Money can’t buy me Life
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17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.
20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
26 And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, Who then can be saved?
27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.
31 But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.
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I wonder have you ever had a ‘Price Tag moment.’ I have had many of them. I need to get some flowers for our Wedding Anniversary. I have a choice of Flowers from the florist for £35 or £3.99 from the Petrol Station. I am in a restaurant and I would like a steak which is £30. Or the special - eat all the spicy chicken wings you can eat for £7.50. In the end, I stuffed my face on two plates of chicken wings! Accountants call it - cost-benefit analysis. I call it a ‘Price Tag moment,’ - You want it but will you pay the price for it?
American Philanthropist Tod Bohely decided he'd buy an aeroplane. He spoke to his Financial Advisor and not wanting to do anything by halves, he bought an entire Airline company. He soon got bored of planes and he decided he wanted a boat. Not wanting to do anything by halves, he bought a Cruise Liner. He soon got bored with Planes and Boats and he decided to get into Films. Not wanting to do anything by halves he bought Disney Studios. He really got into the Disney cartoons and said to his financial advisor - 'I'd really like a big Mickey Mouse outfit.’ Not wanting to do anything by halves he bought Chelsea Football Club. Manchester United fan told me this joke.
Mark 10 Man comes to Jesus and wants to do a deal on eternal life.
“How can I buy it ?” “What’s your best offer of this place called heaven?”
Jesus enters into the haggling: “Have you mastered the 10 Commandments?”
Self-assured he said he had done that and got the T-shirt. “What all ten?” “Yep”
But there is one Commandment Jesus does not mention - I will come back to it later.
Instead, Jesus says, “sell your possessions and join my team.”
For the young man was a price tag moment – the price of eternal life – the young man says; “No deal” – it’s too much, it's not worth it. Jesus turns to his followers and says, ‘“it is difficult for the rich to enter the kingdom.”
The ‘Price tag moment’ flowers at £35, Steak at £30 or stuff your face with spicy chicken wings…. you want the best, you need it, but will you walk away or pay the price?
There is a surprise here though! Is this a new requirement for heaven?
Salvation used to be 'repent and believe' – now it appears to be ‘sell up and give all to the poor, become poor yourself and follow.’ Do we all have to sell up and give it all to the poor to end up in heaven and if so is any of us going to make it?
Even the disciples said among themselves in verse 26 “then who can be saved?”
Let me reassure you, you can be saved, this is the only time Jesus mentioned this salvific pathway!
Yes, salvation’s way is still 'repent and believe,' so why did Jesus do this to this young man?
The Lord knew this man wanted to hold on to some things, something meant too much to him. His wealth, his possessions, house, car, music, and job mean too much to him for him to truly follow Jesus.
Let’s return to the Commandment the man overlooked, in his face-to-face with Jesus,
Jesus focussed on the First Commandment, ‘have no other Gods before me.’
If he lived his life in total surrender to God, it would have been an easy choice – Yes to God. But it was “NO,” there were things he was holding on to. Things he couldn’t let go of to let Jesus into his heart.
If Jesus was to put his finger on something in your life today and say ‘give it up and follow me’ how many of us would say – no deal! I'm holding on to that. What is your price tag moment?
Name it and Shame it: Greed and Glory
What will it profit a person if they gain the whole world and lose your own soul? Mark 8:36
We have come to believe the lie that material assets can give something they can never give – you can fool yourself for a lifetime and blow it for eternity.
Greed is subtle. “Be on your guard for any form of greed” Luke 12:15. This is not just about the rich, a lot of ordinary people stand in queues for lottery tickets dreaming of the big win, and a lot of ordinary people watch Top Gear (with the fast cars) and wish they owned them.
I speak from experience when I say, in a split second a car can go out of control and at the same time, your life is out of control. Life can change dramatically in a blink of an eye and the life you thought was a solid foundation proves to be built on sand. Cars, possessions, money, celebrity status: Greed and Glory! Even a few pints a night at the pub or a bottle of wine are not solid foundations for life. But the enemy of our souls convinces us these are the kind of things to hold on to BUT these are the kinds of things that prevent us from allowing Jesus into our lives – the one rock steady, sure foundation on which to base your life.
Jesus latched onto the one commandment the young man couldn’t keep. Notice that Jesus did not mention it. Greed and Glory motivate us to break the First Commandment; ‘have no other gods before me.’ So we earn more than we need, we own more than we can use or we seek fame that is unattainable. These are modern-day gods. But the danger with our possessions is they have the ability to steal our hearts and souls. The possessions possess us; the drink, the house, the money and earnings.
So how do you free yourself from greed, and things that you are holding on to, things that are holding you back spiritually? Things that are stopping Jesus have centre stage in your life?
‘Name it and Shame it!’ Expose the lies of Greed and Glory. Lies that more overtime, more winnings, more pleasure, more beauty treatment, more sex, and more money will make your life fulfilled. It’s a lie! “More” isn’t always the answer. Name it and shame it.
John Wesley said "rich" means to have the necessities of life; food, shelter, and clothing and then something left over. Today in 2022 we have increased the number of things we regard as necessities. We want an iPad, iPhone, Laptop, two cars, two holidays, Gym membership, and hundreds of things that we call necessities that our parents referred to as luxuries. Wesley said that shelter, food, and clothing are necessities.
To have these and something left over, as almost all of us do, is to be rich.
Why don’t you ask the Holy Spirit to help you detect the early signs of greed, signs of moving from God? For example in your home groups you could talk about your lifestyle and ask how much of this is normal healthy living, earning and ambition and how much is Greed and Glory?
All your life you’ve been rewarded for performance – you study and gain your GCSEs and A-Levels. You get money for work, and more for over time, effort and success. It puts a subtle lie in our heads - if only we could BUY God's favour or earn eternal life or heaven by extra effort, extra goodness. But God doesn’t grant us life and eternal life because of what we’ve done – God grants us life and eternal life because of what Christ has done. Name and shame the lies. Think of all the good things you have done (small glories) – think of all the things you treasure in your life. Is some of it greed, obviously not all? Now think of what Jesus has done for you on the cross. He died so that you might have life (in abundance) John 10:10.
The Look of Love - not the 1982 ABC song
Mk 10:17 said the man knelt before Jesus. Did you miss that? Mk 10:21 goes on to say 'Jesus looked straight at him with love and said you need only one thing…’ (go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor). That 'look of love’ of Jesus is a look which allows the rich man to stand up and walk away. I imagine the disciples can’t believe it, Jesus had him on his knees and He is letting him walk away! It is his price tag moment and the young man says it’s too much to pay. Jesus had the rich man right there and he lets him walk away! That is the look of Love. The look that gives us the freedom to bow down or walk away. That’s the freedom each of us and each of your friends, relatives and neighbours have today. The look of love wants you to stay on your knees and open your heart to Jesus, but the choice is yours. He says to you ‘love me or leave me – what’s it to be?’ I hope you chose to love him with all your heart, soul mind strength, that’s the First Commandment. Chose Christ
The young man walked away. I like to think there's an ending to the story where the man comes back and says to Jesus, ‘you were right, all that money didn’t buy me life, a few rich man’s toys don’t make a life.’ I can imagine he says to Jesus ‘take the money I just want you in my life’ and Jesus would say, ‘you know what you don’t need to do the money thing now. You are prepared to give it up. That possession is not possessing you. I know you're not holding on to it, now you are holding on to me.’ The look of love which lets him walk away is there with open arms when you or I or the young man in the story comes back to God. The look of love will not impose himself on us Revelation 3:20 puts it this way: 'behold I stand at the door and knock..' I invite you to invite him in. Chose Christ.
May I tell you a story of an Irishman, Michael who was at a funeral I conducted and 2 years later he was himself diagnosed cancer and he phoned me up. He wanted to talk, to face up to this question of following Jesus. He told me about the life of fame and fortune he had tasted, he was a professional musician and a top Trombonist. In 1969 he joined The Johnny Lamb Big Band (1969 – 1984). He had worked with Tommy Steel, The Two Ronnies at the London Palladium and Paul Daniels in winter and summer seasons in Blackpool.
Michael told me those years with the Big Band, in the heyday of the Big bands was the ‘happiest time of his life.’ But he admitted he had no time for Jesus Christ. Now he had a life-limiting illness and he wanted to know how to gain eternal life. I met with him a few times and I left him the gospel of Mark to read and some work to do and suggested prayers to say. I called to see him a week later. Michael said he had done what I had said - ‘I’ve said the prayer.’ He had made his peace with God. At his price tag moment, he had said ‘Yes’ to Jesus Christ. I sat with him a week later in the Hospice, he said to me that he could see Jesus in the room with him. An hour or two later he went to be with the Jesus he invited into his life three weeks earlier.
You may think that is a cop-out…. but God is like that!
That 'look of love' is a longing that you would let go of anything that is preventing being fully committed to God.
Through the eye of a needle.
Mark 10:25 ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.’
There is some discussion about what this ‘eye of a needle’ phrase means. I like the explanation that the night gate in a walled city was so small that a man and all his possessions could not enter only the trader himself. Be that as it may,
what can we do, money can’t buy abundant life. Glory cannot deliver ‘Life’ with a capital L.
John 10:10 says ‘I have come that you might have life….abundant life.’
So what can we do? I suggest five things:
1. Make sure Jesus Christ is in your life and that he is centre stage (your number one).
George Orwell, writing during WW2, tells of a cruel thing he did to a wasp.
The wasp was sucking jam on his plate and Orwell cut the wasp in half. The wasp paid no attention to what had happened to him, but just went on eating his jam. Satisfying himself when he had, in fact, lost his life.
What a picture; trying hold onto earth's pleasures while we are cut off from the one who can truly give us life.
2. Earn to live not live to earn.
You may go through the eye of the needle if you lay down your burdens and become part of God’s adventure to be a blessing to others. Life is not just about money it is also about time. You may earn less but you will have more time for God and for others.
3. Live within your means. Spend less than you earn or your pension. Avoid debt, and set savings aside.
4. Give a percentage of your income back to God’s work – acknowledge God’s sovereignty over your life. So that greed cannot gain a hold. Enter into the joy of giving and generosity, another Part of God's adventure.
5. Learn to live, Enjoy the fruits of your labour. Seeking God’s prompting – More is not the answer 1 Timothy 6:7 states, ‘we have brought nothing in and we can take nothing out of this world’ – Name it and shame it – Greed and Glory
Be on your guard for any form of greed. Luke 12:15
Tod Boehly can buy Chelsea Football Club, but he can’t buy the league title, he can’t buy life with a capital 'L.' What satisfies the man who has everything, Chelsea FC? Absolutely not!
I prefer the story of Jurgen Klopp manager of Liverpool, a Christian man. Klopp is adamant that his faith is more important to him than the game. In an interview, he said: 'To be a believer, but not to want to talk about it - I do not know how it would work! Not because I claim to be any sort of missionary. But when I look at me and my life - then I feel I am in sensationally good hands.’
Klopp’s life is in God’s hands. Thousands of Liverpool supporters put their faith in Jurgen Klopp but Klopp doesn’t put his faith in himself, his faith is in Jesus Christ.
I invite you to put your life in the hands of the man who calms the sea, ‘the one who comes to me I will never send away' John 6:37 Come to Jesus Christ, make Him your Lord and Saviour today.
Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water
Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea
Take a look at yourself and you can look at others differently
By puttin' your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee
© Gene MacLellan