For the week of October 13 – 21st Sunday after Pentecost
Morning Prayer: God of infinite patience and wisdom, we confess that there are so many things that claim our time, energy, and resources that distract us from our devotion to You. Transform our lives. Guide us to embrace Your eternal treasures, that we may be signs of grace to Your world. Amen.
Opening Hymn #399 Take My Life and Let It Be Consecrated
- Take my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; Let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.
- Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.
- Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure-store.
Take myself and I will be ever, only, all for Thee.
Psalm 22 selected verses (CEB)
22 I will declare Your name to my brothers and sisters;
I will praise You in the very center of the congregation!
23 All of you who revere the Lord—praise Him!
26 Let all those who are suffering eat and be full!
Let all who seek the Lord praise Him!
I pray your hearts live forever!
27 Every part of the earth will remember and come back to the Lord;
every family among all the nations will worship You.
30 Future descendants will serve Him;
generations to come will be told about my Lord.
31 They will proclaim God’s righteousness to those not yet born,
telling them what God has done.
Prayers of Intercession: Thank You, Lord, for hearing our prayers for those dear to our hearts. We now pray as You have taught us: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us, not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Offering spotlight: Praise God for our pastors. Pastor Becky and Pastor Ron were called into pastoral ministry to serve our church and our community. Thank you for giving your offering to this church, so that Lightstreet church can continue to be a Beacon, shining Christ’s light.
Offering prayer: Gracious God, You are our provider and sustainer. We bring our gifts today, mindful of Your abundant love and mercy. As we offer these tithes and offerings, we ask that You remind us of the call to let go of our earthly attachments and follow You wholeheartedly. Bless these gifts and use them to further Your kingdom on earth, so that all may experience Your grace and love. May our giving reflect our trust in You and our commitment to serve others. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen. (Discipleship Ministries)
Hymn of preparation: #396 O Jesus, I Have Promised
- O Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end;
be Thou forever near me, my Master and my friend.
I shall not fear the battle if Thou art by my side,
nor wander from the pathway if Thou wilt be my guide. - O let me feel Thee near me! The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle, the tempting sounds I hear;
my foes are ever near me, around me and within;
but Jesus, draw Thou nearer, and shield my soul from sin. - O let me hear Thee speaking in accents clear and still,
above the storms of passion, the murmurs of self-will.
O speak to reassure me, to hasten or control;
O speak, and make me listen, Thou guardian of my soul. - O Jesus, Thou hast promised to all who follow Thee
that where Thou art in glory there shall Thy servant be.
And Jesus, I have promised to serve Thee to the end;
O give me grace to follow, my Master and my Friend.
Scripture: Mark 10:17-31 (CEB)
17 As Jesus continued down the road, a man ran up, knelt before Him, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?”
18 Jesus replied, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except the one God. 19 You know the commandments: Don’t commit murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Don’t cheat. Honor your father and mother.”[a]
20 “Teacher,” he responded, “I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at him carefully and loved him. He said, “You are lacking one thing. Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow Me.” 22 But the man was dismayed at this statement and went away saddened, because he had many possessions.
23 Looking around, Jesus said to His disciples, “It will be very hard for the wealthy to enter God’s kingdom!” 24 His words startled the disciples, so Jesus told them again, “Children, it’s difficult to enter God’s kingdom! 25 It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”
26 They were shocked even more and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them carefully and said, “It’s impossible with human beings, but not with God. All things are possible for God.”
28 Peter said to Him, “Look, we’ve left everything and followed You.”
29 Jesus said, “I assure you that anyone who has left house, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farms because of Me and because of the good news 30 will receive one hundred times as much now in this life—houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and farms (with harassment)—and in the coming age, eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last. And many who are last will be first.”
Message: The Rich Young Man Pastor Ron
The rich young man falls into that unique category of characters that have been maligned by generations of commentators and preachers. We might compare him to the elder brother in the story of the prodigal son. It seems like both of these young men have always gotten bad press and therefore a bad reputation. We are impressed that this rich young man was seemingly so near to the Kingdom, but alas his love of his possessions kept him out. We see him as a moral coward, a man who lacked commitment. And the implication is that had we been in his shoes that day, certainly this story would have had a much different ending.
But the fact is that there are a lot of good things that can be said of this rich young man. For example, I am impressed with the fact that having talked with him for only a few moments, Mark tells us that Jesus looked upon him and loved him. That doesn’t sound like a scathing criticism to me. And we need to remember that to this young man Jesus was not the Son of God. He was simply a new prophet, with an exciting message, a magnetic personality, and eyes that gripped you when you spoke to Him. He was certainly not the Messiah. At this point in His ministry, not even the disciples looked upon Him in that regard. Yet we are certain that under similar circumstances our reaction would have been much different. So, for a few minutes this morning I would like to champion the cause of this underdog. I want to tell you some good things about him.
First, I would like to point out that here was a man who was courageous. In the Gospel of Luke, he is described as a rich young ruler. That is, he belonged to the ruling class to which Jesus and all his works were criticized. Any member of the ruling class seen consorting with the despised Nazarene might well be banned or ostracized. That may have been why Nicodemus, who belonged to the same stratum of society, went to see Jesus by night, discreetly waiting for darkness to cover his tracks. Not so this rich young man; he was different, he did not come by night, he came to Jesus in broad daylight. If the ruling class choose to record in the minutes of their executive committee an official censure of his deed, let them go ahead and do it. This young man was not going to be dictated to.
Second, I would also like to point out the fact that he was impetuous. Mark tells us that he “ran up.” That in itself must have looked remarkably undignified. I’m sure onlookers watched in astonishment wondering what must have gotten into him. But the young man knew that this might be the only chance he would ever have of talking with Jesus. He was not about to pass up this fleeting opportunity. Let others stand on formality if they chose. He came running.
Third, he was humble and “knelt before Him,” writes Mark. Fortunately, his status in the establishment had not made him arrogant and overly important.
He fell down on his knees before Jesus in the middle of the road. I’m quite sure he knew the consequences of his action. He could become the target of every piece of gossip and every joke by sundown. He didn’t seem to care. Nor did it seem to concern him that the sinister eyes of Ciaphas’ secret police might be watching. No trace of pride or self-importance with him.
Fourth, I’m also impressed with the fact that he was sincere. He was not coming to Jesus with verbal puzzles, mental gymnastics, and pious theological jargon. That was what the pharisees did. They would come before Jesus and say: “Jesus, what do You think about paying taxes to Caesar? Jesus, what do You think about divorce? Jesus, what do You think about an afterlife?”
The fact is that they could care less about any of those issues. The Pharisees thought that they had nothing at all to learn from Jesus. They were asking Him these questions simply to trip Him up and get Him to make that one fatal verbal error that might get Him in trouble with Rome. How refreshing it was to see someone who came in genuine sincerity. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to obtain eternal life?” He was asking the right question; he had gotten down to the fundamentals. He was in effect saying: Jesus You clearly have the secret to authentic living. Tell me the secret so that I too may be fulfilled.
Fifth, I believe he was a religious person. In response to his question, Jesus said: “You know the commandments: Don’t commit murder. Don’t commit adultery. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Don’t cheat. Honor your father and mother.” The young man looked squarely at Jesus and said: “Teacher, I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy.” He was not trying to be pious or holier than thou. He had made an earnest attempt to serve God, as he understood the Torah. If that young man had made those statements to us, we might have quickly retorted: “you’re such a goody two-shoes.” But Jesus didn’t criticize him. Mark tells us that Jesus “looked at him carefully and loved him.”
But you know something, for all of his religion the law was not enough for him. There was a sense of emptiness and incompleteness within his life. Deep down inside he had the feeling that there was one more law that he ought to be keeping. One more ritual he should perform. It was that lack of significance and purpose that brought him to Jesus in the first place. You see that’s the problem with the law. It’s a bottomless pit. There is always that nagging feeling that there is one more thing you must do before God loves you.
Notice what the rich young man’s question was: “what must I DO to obtain eternal life?” You see he was caught up in that game of doing things. But it had not brought him fulfillment. He still had a nagging sense that something was being left undone. The commandments? Yes, Lord, I have done all that. Tell me what else I must do. We, like that rich young man, must realize that the essence of the Scripture is not doing, but being.
There are a lot of good things that can be said about this young man. He was courageous. He was eager and humble. He was sincere. But the fact of the matter is that we are all aware that this young man’s story does not have a happy ending. After all of his courageousness, and religious earnestness, and humility – after all of that he still said no to Jesus. And the question is: What happened? Certainly, most people, most of us, don’t measure up to the profile of qualifications that this young man had.
Yet, with all of his qualities there was something blocking his commitment.
Jesus with his penetrating insight, looked at the young man and said: “You are lacking one thing. Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me.” Wow! That’s pretty heavy! Do you really think Jesus wanted this man’s money? He didn’t care about that. What He wanted was this young man’s heart. And the problem was that his money was standing in the way. It was a question of priorities. Now, understand that this was a particular prescription for a particular person. Jesus was the good physician, and He didn’t prescribe the same thing for everyone. He told the Samaritan woman that if she wanted the Kingdom, she was going to have to quit prostituting herself. He told Nicodemus that he must be born again. He told the disabled man at the Bethesda pool that if he wanted to be healed, he would have to quit using his sickness as an excuse to cop out on life. Different prescriptions for different people.
What is the one thing in your life that blocks you from a complete commitment to God’s Kingdom? What is it that holds you back and saps your energy for accomplishing God’s will? It may be that Jesus is going to look you in the eyes and say, “Surrender your self-reliance and come follow Me.” It may be that you pride yourself in your self-reliance and in being able to manage every situation that comes up in life. You may boast that you don’t need the help of other people and in so doing, you might be saying, “And God, I really don’t need Your help either.” Sisters and brothers, you have to get rid of that self-reliance. What ever it is that blocks your total commitment to the Kingdom – personal ambition, rigid traditionalism, unfaithfulness, money – whatever it is, that is the area in your life, the one dark corner, that Jesus centers in on, and then wants to see what your response will be.
This proved too radical for the rich young man. He was caught off guard by this command. For we are told that he had much wealth. The sparkle is gone from his eyes, and he can’t look Jesus in the face any longer. He speaks no further word. He lingers for a moment, the picture of dejection, then he turns and walks sorrowfully away. And I have to believe that he left behind him an even more sorrowful Jesus. This rich young man was not the first to turn his back upon the demands of the Gospel and he won’t be the last.
Now suppose the rich young man had done what Jesus said. What if he had sold his possessions, and joined the disciples? We might have seen Simon Peter and Andrew and John come forward and extend to him the right hand of fellowship. But he didn’t. And as a consequence, his name will forever be lost to the pages of history. He will be known by his description and not his name.
He is the “Rich Young Man,” or the “Rich Young Ruler.” That is all we can call him. In the end, this is a story about the world’s perception of winners and losers and how God has a way of turning our perceptions upside down. You see, the world sees this young man as a winner – he is young, wealthy, he has it all and we wish we were like him. He does not repulse us; we are envious of him. Finishing first, winning, conquering, and succeeding are all popular goals, whether in sports, politics, academics, or business.
I don’t want to put words in the mouth of Jesus, but if He were to define winning, I think He would define it as a despised Samaritan who stops and helps a beating victim on the Jericho Road. A widow who drops her two small coins in the collection box. A despised tax collector who cried out: “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” In short, a winner in God’s eyes is one who feeds the hungry, houses the homeless, tends to the sick, and visits the imprisoned.
And who are the losers? The religious leader who cries out, “I thank You Lord that I am not like that tax collector.” The rich man who paid no attention to that loser Lazarus on his doorstep. The prominent people who seek the best seats at the table. And, yes, there is our rich young man. He, too, is a loser in the eyes of God, because he loved his possessions more than he loved the poor. In the economy of the Kingdom of God, they are the losers.
“Good teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?” Jesus looked at him carefully and loved him. And Jesus said, “You are lacking one thing. Go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor. And come, follow me.”
Closing Hymn: #415 Take Up Thy Cross
- “Take up thy cross,” the Savor said, “if thou wouldst My disciple be;
Deny thyself, the world forsake, and humbly follow after me.”
- Take up thy cross, let not its weight fill thy weak spirit with alarm;
His strength shall bear thy spirit up and brace thy heart and nerve thine arm.
- Take up thy cross, nor heed the shame, nor let thy foolish pride rebel;
Thy Lord for thee the cross endured, to save thy soul from death and hell.
- Take up thy cross and follow Christ, nor think till death to lay it down;
For only those who bear the cross may hope to wear the glorious crown.
The blessing: May the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you this week.
