Sermon Note Sunday

Sunday Morning
James River Assembly
Pastor David
July 22nd, 2012

"What Do I Lack?"

Matthew 19:16-26

And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, 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." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

• What do we have to do to get eternal life?

Jesus did 3 things in this passage:

1. Jesus shattered the young man's assumptions about Christianity.
     A. The young man thought Christianity is just something you add to your life (it's not).
     B. The young man thought Christianity is something you do.

• In reality, Christianity is like a bomb that explodes inside you, you are born all over again. You are a new creation when you are a Christian.
• Christianity isn't something you can add, rather it overtakes your life!
• There's only one being who is completely good, and that's God.
• No one is perfect. The problem isn't that one thing (that one sin, pain in the side, etc.) hanging out there, it's that we aren't perfect and we won't admit it.
• Christianity isn't something we do or try to do, it's something that we receive.
• The real line that matters isn't the line that separates the good from the bad (or the bad from the bad), but the line that connects me from God.

2. Jesus got personal.

Mark 10:20-21
And he said to him, "Teacher all these I have kept from my youth. And Jesus, looking at him, 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."

• One thing was keeping this man, from being able to see God. He had a cancer eating at his soul. What cancer do I have eating at my soul, and what cancer do you have eating at your soul.
• At the base of all of our problems, is a battle between God and us for control.
• God wants ALL!!!
• He wants our relationships, dreams, battles, and all that is important to us.
• All we have to do is surrender it to God!

Matthews 7:21-23
"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty words in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
- There are people that know a lot about Jesus, but who never really know Jesus and He never knew them. Because they didn't allow Him to have control, and didn't allow Him to see their heart.

• We have to let Jesus have control and supremacy in our lives.
• We have to allow Jesus touch all of us, even the dark places, the hurt, the pain, the places we have even hidden from ourselves.

3. Jesus asked for the impossible.

• It's impossible to get to Jesus without full surrender.
• Without Jesus, it's impossible to get into heaven. No amount of works will get us into the kingdom of God.
• There is not one person who can enter into eternal life because of their own good works.
• We can't clean ourselves up enough to get into the kingdom!
• BUT, God can clean us up! And with Him, we can enter into the kingdom!