people, and He's appealing to everyone in every generation ever since. "I set before you a blessing and a curse. What will you choose? Which one will you choose? Please choose wisely. God is standing with open arms as represented in the stretched arms on that cross, saying, 'I welcome you. Choose the right way.'"

Today we are introduced to a young man in Matthew 19. He's really in many ways an extraordinary young man. He wasn't your average person. He was an unusual person. When he comes to Jesus asking Him what must he do to inherit heaven, to make it to heaven, to inherit eternal life, Jesus gives him a choice. Sadly, in verse 22 of Matthew 19, we see that he makes the wrong choice, and that is why the Bible said he went away sad. He went away sorrowful. He made the wrong choice, and he knew it. He was so depressed when he left the presence of Jesus.

The Bible tells us this man was rich. It tells us that this man was a religious man. He was a moral man. You say, "What else do you want?" Ah, but he was a dissatisfied man. He was an empty man on the inside. He was a restless man with all of the issues of life, the important things of life, the significant things in life. All of his religious rituals did not give him the peace of mind. All of his wealth and his material possessions did not assure him of the forgiveness of his sins. All of his knowledge did not relieve the burning, guilty conscience. All of his efforts could not assure him that if he closes his eyes in death, that he will be in heaven with Jesus.

He comes to Jesus and says—I want to put it in my own language. This is a Youssef translation. "How can I be assured that when I close my eyes in death, I will have eternity in heaven?" Beloved, listen to me. This is a fact. Most people who do not know God, when the dust is settled and they are all alone—not out there partying and giving the impression that they are having a good time, but all alone. When the smoke clears and they really look into the mirror of life, when they allow the voice of their conscience to speak to them, they know deep, deep down that they are living in rebellion against the holy God.

They know it. I knew it when I was in rebellion against my family, a rebellion against my parents, a rebellion against God. I knew it when I was all alone. I knew it deep down. There is a burning, guilty conscience. They do not have peace with God; they do not have peace within. And they know it. When they put away all of the rhetoric and you put away all of the politics and you put away all of the debating and the fighting and you put away all of the arguments and all of the heated discussions, they don't have peace within.

That's why Jesus made it very clear to this young rich ruler, this religious man, that there's only one way that he's going to make it to heaven. There's only one way to have peace with God. There's only one way to have a peace of mind here and now and for eternity. The young man's question is really the question that millions of people around the world are asking. "How much effort is it going to take for me to make it to heaven? How much money is it going to cost me? How many religious activities am I supposed to practice on a daily basis or a weekly basis or a monthly basis? What formula in life should I implement? What obligation do I need to fulfill so I can make it to heaven, so I can be assured of heaven here and now?"

I don't want you to miss this point, because this is really an important one, very, very important. There's an overriding thought in that question. Big capital I. What must I do? What can I do? How can I earn eternal life? How can I earn my way to heaven? How can I pay for my eternal life? How can I atone for my sins that I know that are burdening me, burning inside of me? How can I have the key or the formula or the secret to going to heaven? In our society, we are bombarded about the secret to happiness and the key to this and the formula to the other thing.

I've been watching through the years of how a clever guy who would say, "Come to my seminar, pay a hundred dollars, and I'll show you how to be rich." And wham, a thousand people sign up, just like that. The only one who gets rich is the speaker. Now beloved, the truth is much simpler than you think. No secrets, no quick fixes, no formulas, no keys. The truth is very simple. It really is. But there's something here I want you to notice. If you don't see Jesus' sense of humor in the gospel accounts, you're not reading it right. I'll help you. There are a lot of funny things that Jesus said.

Remember when talking about—"Keep the commandments." "Really? I kept them all." "Really? That's interesting." Nobody could keep the commandments all the time, all of them all the time, except Jesus. That is why He is the Savior. He's the only one who could save us because He's the only one who was perfect. He's the only one who lived the perfect, sinless life. But this man said, "I learned those things since I was—I've been keeping those things all my life." Now here's a dialogue that I want to put, again, in my own language because I want to show you the sense of humor here.

Jesus to the young man: "You're telling me that you really kept all of the ten commandments since you were a boy?" "That's right, I did. Exactly. Kept them all. Right." "Let's see. What about the first commandment? How does that go again? Oh, 'You shall have no other god before me.' Did you get that one?" "Yes, sir, got it." "Let me ask you: is your wealth a god to you? Is your money your master or your slave? Are you owning your possessions or do your possessions own you?" At that point, the guy probably was scratching his head and—"Oh, money's not my god. It's not really my god."

Jesus said, "Great, we're really making great strides here. Okay, if you want to follow Me and trust in Me, here's what I'm going to tell you: give it all away." "Huh? Say that again?" "Just give it all away. Come and hang out with Me. I'll provide for you." "Oh, no, no, no, no. That's not what I meant by keeping the ten commandments. You don't understand, Jesus. What about the tenth commandment? Are you coveting even your own stuff? Are you completely trusting in My provision? If you're trusting God, why don't you just give it all away and come and follow Me? Trust in My provision."

"Now wait a minute, Jesus, wait a minute. There's a limit to what I meant by keeping, 'I've kept all the commandments.'" I'm sure if the discussion was even stretched further, Jesus would not be bothered by the fact this guy really did not keep the commandment. He thought he did. You know what He wanted him to do? He just wanted him to acknowledge it. Okay, just acknowledge that you did not keep them. That's all He wants us to do. That's all He wanted him to do. This man said, "I'm acknowledging nothing. I'm admitting nothing. I'm repenting of nothing. I am not confessing that."

Beloved, let me ask you: where do you place your faith? Where do you place your trust? Where is your confidence? Is it in your net worth? Is it in your portfolio? Is it in your religious observance and how meticulously you're keeping those religious observances? Is it in your own success? Is it in your own goodness? "I am good in my own way." Trusting in these things will only do one thing, and that's going to buttress your pride. That's what it's going to do. Trusting in anything except the Lord Jesus Christ's death and resurrection to take you to heaven is only going to strengthen your pride.

Pride will always keep you from heaven. Pride will always keep you from heaven. Because an authentic ticket to heaven must be stamped by the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed on Calvary. What does it mean? It means to acknowledge your sin. All He wanted him to do is acknowledge the fact that he really did not keep those commandments anyway, that he's a sinner. He wanted him to humble himself before Him. He wants him to come and admit his desperate need for a Savior and that only Jesus Christ can take him to heaven.

It means that you don't look at anything as your hope in which you place your trust. Not your degrees, not your intellect, not your achievements—all of that be considered trash in comparison to receiving eternal life. Pride will keep you from heaven, but humility will give you heaven on earth and heaven for eternity. I was thinking about pride, and I thought of this true story that I read a number of years ago. A true story of this young, athletic, good-looking young student at Oxford University in England. One day, he showed up in the hospital with severe pain in his knee.

The doctors immediately started working, doing all the tests. Finally, they came with the news that they must amputate his leg below the knee if his life is to be saved. To their utter horror, this young man refused. He wouldn't let them amputate. They pleaded with him. They pleaded with his family. They asked again and again, "It's the only way that we can save your life." The young man said, "You will not amputate my leg." Sure enough, six months later, he died. The doctors, particularly the surgeon, who really took it personal—he was devastated.

He went to his bereaved mother after the funeral and he said, "Please explain to me why, why did he refuse to let us amputate, which most certainly would have saved his life?" The brokenhearted mother responded this way: "He was so proud of his looks and his athletic ability and his fame that he said he would rather die than his leg be amputated." My beloved friends, listen to me. When Jesus tested this rich young ruler, his pride was in his wealth. When Jesus gave this rich young ruler a choice, He wanted him to choose correctly, but he didn't.

Wealth created in him a sense of self-satisfaction. His wealth created in him a sense of invincibility. His wealth created in him a sense of security. His wealth created in him a sense of God's favor toward him. Some of you probably sitting here and said, "Michael, Michael, you're not talking to me. I don't have two pennies to rub together." Fine. Then what is it that is keeping you from coming to Christ? What is it that is keeping you from humbling yourself in repentance and receiving His forgiveness and the gift of eternal life?

What is keeping you from confessing your inability to save yourself? What's keeping you from repenting of your sins? What is keeping you from acknowledging that only Jesus can give you eternal life? Is it the pride of intellect? Is it the pride of ideas and philosophy? Is it the pride of your own ability? Is it the pride of your accomplishment? To me as a young man, it was the pride of rebelling against my parents. I did not want to do what they want me to do. And that kept me in misery.

In this man's case, his wealth was his problem. That really was the thing that was the barrier, that was the wall that was keeping him from coming to Christ. In your case, it could be ten other things, ten different things. You know what they are. You know what they are deep down. You know what your idol is. You know what's keeping you from coming to Him. Let me give you an example from the scripture. Abraham, by our standard, would have been in this day wealthier than Warren Buffett. He was a billionaire by their standards.

Never once do you see God saying to Abraham, "Give up your wealth, give up your wealth." Not once. Not one time. Ah, that was not the source of his pride. But what was the source of his pride? Isaac. Isaac was. And so what did God say to Abraham? "Take all your money and give it away like he did with this—?" No, no, no, no. "Take Isaac, the one whom you love." Oh God, listen, I still don't understand that, okay? I know it was practiced back then in the early days, 2000 years before Christ.

Abraham goes up, builds the altar in Mount Moriah. He's saying, "I give you the source of my pride. Nothing is going to come between You and me, Lord. Even the dearest and the nearest." What's God doing here? He was testing Abraham. He was testing him. He was asking him to give the very source of his pride. Had this young man probably said to Jesus—probably, probably, "Okay, Lord, You're right. I know this is the thing that's standing between us. I'm going to give it all up and I'm going to come and follow You."

Most likely Jesus would have said, "No, no, that's enough. The fact that you said it, it's okay. That's all I want to hear. That's all I want to hear." I'm speculating because when Abraham took Isaac, put him on the altar, you know what God said? "Don't you touch that boy." Why? See, Abraham passed the test. In fact, later on in the New Testament, the Book of Hebrews tells us that Abraham had such faith in God that even if Isaac died, he was going to have the first resurrection ever in history.

God doesn't want anything from you. He has given you everything that you have. Whether you know it or not and whether you acknowledge it or not, everything you have He's given to you. So what is the problem? The problem is this: God wants you to come to Him His way. God wants you to come to Him on His own terms, not on yours. I told you the truth is very simple. It really is. There is no secret to that and a key to this and formula or tricks. No.

Whatever it is that's standing between you and salvation and eternal life, you must be willing to put it on the altar. Place it there and say, "Lord Jesus, I receive You into my life. Not I'm going to add You to my life of all the junk that I've got, but You're going to be number one now." Jesus knows what idol you have in your life. Whatever it is that's keeping you from Him, He knows what it is. And I have a fairly good idea that you know, too.

To some, it may be wealth. To others, it could be a relationship. To others, it could be a lifestyle. To others, maybe pride. "I'm not going to do what God wants me to do." Could be self—they want to please self, not God. The ultimate question is, are you willing to surrender it and completely trust Jesus as the only one who can save you?

Guest (Female): Think about it. Dig deep. Is there something or someone holding you back from having a personal encounter with Jesus? You're invited to talk about it with one of Leading The Way's pastors or counselors. Start your conversation at LTW.org/Jesus. LTW.org/Jesus.

Guest (Male): We stand at a crossroads of history, and we can walk through these doors of opportunities that God has opened for us or we can do nothing. We have the choice.

Guest (Female): Leading The Way continues its five-year mission to passionately proclaim the uncompromising truth of Christ in three strategic areas where the need is greatest and the doors are open. In North America, where only 4 percent of adults have a biblical worldview and where distractions and false religions are gaining a foothold, we are delivering solid biblical teaching through every media platform available.

We continue to pray for a spiritual awakening in the Western church, asking the Lord to mobilize believers to stand firm for uncompromising biblical truth in their homes, churches, and communities. The answer, it is not frustration, but proclamation of the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and holding that truth uncompromisingly. The Middle East is home to 68 percent of the world's unreached people groups. We are proclaiming the gospel in areas with the most need through our Kingdom SAT TV channel, outreach events, audio, printed, and digital content, and our strategically positioned field teams.

We must take the gospel to those who have never heard it. Forty-two percent of the world's population lives in remote villages without gospel truth. Technology and language barriers have cut them off from the message. Your support will help us reach these isolated areas.

Dr. Michael Youssef: I made a vow to God that as long as He gives me a breath, that I will proclaim Him and His truth of His gospel until my dying day. Will you go through it with me?

Guest (Female): Join Dr. Youssef in this bold five-year mission to passionately proclaim uncompromising truth in three strategic areas. It's the Open Door campaign. Learn more about the Open Door campaign and how standing with Dr. Youssef and Leading The Way today while the door is still open makes it possible for you to learn more about Jesus, as well as those in your neighborhood and neighborhoods just like yours all around the world. Learn more when you call 866-626-4356, or visit the interactive website, LTW.org. LTW.org. This program is furnished by Leading The Way with Dr. Michael Youssef, passionately proclaiming uncompromising truth.