Text: Mark 10:17-31                                                                                     Calvary 101109
Title: “Endless Riches”

French Story
The French have a story about a millionaire in his palace who spent his days counting his gold. Beside the palace was a poor cobbler who spent his days singing as he repaired people's shoes. The joyful singing irritated the rich man. One day he decided to give some gold coins to the cobbler. At first the cobbler was overjoyed, and he took the coins and hid them. But then he would be worried and go back to check if the coins were still there. Then he would be worried in case someone had seen him, and he would move the coins and hide them in another place. During all this, he ceased to sing. Then one day he realized that he had ceased to sing because of the gold coins. He took them back to the rich man and said, "take back your coins and give me back my songs."
[Gerry Pierse, Detachment and Freedom]

Someone said the fraise, “the world is going to hell in a hand basket”, should be changed to “the world is going to hell in a shopping cart.”

We talk about owning and possessing things, but the more attention we give these things, it becomes more true that these things possess us, and own us instead.
Those who say: I live to eat instead of eat to liveJ
Buying things has become for many a constant temptation.

A few chapters before out text for this morning, Jesus gives the parable of the sower where ….
He says that some of these seeds fall among thorns and he explains that these are the people who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing.

Perhaps that is where the rich man in our story this morning fits in.

He is clearly seeking a closer walk with God, abiding by all the commandments, He is even asking all the right questions, but is he willing to be challenged to step beyond the law and into God’s grace?

He asks “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” as Christians isn’t that the ultimate question for us? We believe that this earthly life isn’t all there is, that it doesn’t end when this physical body dies, but that our relationship with God is eternal. And so the question he is asking is in many ways our question as well. And his sincerity in asking is obvious from the description of how he approaches Jesus, he runs and he Kneels. I know you’re thinking so what, just walk down the street and you’ll see grown men in shorts, jogging, and running. But you need to know that these are not common things that you see in the time and age where this story is being told.

Story about my Dad and Jeans:

This man was wealthy, which indicates that he had authority, power, servants, and status in the community, but he was sincere in his request.
My favorite part in this story is in Jesus’ response. It says, “Jesus looked at him, and loved him.”
I picture Jesus moving from answering a general question to focusing his attention
Jesus looks at his particular situation and tells him, “one thing is left” go sell of what you have and give to the poor. It says that when the man heard this, he was shocked and went away grieving, for he had many possessions.

He was censer in his request, but censerity isn’t enough. When the answer challenged him, stretched him, it says he was grieved and walked away.

Many times in our walk of faith, we ask God for his help, we ask God to answer our prayers and respond to our questions. And when God does, we often think that’s not the answer I was hoping for and ask God for a couple more options hoping that one of them doesn’t require us to give up something. We kind of bargain with God.

Jesus looks at his disciples and says, “how hard it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” some manuscripts say “how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God”

The issue is not being rich, it’s trusting in these riches more than trusting in God

Jesus wasn’t asking him or us today to become poor, I don’t want those of us who have money, good health, or status in the community to feel guilty or that you are farther away from God because of these things. Many of those who followed Jesus were rich, they supported the ministry of Jesus, the disciples, and the church in its early years.    *

Jesus was asking him to give, but not because the law required it. but because he wanted too, and because he can.
The law said give 10% so what if you’ve already given that 10% and then came across someone who is hungry, do you help or walk away feeling I’ve done my part, my conscious is clear?

The point that Jesus was trying to make is that our faith is not about a set of rules to follow but rather is a way of life.

Stepping out in faith is difficult and challenging, but only if you’re relying on your own strength.

The disciples question “who then can be saved?”
Jesus said “for mortals it is impossible but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

Most of you know the song “Only by Grace” it says, “only by grace can we enter, only by grace can we stand, not by our human endeavor but by the blood of the lamb.”

It is by the grace, love and compassion of God shown to us in Jesus Christ that we are able receive eternal life. And when we take that step of faith, God gives us more than we can ever imagine.

Peter turns to Jesus and says, we have given up everything to follow you as if to say we have nothing left. And Jesus says,
“Truly, I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age – houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields, whit persecutions – and in the age to come, eternal life.”

Tony’s story at the Men’s retreat: about his father and brother in law, and the friends from the old and new church he served being now his family.

God gives us endless riches, God provides for our needs. We don’t often see them because we are either looking in the wrong place or we’re looking for the wrong things.

We lack trust and faith, and if we can only rely on these things we will see that God gives his children more than we can ever imagine.

We each have to ask ourselves every day, is our God the God of everything, or is he the God of particular things and there are things that are out of Gods reach?
And if your answer is that he is a God of everything, and there is nothing out of his reach, then no matter what is happening, no matter what the outcome is, we have to trust God with EVERYTHING our health, our finances, our relationships no matter what the outcome may be. Trusting and having faith in God’s presence, in God’s love in God’s mercy.

I want to end with this thought, if you still don’t believe that God does provide. Look around this sanctuary, go ahead, …. You are looking at one of the ways that God provides each of us with endless riches.

For the early Church and for us this morning, the key in Christianity lies in this new community, the family that is gathered around Jesus Christ.

If you are an only child, look around, in Christ you have been given many brothers and sisters.
If you don’t have any children, look around, or walk into the Sunday school room at 10 sometimes, in Christ you have been given many children.
If you feel like a stranger or alone, look around, in Christ you have been given many friends.

Friends we have been given the privilege of being called children of God. and with that, by the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we have inherited endless riches not only for eternity but also in this life, through the family of Christ.      Amen.