What Would You Have Me Do Lord?
Matt. 19:16-30
INTRO: What do you want me to do? Have you ever felt that way? Standing around and unsure what to do? Maybe you were in a work detail and you were willing, just waiting for direction! Really for most of us that is not a good place to be.
Wouldn’t it be easier, wouldn’t it be good, if we could just send up a request and find out what Jesus expects form us …and then do it? Today I want to look at a young man that had that very opinion, He approached Christ, asking what he could do!
Matthew 19:16-30 KJV 16And,
behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do,
that I may have eternal life?
17And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is
none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life,
keep the commandments.
18He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder,
Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false
witness,
19Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself.
20The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my
youth up: what lack I yet?
21Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell
that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven:
and come and follow me.
22But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful:
for he had great possessions.
Jesus had an opportunity here to teach the disciples (and ourselves) an important lesson.
23Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto
you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24And again I say unto you, 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.
25When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed,
saying, Who then can be saved?
26But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this
is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
27Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have
forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?
28And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which
have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the
throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve
tribes of Israel.
29And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters,
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall
receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
30But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall
be first.
Just a little side note… Did you catch it? Verse 30. Many things that we think are important will not matter. Yet some of the very things we value least will be great. The very people we put a lot of importance upon will be nothing, yet many people we reject will be important.
Okay, he basically asked the question
Wouldn’t that make it easier? If we could just do something or even a few things and be fine or okay with the Lord.
So we are looking legalistically (a simple list of things) or can we be good enough or does Jesus want us to be changed, different somehow?
Keep the commandments
Our relationship with God and our relationship with man.
In another scripture found in Matthew 22 a lawyer tried to trip Jesus and asked Him which commandment was great. Here is His answer…
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
So, Jesus answered him, not just a simple here it is type of answer, but Jesus gave him something else that he evidently was missing… he framed or summarized the whole Ten Commandments into two things.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image
Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Honour thy father and thy mother.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Thou shalt not covet.
So we have these Ten Commandments, and they all hinge on our relationship with God and our fellowman.
Keep which commandments?
Notice Jesus dealt only with the interpersonal commandments. He evidently had a problem treating others correctly…
Thou shalt do no murder
Thou shalt not commit adultery
Thou shalt not steal
Honour thy father and thy mother
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself
(Summation of all these!) – wait a minute that is not one of the Ten?????
So if we are to do what He wants from us we will be right towards our neighbor! He did not deal with our relationship with God, but with people. Could that mean if we are not right with our fellowman, we are not right with God?
20The young man saith unto him, All these things have I
kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?
I am wondering, how many of you really believe this man had done all these from the time he was a little boy? What about yourself? Do you make the same claim? I have been doing these all my life? Do you? Have you? Have you really kept the Ten Commandments, as God would have you?
Christ wants us to follow Him, thus we need to remove what hinders that.
Jesus cuts to the chase…
Give your riches to the poor?
Friendships
Possessions
Selfishness
Laziness
Unconcerned
Are we saved?
Etc.
Not only should we be willing to eliminate things that prevent our good service, but we should also be… Entrusting God wholly for our substance
We cling to things that will corrode (riches)
We fret over things that we cannot change
We care only about ourselves and what pleases us
Is He calling you today?
Does His word direct you toward a greater service today?
God wants us to be a sharing witness!
Gary Marcum – New Beginnings Church – First used - 081698am