On Saturday, January 7, 2012, Pastor Kelly will be beginning a series entitled “Life and Debt.” On Wednesday, January 4, 2011, he preached the Prequel to this series, in order to prepare us. The Preque was entitled: Money, Eyes, Camels and Needles” We hope it is a blessing to you. Please have your bible handy, as you will need it. 
Texts: (Please read the following verses before proceeding).
- Proverbs 10:22
- Ecclesiastes 5:19 (NLT)
- Mark 10: 17-31
-God blesses you, and when He blesses you, you become ‘rich’ but yet, it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. So is God blessing you so you WONT make it into the kingdom?! We will find out…..
Through the story in Mark 10, we can hear God saying “Give all you have NOW, you will have more LATER, but your immediate return will be a CROSS, however, the CROSS seems to be a down payment for something else!
LET’S BREAK IT DOWN
Who is it that comes running to Christ?!
-The Rich “Young” Ruler. Not only does he come to Jesus, he RUNS and he KNEELS. Back in the day, anyone who was rich did not take it to have public interactions with Jesus. They would have been talked about. Like Niccodemus, (Jesus met with him on the sly). The rich young ruler runs to Jesus and kneels in front of him. From that, we can see that he has somewhat of a heart for God! You also know he has a heart for God because he called Jesus “GOOD Master.” Jesus is trying to see where He is theologically, so he asks the young man a question…. “Why are you calling me good……?” In Jesus’ mind, “if you are calling me Good, you must think that I am God…. Plus you are kneeling infront of me.” That has to be very important to Jesus at this moment because EVERYONE else is questioning whether He is God!
- We then see that Jesus goes on to share the commandments since this man knew of him and the commandments…. However, Jesus mentions “Defraud Not”…. Is that a commandment?! No.
- If you notice, every commandment that God mentions (in verse 19) has to do with human relationships. Many individuals feel as though if they have their connection with God all is good, but what they fail to realize is that your connection with God should be manifested in the way you treat people.
- Scholars say that Jesus threw “Defraud Not” in there because the rich young ruler knew all the commandments that had to do with GOD but not with people. WOW! Isn’t it baffling that some of us can have a GREAT relationship with God but not with people?! Pastor suggested that sometimes we may have a great relationship with God because we can’t see Him. If you saw Him like you saw people, you would probably have the same issues with God (MERCY!!!).
What did the young man lack?!
-The congregation brainstormed and gave their suggestions, which was “Relationship, faith, compassion, love, surrender, lack to give, hatred for worldly things. Pastor suggested that the answer was clear. The rich young ruler lacked PRIORITIES! Pastor Kelly stated that he used to think that this young man had a problem with his wealth; however, upon examination we see that Jesus had just promised him MORE! Jesus didn’t say “you will be broke” but He basically said “Give it up now, and you will get more later (a hundred fold)”
What should have been his priority?!
- Being with God at whatever the cost. That should be our main priority. Whatever it costs for us to be together, I am willing to let that thing go, because YOU are the main priority in my life!
- He shouldn’t have needed to know about the treasures in heaven, all he needed to know is that he would have Jesus and that’s it!
- God gives us stuff to help other people get with Him. He said “Give all you have to the poor and come and follow me” that screams PRIORITIES!
- Unfortunately our priorities are “Family first, then God.” Sometimes it is our “Career, then God.” Some are very good priorities but Jesus later on (in Mark 10) makes it clear that you MIGHT have to end up leaving your family for me. I HAVE to be your #1 priority. “Seek ye first the KINGDOM of God….”
- God says “if I am your #1 priority, you don’t have to worry about anything else! Everything else takes care of itself. When we have a lot of stuff, the stuff becomes our priority, then it is hard to let go of what your priority is. In other words, if you let go of everything you have and give to the poor, your priorities are straight because you still have GOD!
- God cannot trust you with stuff, if He’s not the #1 priority. God has no problem with you being rich, but if we were rich, for some, God would no longer be our #1 priority. For some of us, God becomes our #1 priority so we can get things and as soon as we get those things, He isn’t the priority anymore until we loose those things again and we feel we need to get them back. God says I need to be the #1 priority.
- Whatever you have that’s more of a priority than God makes it more difficult for you to get into the kingdom.
- One of the major things that takes God from being #1 in our lives, is money, that’s why he talks about it. Folks stop talking to others because of money. They stop going to church because of money! That means, not only do you have money but the money has you, and God is no longer your #1 priority, making it hard to get into the kingdom of heaven.
- God can get rid of the money for you, or you can do it yourself. When you get rid of the money, God’s way, He always brings it back. J
- Matthew 19:27 (We’ve given up everything to follow you, so what do we get?!) Can you see Jesus looking saying “You have ME!” Peter was expecting to get more when he already had everything in Jesus.
- When we recognize Jesus is enough, that’s when he is comfortable adding to us.
- (Paraphrased) Happiness is when you have that ONE thing and no matter what else is added to it, you are not happier! THAT is what God is waiting for us to get to. When we have Him and is our ultimate happiness he knows He can add whatever else to your life because he knows that’s NOT what will make you happy, because your ultimate happiness is just you and God. Everything else is an accessory that we can live without.
- Get your priorities straight. Your #1 priority should be God and when we get there, he will slowly but surely start to trust us with more.
- God had no problem with you having money, but he does have a problem with money having you!
During this month’s series, we will teach you principles on how to get out of debt. If your life is financially unstable, your spiritual life will be too. You cannot be spiritually stable and financially unstable at the same time. We want to emphasize that financial stability does not mean you are making more money! So many people get around with a lot less than most of us do. Join us, as we explore this topic. One question before we go……
Can others look at your bank account and tell you are a Christian?
Join us during the month of January, on Saturday mornings at 11:00 PST at www.rubitv.tv (From your Iphones), or on www.mtrubidoux.com; and on Wednesday evenings at 7:15pm. Please check our websites for more information.
Be blessed, and a blessing. J
-Views From The Pews-
