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Guest (Female): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham.

Jack Graham: Do you know that you have eternal life? You say, is it even possible to know? These things are written in the Bible that you may know, not think so, hope so, maybe so, that you would know so.

Guest (Female): On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about how it takes more than money and possessions to be rich. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, "Rich Man, Poor Man."

Jack Graham: Take your Bibles and turn with me to Mark chapter 10, beginning in verse 17. And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments. Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not defraud, honor your father and mother."

And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth." And Jesus looking at him, watch this, loved him. And said to him, "You lack one thing. Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and come, follow me." Disheartened by the saying, he went away. He went away sorrowful for he had great possessions.

And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God." And the disciples were amazed at his words, but Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God. 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."

And they were exceedingly astonished and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man it is impossible, but not with God, for all things are possible with God." Does that sound familiar? All things are possible with God. There was a young woman by the name of Mary, betrothed to Joseph. The angel of the Lord came to her and said, "You will bear the child, the savior into the world." She says, "How is that possible? I've never known a man physically."

And the angel said, "With God all things are possible." And here again, Jesus is saying the same thing, "With God, all things are possible. Who can be saved? All who trust in Christ." It's the miracle of salvation. Here is a young man. It's Matthew who tells us that he was a young man. And we're told, not only is he a young man, but he's a very eager, excited young man as he comes running to Jesus.

He's literally, I think, out of breath. And when he gets into the presence of Jesus, he falls on his knees. He's humble, he is he is winsome, and he's in some way attracted to Jesus. Was it the messages that Jesus had been delivering? The miracles that Jesus performed? Or just the very presence, the man himself, Jesus? He is he is attracted to him.

And in his youthfulness, there is just so much potential. This this story starts out so well, doesn't it? Here's a young man who comes to Jesus, gets on his knees, and says, "What must I do to have eternal life?" He comes with the right question to the right person. He's not there seeking earthly things; he wants eternal things.

And so this young man is successful. He's significant. He is a ruler, a community leader, perhaps a civil magistrate, perhaps a ruler in the synagogue, a teacher in the synagogue. We know that he was a community leader. And so here he is, young, vibrant, wealthy, well-known in the community. What a contrast this is between this young man, who may have been a contemporary with Jesus in terms of age.

Jesus was young. Jesus was in his early 30s. And so you have this contrast between a young man who is wealthy, aristocratic, powerful, a leader, and Jesus of Nazareth, a Galilean who grew up in the carpenter shop of Joseph, a contract laborer, if you will. Who in terms of worldly goods, born in a stable, he never had them. He's a nomad kind of preacher, an itinerant preacher.

What a contrast between this poor man, Jesus, and this rich man, this young ruler. I mean, here's a guy that seemingly has everything together, but he knows that something is missing in his life, and that's why he comes running to Jesus. He wants to know after all that he's done, and he's, as we're going to see, a keeper of the law. He's a good man, he's a religious man, he's a reverent man.

And yet, he knows that there's something else. He's not certain about eternal life. He doesn't know whether he's going to heaven or not, after all the law-keeping, all of the good things that he has done. All the money that he's made. There is this insecurity and lack of confidence, perhaps anxiety in his life.

And here stands Jesus, the poor man. The Bible tells us in Second Corinthians chapter 8 and verse 9 that for by grace, he who was rich, Jesus, became poor, that we who are poor might become rich in him. Jesus left heaven and was born in a barn and became poor and lived as a poor man in order to give us the riches of his grace.

It says, and I stopped just a moment, I paused just a moment when I read the words of scripture that Jesus loved this young man. And do you know when Jesus looks at you, he loves you. He loves you. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son. So the young man walks up and he's on a quest, a spiritual quest.

So he comes with a question, and the question, we noted it, "How can I inherit, or how can I have eternal life?" Well, he's certainly talking to the right person about eternal life, because life, Jesus is standing right in front of him. He says, "How can I obtain this? How can I have eternal life?" Now, that is the quest and the question of every life, and surely, it's the question of your own life.

How can I know that I'm going to heaven? Do you know that you know that you have eternal life? You say, "Is it even possible to know?" Yes, these things are written in the Bible that you may know, K.N.O.W., not think so, hope so, maybe so, that you would know so, eternal life. Now, what is eternal life? Eternal life is not endless life.

People without God have an endless life. You will be somewhere in eternity, either in heaven or in hell, living endlessly. So, eternal life is different than endless life. Eternal life in the Bible is always the life of God. He is the author and the giver of life, the creator and the sustainer of life. So, eternal life is the life that God and only God can give.

Jesus talked about this eternal life. He prayed concerning eternal life in John 17 and verse 3. "This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Love that phrase. Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. So he came that we might have this eternal life.

We've been asking and answering the question, "Who is Jesus?" This young man, when he approaches Christ, breathlessly, on his knees, says to him, "Good Teacher." Or "Good Master. What must I do to have this eternal life?" He said, "Jesus, good Teacher. How can I have eternal life?"

And Jesus pushes the pause button before he goes forward and calls this young man out, and he's calling every one of us out, because if we are calling Jesus good, Jesus himself said, "Look, there's only one who is good, and that is God." And so when he uses that phrase 'good', that's a title of deity. When he says 'good teacher', notably, they would normally just say 'teacher' or 'rabbi', but this young man says 'good teacher', 'good rabbi'.

He believed that Jesus was a teacher, and Jesus wasn't going to let him get away with just that. Many of you would say the same about Jesus. If you were asked, "Who is Jesus?" You would say, "He's my example," or "He's my teacher," or "He's a model for living, a leader." But Jesus, just as he wouldn't let the young man get away with that, won't let us get away with that.

He challenges him on his identity. And he says, "Why are you calling me good?" Because if you're calling me good, you must be calling me God. Jesus is not in any way diminishing his deity, or certainly not denying his deity. He's making the point that he is God. You must get this right. Jesus is not the man who is good, but he is the man who is God.

Christianity is Christ, who he is and what he did for us. We have a savior. You either believe it or you don't.

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, "Rich Man, Poor Man." Did you know that you can join Dr. Graham for his daily devotion? It's a study of God's Word that will help you grow in your faith, encourage you in your walk with Christ, and show you how to navigate to the challenges of life. To sign up, text 'D.E.V.O.' to 59789 and begin receiving Dr. Graham's devotion every day. Again, text 'D.E.V.O.' to 59789. Every day, people are hearing the truth of Jesus Christ through PowerPoints broadcast, podcast, and digital outreach. Some are discovering the truth of the Gospel for the very first time. Others are learning to trust God more deeply. And friends like you help make it all possible through your support. That's why this month, we want to say thanks for your gift of $10 or more by sending you Dr. Jack Graham's book, Choices. In this encouraging resource, Dr. Graham shares practical wisdom from God's Word to help you make decisions with confidence, clarity, and faith. To give your gift and request your copy, text 'August' to 59789. Please limit one per household. Again, text 'August' to 59789. Now, let's get back to today's message, "Rich Man, Poor Man."

Jack Graham: Jesus responds to this man's question about how to have eternal life and says, "Well, okay, keep the commandments." And Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments with the great commandment and he said, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, your soul, your strength, and the second is like it, your neighbor as yourself." So that's the summary of the law. And if you keep the commandments perfectly, you will go to heaven. Now think about this, there are three ways to go to heaven. Stay with me. You can die before you reach an age of accountability, a child. David spoke of his child, the infant son of David, when he died, he said, "I can't bring you back, but I can go to you." Children, Jesus said of such is the kingdom of heaven, little children before they reach the age of of decision-making and accountability, if they die, they are in heaven.

The second way is keep the law perfectly. Never sin. Whether you're breaking a commandment in substance, actually committing a murder, or actually committing a crime, or actually committing adultery, or as Jesus took it to the next level, doing these things in your heart, in spirit. So, keep all of the law of God perfectly. Never sin, and you'll go to heaven. So you got one more shot, and that is to receive and believe and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And if you miss him, it's three strikes and you're out.

So catch up with me here, what's what's happening? He's saying to this young man, this rich young ruler, "Keep the law." The young man says, "Well, I've kept it since I was a youth." So Jesus, to show him that he had broken the commandments, that he didn't love God like he ought to love God, that he didn't love people like he ought to love people, he said, and this is the only time Jesus said this to any other person in the Bible, in the New Testament. He said, "Go sell everything you have and give it to the poor and come and follow me."

Jesus was getting right to the heart of this young man's sin and his problem, and you know what it was? It was his idol. It was the idol of possessions and money and stuff and success. And so he was breaking the very first commandment. The Bible says that there is one God, and then have no graven images, have no idols. You say, "Well, at least I haven't broke, at least I haven't broken that one. I haven't made any graven images lately."

The Bible talks about idols in the heart. And an idol, here's how you find an idol. Here's how you find the idol in your heart. You know how? Follow the money. We're about to have a hard conversation here. It's the same hard conversation that Jesus was having with this young man. Possessions can become idols. People can become idols.

And Jesus said in Luke's Gospel chapter 9, "What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?" And the pursuit of possessions, desire to acquire. In America, we are rich. You say, "Well, I'm not rich." Go to a third-world country. We have so much, and many worship their money, worship their work in making money.

Here in America, we think we need more and more and more, don't we? I read something this week that encouraged me. And that is a Barna survey which says Christian philanthropy accounted for 70% of all American philanthropy in 2022 at a total of 300 billion, which means that Christians gave over $300 billion to charitable causes and ministries.

Christians also gave out, outgave the U.S. government in addressing global poverty. Christians gave more money to address poverty in the world than the U.S. government, and the U.S. government, I think, has a lot of money. Maybe we're broke, I don't know. And one man commented, "Whatever folks might say or think, the church remains a seismic value add to the world."

That is true. That's why we give. This guy couldn't do it. He couldn't walk with Jesus. So the scripture says that he became discouraged. It's a very strong word when Mark tells us in the other Gospel writers that he was discouraged. It's it's really a word that it means he clouded over. I mean he's looking at a screen saver now.

And he's saying, he clouds over and the tears begin to flow, I think, because it says he went away sad because he just couldn't do it. He just wouldn't do it. And so he walked away without the Lord. And as far as we know, he never came back. And here's something to note: Jesus letting go. I'm sure Simon Peter's thinking, "We got a big fish on the hook, Jesus. This guy could help the cause. This guy's got money. Renegotiate!"

No. Jesus let him go, and he walked away sad. And the Bible says that Jesus was sad when this happened. Why? Because God is not willing that any would perish, but that all would come to repentance. And so he's our God is grieved when anyone, someone, walks away without eternal life. He's standing right in front of life, the way, the truth, the life.

And he walks away. He doesn't get on the path, the only path. He gets on his own path because he's got a big ego, apparently. Ego, E.G.O., edging God out. And so he doesn't have time or room to serve God. So you follow this man's money, and it took him straight to hell. Follow the money. What about you? Did you know that 20% of the members of most any church give 80% of the money?

Did you know that only 3% of Americans, including American Christians, give to charitable causes or churches? And you tell me you are a follower of Jesus? Or are you a follower of your money? You don't have to be super ultra rich to love money. Poor people can love money and have an idol, a mammon idol in their hearts. So I'm just saying, I told you, hard conversation today.

Jesus is Lord of our possessions. He's Lord of everything that we have, not just the 10%, even if you give a tithe. You say, "What's a tithe? A tithe." Somebody said, "Well, it's a tenth." No, it's not. It's not a tenth, it's the first tenth. Always the first fruit. It's off the top. It's not about the 10% anyway, it's about the fact that everything we have belongs to God. We ought to pray about what we keep, not what we give.

So I want to ask you, is there anything in your life that is keeping you from becoming a follower of Jesus Christ? What is it that's between you and Jesus? Is it a relationship that you need to do away with? Is it money that you need to give? Is it some habit or addiction that you need to walk away? Achievement, status, health, wealth, not enough to satisfy the longing, the deepest longing of your heart.

But Jesus had an observation to make in closing. He said to his disciples, "How hard it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven." They began to discuss this, and then Jesus told a joke. You say, "He told a joke? Jesus told a joke? I thought Jesus was serious with a big halo and all of that." No, Jesus told jokes. And he told one here about a camel and a needle. So Jesus is saying it's hyperbole, it's exaggeration.

He said, "Easier for a camel, hump and all, cargo and all, to go through the eye of a needle than for a person trusting in riches to go to heaven." So the question of this entire passage is, remember it? How do I have eternal life? How can I go to heaven? It's not through your riches, it's not through your status. It's through Jesus and Jesus only, because Jesus came and he gave his life for you so that you could be forgiven of all your sin and have eternal life.

Guest (Female): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, "Rich Man, Poor Man." Let me remind you about an encouraging resource Dr. Jack Graham created to help you navigate life with biblical wisdom. It's his book, Choices, which comes as our thanks for your gift of $10 or more. When you give today to support the outreach of PowerPoint Ministries, you'll help share biblical truth and the life-changing hope of Jesus with people around the world through broadcast, podcast, and digital ministry. To give your gift and request your copy, text 'August' to 59789. So that everyone has a chance to take advantage of this limited offer, please limit to one per household. Again, text 'August' to 59789. And thank you for helping share the hope of Christ with a world that desperately needs him. Did you know that you can join Dr. Graham for his daily devotion? It's a study of God's Word that will help you grow in your faith, encourage you in your walk with Christ, and show you how to navigate through the challenges of life. To sign up, text 'D.E.V.O.' to 59789 and begin receiving Dr. Graham's devotion every day. Again, text 'D.E.V.O.' D.E.V.O. to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: I'm amazed at how people often choose temporal things, the things of this world, and then end up losing everything. People have an opportunity to accept Christ and yet turn away. I can't imagine a person turning away from Jesus Christ. Yet there are so many factors that seem to keep people away from the wonderful salvation, the forgiveness, and the eternal life that he's promised each one of us. For some people, it's the fear of losing what they have. Some think the demands are too high, or some, it's just plain old procrastination. It's just putting it off, thinking that someday I'll get my life in order, someday I'll come to faith in Christ, but I'm just not ready right now. That's a huge risk because the fact is you never know when your last day will come.

So right now, I want to challenge you to make a decision for Christ, the right decision, and invite Jesus Christ to come into your life. The fact is, you're making a decision. You're either saying yes to him or no to him. You can't be neutral with Jesus. You must say either yes or no. Yes, Lord, I accept you, I receive you, I will follow you, or no, I'm going to live my life my own way. I want you to know that I'm praying for you this day that you will say yes to Jesus Christ. Don't let anything, any excuse, any rationalization, any lifestyle, any habit, any personal bondage that you may have, don't let anything keep you from responding in faith to the love of Jesus that's reaching out to you right now.

You may want to pray right now, a prayer like this: Lord, I don't understand it all. I haven't figured all of this out, but I know that you love me. I know that you died on the cross for my sins. I believe you rose again on the third day. So I trust you. Just tell him in your own way, in your own words. Lord Jesus, I trust you and I turn to you. I turn from my sin, and I receive you as my Lord and my Savior. If you will trust him right now, I promise you, according to God's word, he will make you a brand new person. And instead of walking away into judgment and an empty life, you can walk into Christ and his love, his grace, and his power to change you this very day.

Guest (Female): And that is today's PowerPoint. Today if you prayed that prayer with Dr. Graham, text us so we can get you started in your new life with Christ. Text the word 'Jesus' to 59789. That's 'Jesus' to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how Jesus overcame the enemy. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.