March 13, 2025 • 27 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello friends, welcome back to Grace From my
Home.
I'm Audrey McCracken and I'm soglad you've joined me here
again today.
This week on the podcast, I'mgoing to share with you a
message that I shared at mychurch a few weeks ago.
It's called Seek Jesus and youWill Find Him.
It's a very encouraging messageabout the most important thing
(00:24):
in the world, which is ourrelationship with Jesus Christ
and how only he satisfies.
I hope and pray that it will bea blessing to you this week and
that, if it is a blessing toyou this week, that you would
share it, that you would shareit with a friend, you'd share it
with someone else who you thinkit would encourage.
And I'm excited about somechanges, some things that are
(00:45):
coming up in the next few weeks,and I hope to be able to share
more of that with you as Ifigure it out myself.
So, god bless, have a greatweek, enjoy.
Today I want to share with youfrom the Gospel of Luke.
I'm going to read two parablesfrom the Gospel of Luke.
I'm going to read two parablesor, I'm sorry, one parable and
(01:06):
then two encounters with Jesus.
And if you have your Biblestoday, I want you to turn to
Luke, chapter 18.
And I want to read this.
I'm going to try and make it asshort as possible and I hope
that it is a blessing to you.
I hope you get something out ofit.
But we're going to read aparable Now.
Jesus was teaching his followershow to pray.
(01:29):
He was teaching them how topray and in chapter 18 of Luke
he talks about a Pharisee and apublican and he says in verse 9
of chapter 18 of Luke he saysand he also told this parable to
(01:51):
some of the people who trustedin themselves that they were
righteous and viewed others withcontempt Two men went off into
the temple to pray, one aPharisee and the other a tax
collector.
The Pharisee stood and waspraying this to himself God I
thank you that I am not likeother people swindlers, unjust
(02:14):
adulterers and even like thistax collector.
I fast twice a week, I paytithes and all that I get.
But the tax collector, standingsome distance away, was even
unwilling to lift up his eyes toheaven, but was beating his
breast saying God, be mercifulto me, the sinner.
(02:35):
I tell you this man went to hishouse justified rather than the
other, for everyone who exaltshimself will be humbled, but he
who humbles himself will beexalted.
Amen.
And don't you love the way Jesus?
He shows the picture so clearly.
You know, he juxtaposes twopeople, two different people
(02:56):
with two different hearts andtwo different lives, and it's
never like we think it should beor would be.
Right, right, and it's aparable.
You know it's a parable.
He's given examples.
But the man who was thePharisee, who had it all
together, I love it that he'sthanking the Lord for himself.
(03:16):
Lord, thank you for me.
I just thank you.
I'm so good.
I just thank you that I'mwonderful.
Lord.
I thank you that I've got itall together.
I'm not like other men and I'mnot like this tax collector, and
so he's praying to the Lord,but his eyes are on the tax
collector, amen.
Because he's judging himselfnot by God and what God wants
(03:40):
and what God requires, but he'sjudging himself by other people.
And as long as he's doingbetter than the next guy, he's
doing okay, amen.
He feels good about where he is, he feels good about his
standing with the Lord, becauseat least I'm not like that guy,
right?
And so he feels good abouthimself.
I'm fasting twice a week.
I'm, you know, I'm doing, I'm,I'm, I'm hitting it, you know
(04:01):
I'm getting it, and he feelsgood about himself.
But the tax collector, he won'teven look up.
He won't even look up.
He knows who he is, he knowshe's not worthy.
He says, lord, have mercy on me.
Such a simple, short prayer,but it gets through.
Amen, it gets through.
(04:22):
It's the simple, short prayersthat get through.
Amen, it gets through.
It's the simple, short prayersthat get through.
Amen, because he didn't havehis eyes on everybody else.
He's got his eyes on the Lordand when you put your eyes on
the Lord, it's very obvious who.
You are right, you can't fakeit.
When you've got your eyes onJesus, amen.
(04:44):
And then, shortly after this, hehas an encounter.
Jesus has an encounter withsomebody who's seeking, with
somebody who's seeking andeverybody in here, I dare say,
knows this story but it's withthe rich, young ruler.
So if you skip down just alittle bit in chapter 18, verse
(05:04):
18, it says here a little bit.
In chapter 18, verse 18, itsays here a ruler questioned him
, saying good teacher, whatshall I do to inherit eternal
life?
And Jesus said to him why doyou call me good?
No one is good except God alone.
You know the commandments Donot commit adultery, do not
(05:28):
murder, do not steal, do notbear false witness, honor your
father and mother.
And he said all these things Ihave done since my youth.
And Jesus heard this.
He said to him one thing youstill lack.
Sell all that you possess,distribute it to the poor, and
you shall have treasure inheaven and come and follow me.
(05:48):
But when he had heard thesethings, he became very sad, for
he was extremely rich.
And Jesus looked at him andsaid how hard is it for those
who are wealthy to enter intothe kingdom of God?
For it is easier for a camel togo through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enterinto the kingdom of God.
For it is easier for a camel togo through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enterinto the kingdom of God.
And they all heard it and theysaid well, who can be saved then
(06:10):
?
But he said the things that areimpossible with people are
possible with God, amen.
And so this young man, rich man,he comes to Jesus.
He knows there's somethingmissing.
He knows there's somethingmissing.
Lord Jesus, what can I do toinherit eternal life?
(06:32):
He believes in eternal life,right?
So there's at least there's abelief there that there's more.
What can I do to inherit or toget to secure this eternal life?
I've got everything else.
Now how do I get this?
How do I get this?
And Jesus knows right where togo.
Jesus knows exactly where toput his finger right In all of
(06:54):
our lives.
He knows exactly where to puthis finger and he puts his
finger on the one thing thatthis young man was not willing
to part with, and that was hiswealth.
That this young man was notwilling to part with, and that
was his wealth, the one thing.
And he was sad because he waswealthy.
Amen, if it could have justbeen one more.
Anything else, lord, anythingelse we could have had a deal
(07:15):
right.
But no, I'm not letting go ofthis.
And Jesus said so all you haveand come and follow me.
Do you know?
Jesus only said that to hisdisciples.
Yes, he only said that to hisdisciples.
He was calling this man tofollow him, to be close to him,
(07:37):
amen.
But he went away, sad because Ican't let go of that.
No, lord, not that, not that.
And then, if you read on alittle bit and I wasn't planning
on mentioning this, but I thinkit's so good I hate not to
touch on it.
You know, his disciples arethere and they hear it.
And he says you know, no man,no rich man.
(07:57):
It's hard for a rich man to getinto the kingdom, but it's
possible, right?
And then this man wouldn't letgo of the things that were most
important to him.
And then Peter because Peter'salways saying what everybody
else is thinking, right, he'sthe one that's not afraid to ask
Jesus the tough things.
And he says in verse 28, andPeter said Behold, we have left
(08:24):
our homes and followed you,peter's, like we gave it all up.
Maybe they didn't have as muchas this rich man, but we gave it
up.
Lord, what about us?
And Jesus said Truly I say toyou that there is no one who has
left house or wife or brothersor parents or children for my
(08:44):
sake, for the sake of thekingdom of God, who will not
receive, many times as much atthis time or in this age and in
the age to come, eternal life.
So the rich young ruler isasking about how do I get
eternal life?
You know, I've collected allthis stuff, I've got it all.
(09:05):
How do I get eternal life.
That's the one thing I justhadn't quite got to yet.
How do I get that?
And Jesus tells him how to getit and he turns away because it
costs too much.
And Peter and his disciples arestanding there and they've given
up everything.
Lord, what about us?
We gave up everything and Jesussaid you will be rewarded in
(09:29):
this life and in the life tocome.
You will get what the rich mancould not afford, amen, or would
not pay for.
You will get eternal life.
Guys, there's nothing thatyou've given up in this world
that Jesus is not taking accountof.
He sees everything and he keepsaccount, and there's nothing
(09:53):
that you've given up that hewill not reward you for in this
life and in the next to come.
Amen, amen.
Our treasure is in heaven.
We are saving up treasure inheaven and we need to be
reminded of that, because thisworld does not remind us of that
.
The world calls us fools.
The world says you're a worldsays you're a fool.
(10:14):
You're a fool.
Why would you give all that upFor religion?
Why would you give that up ForGod?
And Jesus is saying don't losehope.
There is a reward for those whochoose me, amen.
There is a reward for those whochoose me.
But then he has anotherencounter.
Okay, luke 19.
(10:35):
In my Bible I just got to flipthe page Luke 19,.
He has another encounter, andthis time I know you know this
one too Chapter 19,.
Starting in verse 1, it says hemeaning Jesus.
He entered Jericho and he waspassing through and there was a
man by the name of Zacchaeus andhe was a chief tax collector
(11:00):
and he was rich.
Now Zacchaeus was trying to seewho Jesus was, but he was
unable because of the crowd, forhe was a man small in stature,
he was short.
For he was a man small instature, he was short.
So he ran ahead and he climbedup a sycamore tree in order to
see him, for he was about topass through that way.
(11:22):
When Jesus came to the place, helooked up and he said to him
Zacchaeus, hurry, come down, fortoday I must stay at your house
.
And he hurried and he came downand he received him gladly.
And when he saw it and whenthey saw it let me start over
and when they saw it, they allbegan to grumble, saying he has
(11:45):
gone to be the guest of a manwho is a sinner.
And Zacchaeus stopped and hesaid to the Lord behold, lord,
half of all my possessions Iwill give to the poor, and if I
have defrauded anyone ofanything, I will give back four
times as much.
And Jesus said to him todaysalvation has come to this house
because he too is a son ofAbraham, for the son of man has
(12:09):
come to seek and to save thatwhich was lost, amen.
So we got another rich man.
We got another rich man, amen.
And Jesus said it is possible,right, it is possible for rich
men to enter the kingdom.
Well, here's Zacchaeus, he's arich man.
(12:30):
It is possible for a rich manto enter the kingdom.
Well, here's Zacchaeus, he's arich man.
What's the difference?
The Pharisee, just like in theparable, the Pharisee, was very
proud of himself.
(12:50):
He didn't see himself as asinner, he didn't know his
greatest need.
Zacchaeus had the money, but heknew it didn't satisfy.
Amen.
See, the rich young ruler wasthat Pharisee who stood there
and said Thank you for me.
Thank you that I'm awesome.
(13:12):
Lord, you made me awesome.
Thank you, I'm not like othermen.
See, the rich young ruler waslooking for a theological
discussion.
I've kept all the commandmentssince my birth.
(13:34):
Now, rabbi, you show me thetrick.
What's the trick?
How do I get this eternal life?
Show me the trick, lord Jesus.
Show me how do I figure thisthing out?
I've got everything elsefigured out.
Now how do I figure this out?
And Jesus puts his finger on theone thing he won't let go of.
See, he was looking forinformation.
(13:58):
He wasn't looking for Jesus.
Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus.
See, we find what we look for.
If we're looking for Jesus, wewill find him.
Amen, if you're looking forJesus, if you're seeking Jesus,
(14:19):
you will find him.
But you got to seek him andZacchaeus was looking for Jesus
and Jesus didn't have to tellhim to let go of his stuff.
Jesus didn't have to tellZacchaeus to let go of his stuff
.
Zacchaeus willingly said Lord,here you go, here you go.
And see, people were criticalwhy would you eat with a sinner?
(14:41):
Why would you eat with a sinner?
Because you're all sinners.
And he's the one who realizesit.
Amen, he's the one who knows it, he's the one.
Those who are well do not needa physician.
And he realizes he needs aphysician.
And I meet that need.
Amen, isn't that good?
(15:02):
Isn't that good?
See, the rich, young ruler.
He just wanted to have aninteraction, an exchange of
information, of ideas.
Zacchaeus brought this man intohis home.
Zacchaeus had fellowship withJesus.
See, when we bring Jesus close,when we get close with him,
(15:28):
when we really listen, when wereally find out what's on his
heart, when we really find outwho he is, nothing else really
has that pull on us anymore.
We can let go of these thingsthat we've been holding on to.
That we think give us ouridentity, we think gives us
(15:52):
security, we think it makes uswho we are.
So we hold on to those thingsso tightly.
Because who is the rich youngruler if he's no longer rich and
he's no longer ruling?
Who is he?
He's nobody.
See, he's identified as therich young ruler.
Take away his money, take awayhis position.
(16:14):
He's nobody.
And see he was in love withhimself.
So how's he going If he givesthat up?
Who is he?
See, we have to decide to beidentified in Christ.
We have to decide that Jesus ismy identity.
We have to decide that.
You know what?
I trust him with all the stuff.
(16:36):
I trust him with all theposition.
I trust him with all the power.
I trust him he's not going tolet me down, amen.
And the fellowship is where thetransfer happens.
See, it's the fellowship iswhere the transfer happens.
When he comes in and he abideswith me and I abide with him and
I get to know him and I realizehe's the prize, he's the pearl
(16:58):
Amen, he's the pearl of greatprice.
He's worth it all.
When I fall in love with him,then the stuff he loses it's
hold on me Amen.
It doesn't represent my veryidentity, it doesn't represent
my security in this world Amen.
I put my trust in Jesus and hewon't let me down.
(17:22):
I put my trust in Jesus and hewon't let me down.
I put my trust in Jesus and Iget eternal life.
But what good is eternal lifeunless I'm spending it with
Jesus?
See, guys, we got to fall inlove again and again and again
and again.
We got to fall in love or itbecomes a drudgery Amen, it
(17:46):
becomes a drudgery.
I was reading something I'vebeen.
I was reading this book thisweek about marriage and I've
been studying about that becauseI've been teaching some of it
on my podcast and it wassomething I read and I thought
(18:07):
oh, that's good.
It said without love, withoutintimacy, without closeness,
marriage is just a businesstransaction.
Amen.
It's just figuring out who'sgoing to watch the kids, I mean,
it's just figuring out who'sgoing to pay the bills.
It's just figuring out.
You know, it's just a businesstransaction, unless there's love
(18:28):
in there.
I mean, that's why you gotmarried in the first place,
hopefully, right when that goes,it's just business, it's dry.
And that's how it is withserving Jesus.
Without the love, withoutfalling in love with him, over
and over and over and over againRemember that song.
Without falling in love withhim, it's just a business
(18:52):
transaction, it's a drudgery.
It's like, oh, I've got to dothis again.
Oh, I've got to go to churchagain.
Oh, it's raining outside Amen.
But when he's in there amen,like Michael said this morning
when the oil is still in thereand the fire is still going,
then I'm drawn to him, I'mattracted to him, and the things
(19:14):
of this world will growstrangely dim in the light of
his glory and grace.
Amen.
And he's so good that I want togive him to other people.
So that's when Jesus is good.
He's when you want to give himto somebody else, when you found
the way, when you found thething and you want to give it
(19:36):
out.
That's when it's, that's whenit's good.
That's when it's good.
That's when it's good.
It's like oh, I found thisthing.
You've got to see what I found.
It's so good and it's theanswer to all of the questions.
And it's so good.
Amen, isn't he good?
He loves you.
Amen, he loves me.
(19:59):
It's not a business transaction.
It's not void of feeling andemotion.
It's not about the rules on thewall and making sure you do it
all right so you can get intoheaven.
Amen.
It's about the one who gaveeverything for you.
It's about the one who said Iwill be associated with those
(20:19):
that are called sinners.
Jesus wasn't afraid to beassociated with the sinners.
It says he became sin that wecould become the righteousness
of God.
It says he stooped down to pullus up, and that's His heart.
Amen.
And when we know that we're thesinner, it makes it so much
(20:41):
easier.
Amen.
When we know we're the sinner,it makes it so much easier.
Amen, when we know we're thesinner.
And the best way to know we'rethe sinner is to look to Jesus.
Okay, see, when we look at eachother and we compare ourselves
to each other, especially tothose who aren't trying I mean,
especially to those who aren'teven trying to serve Jesus.
And we look at them and wethink, well, I'm all right, I'm
(21:01):
okay, I'm doing all right.
You know I'm not doing that.
No wonder what she does.
See, that's what the Phariseedid.
He said I'm doing okay, I'mdoing okay.
But see, when we put our eyeson Jesus, we know we'll never
measure up.
And that's a wonderful place tobe.
That's a wonderful place to bewhen you come to the realization
(21:23):
that I am never going to dothis.
See, the rich, young ruler cameto Jesus and said what can I do
for eternal life?
He said, jesus, what can I do?
There's nothing he could do.
There was nothing he could do.
See, he'd always done it, I'dalways done it, I always done it
, I always did it myself.
I'll do this thing, I'll figurethis thing out.
(21:44):
There's nothing you can do toget close to Jesus, but just
come to him and say here I amLord.
There's nothing you can do toinherit eternal life, but to
receive what he's already done.
Amen, there's nothing we can do.
And I've got to fall in lovewith Him.
(22:04):
My love's been waning.
My love's been waning.
It's been a transactionrelationship, amen.
Prayer is not like the ATM,right, the ATM you put your card
in, you put your code in, youput in how much you want and you
get it out right, that's atransaction.
Today I need this.
I'm going to go to God.
I transaction.
(22:28):
I'm just going to put today Ineed this.
I'm going to go to God, I'mgoing to pray, I'm going to put
in my code, the magic code.
Right, I know the right words.
I put in my code and then I'lltell him what I need and he'll
give me that.
It's a transaction, right.
No, it's a relationship.
And when it becomes atransaction, it gets really
complicated, amen.
Because then we start thinkingwe deserve the things, because
we've done the right things, andit's you never deserve the
things.
(22:48):
Amen.
It's always grace, it's allgrace, it's always grace.
And that good.
You know, when I, when I came tothe Lord and I gave the Lord my
heart, I had never known lovelike that, didn't know it was
possible, didn't know it existed.
When I met Jesus, I found lovelike I had never known, melted
(23:11):
all of the other stuff away.
Oh, my goodness, is this real?
This is too good to be true.
It costs you everything.
You can have it, but it costsyou everything.
But if you it, but it costs youeverything.
But if you spend some time withthem, you realize you got a
deal.
Amen.
The rich young ruler didn't knowthe prize.
(23:33):
See, he was in transaction mode.
You tell me what I can do andI'll earn it, and then I'll have
eternal life with all my riches, everything else I've collected
.
That'll be the main thing,right?
Jesus said no, it don't workthat way.
Don't work that way.
I hope that it's something thatyou can chew on this week.
I hope that it's something thatyou can meditate on this week.
(23:56):
Amen, I hope that you'll getalong with Jesus and say Lord, I
don't want it to be atransaction anymore.
Amen, I don't want it to be atransaction anymore.
I want to really know you, lord.
We just thank you that, lord,your grace is enough.
(24:18):
Lord, jesus, your grace isenough.
Lord, there's nothing we can doto earn your love.
There's nothing we can do toearn eternal life, lord.
And we ask you to draw us near,lord.
We ask you to help us to fallin love with you over and over
(24:42):
again.
God, show us how to keep thefire burning, burning, burning.
Lord.
Show us how.
In Jesus' name.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Hello friends, welcome back to Grace From my
Home.
I'm Audrey McCracken and I'm soglad you've joined me here
again today.
This week on the podcast, I'mgoing to share with you a
message that I shared at mychurch a few weeks ago.
It's called Seek Jesus and youWill Find Him.
It's a very encouraging messageabout the most important thing
(00:24):
in the world, which is ourrelationship with Jesus Christ
and how only he satisfies.
I hope and pray that it will bea blessing to you this week and
that, if it is a blessing toyou this week, that you would
share it, that you would shareit with a friend, you'd share it
with someone else who you thinkit would encourage.
And I'm excited about somechanges, some things that are
(00:45):
coming up in the next few weeks,and I hope to be able to share
more of that with you as Ifigure it out myself.
So, god bless, have a greatweek, enjoy.
Today I want to share with youfrom the Gospel of Luke.
I'm going to read two parablesfrom the Gospel of Luke.
I'm going to read two parablesor, I'm sorry, one parable and
(01:06):
then two encounters with Jesus.
And if you have your Biblestoday, I want you to turn to
Luke, chapter 18.
And I want to read this.
I'm going to try and make it asshort as possible and I hope
that it is a blessing to you.
I hope you get something out ofit.
But we're going to read aparable Now.
Jesus was teaching his followershow to pray.
(01:29):
He was teaching them how topray and in chapter 18 of Luke
he talks about a Pharisee and apublican and he says in verse 9
of chapter 18 of Luke he saysand he also told this parable to
(01:51):
some of the people who trustedin themselves that they were
righteous and viewed others withcontempt Two men went off into
the temple to pray, one aPharisee and the other a tax
collector.
The Pharisee stood and waspraying this to himself God I
thank you that I am not likeother people swindlers, unjust
(02:14):
adulterers and even like thistax collector.
I fast twice a week, I paytithes and all that I get.
But the tax collector, standingsome distance away, was even
unwilling to lift up his eyes toheaven, but was beating his
breast saying God, be mercifulto me, the sinner.
(02:35):
I tell you this man went to hishouse justified rather than the
other, for everyone who exaltshimself will be humbled, but he
who humbles himself will beexalted.
Amen.
And don't you love the way Jesus?
He shows the picture so clearly.
You know, he juxtaposes twopeople, two different people
(02:56):
with two different hearts andtwo different lives, and it's
never like we think it should beor would be.
Right, right, and it's aparable.
You know it's a parable.
He's given examples.
But the man who was thePharisee, who had it all
together, I love it that he'sthanking the Lord for himself.
(03:16):
Lord, thank you for me.
I just thank you.
I'm so good.
I just thank you that I'mwonderful.
Lord.
I thank you that I've got itall together.
I'm not like other men and I'mnot like this tax collector, and
so he's praying to the Lord,but his eyes are on the tax
collector, amen.
Because he's judging himselfnot by God and what God wants
(03:40):
and what God requires, but he'sjudging himself by other people.
And as long as he's doingbetter than the next guy, he's
doing okay, amen.
He feels good about where he is, he feels good about his
standing with the Lord, becauseat least I'm not like that guy,
right?
And so he feels good abouthimself.
I'm fasting twice a week.
I'm, you know, I'm doing, I'm,I'm, I'm hitting it, you know
(04:01):
I'm getting it, and he feelsgood about himself.
But the tax collector, he won'teven look up.
He won't even look up.
He knows who he is, he knowshe's not worthy.
He says, lord, have mercy on me.
Such a simple, short prayer,but it gets through.
Amen, it gets through.
(04:22):
It's the simple, short prayersthat get through.
Amen, it gets through.
It's the simple, short prayersthat get through.
Amen, because he didn't havehis eyes on everybody else.
He's got his eyes on the Lordand when you put your eyes on
the Lord, it's very obvious who.
You are right, you can't fakeit.
When you've got your eyes onJesus, amen.
(04:44):
And then, shortly after this, hehas an encounter.
Jesus has an encounter withsomebody who's seeking, with
somebody who's seeking andeverybody in here, I dare say,
knows this story but it's withthe rich, young ruler.
So if you skip down just alittle bit in chapter 18, verse
(05:04):
18, it says here a little bit.
In chapter 18, verse 18, itsays here a ruler questioned him
, saying good teacher, whatshall I do to inherit eternal
life?
And Jesus said to him why doyou call me good?
No one is good except God alone.
You know the commandments Donot commit adultery, do not
(05:28):
murder, do not steal, do notbear false witness, honor your
father and mother.
And he said all these things Ihave done since my youth.
And Jesus heard this.
He said to him one thing youstill lack.
Sell all that you possess,distribute it to the poor, and
you shall have treasure inheaven and come and follow me.
(05:48):
But when he had heard thesethings, he became very sad, for
he was extremely rich.
And Jesus looked at him andsaid how hard is it for those
who are wealthy to enter intothe kingdom of God?
For it is easier for a camel togo through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enterinto the kingdom of God.
For it is easier for a camel togo through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enterinto the kingdom of God.
And they all heard it and theysaid well, who can be saved then
(06:10):
?
But he said the things that areimpossible with people are
possible with God, amen.
And so this young man, rich man,he comes to Jesus.
He knows there's somethingmissing.
He knows there's somethingmissing.
Lord Jesus, what can I do toinherit eternal life?
(06:32):
He believes in eternal life,right?
So there's at least there's abelief there that there's more.
What can I do to inherit or toget to secure this eternal life?
I've got everything else.
Now how do I get this?
How do I get this?
And Jesus knows right where togo.
Jesus knows exactly where toput his finger right In all of
(06:54):
our lives.
He knows exactly where to puthis finger and he puts his
finger on the one thing thatthis young man was not willing
to part with, and that was hiswealth.
That this young man was notwilling to part with, and that
was his wealth, the one thing.
And he was sad because he waswealthy.
Amen, if it could have justbeen one more.
Anything else, lord, anythingelse we could have had a deal
(07:15):
right.
But no, I'm not letting go ofthis.
And Jesus said so all you haveand come and follow me.
Do you know?
Jesus only said that to hisdisciples.
Yes, he only said that to hisdisciples.
He was calling this man tofollow him, to be close to him,
(07:37):
amen.
But he went away, sad because Ican't let go of that.
No, lord, not that, not that.
And then, if you read on alittle bit and I wasn't planning
on mentioning this, but I thinkit's so good I hate not to
touch on it.
You know, his disciples arethere and they hear it.
And he says you know, no man,no rich man.
(07:57):
It's hard for a rich man to getinto the kingdom, but it's
possible, right?
And then this man wouldn't letgo of the things that were most
important to him.
And then Peter because Peter'salways saying what everybody
else is thinking, right, he'sthe one that's not afraid to ask
Jesus the tough things.
And he says in verse 28, andPeter said Behold, we have left
(08:24):
our homes and followed you,peter's, like we gave it all up.
Maybe they didn't have as muchas this rich man, but we gave it
up.
Lord, what about us?
And Jesus said Truly I say toyou that there is no one who has
left house or wife or brothersor parents or children for my
(08:44):
sake, for the sake of thekingdom of God, who will not
receive, many times as much atthis time or in this age and in
the age to come, eternal life.
So the rich young ruler isasking about how do I get
eternal life?
You know, I've collected allthis stuff, I've got it all.
(09:05):
How do I get eternal life.
That's the one thing I justhadn't quite got to yet.
How do I get that?
And Jesus tells him how to getit and he turns away because it
costs too much.
And Peter and his disciples arestanding there and they've given
up everything.
Lord, what about us?
We gave up everything and Jesussaid you will be rewarded in
(09:29):
this life and in the life tocome.
You will get what the rich mancould not afford, amen, or would
not pay for.
You will get eternal life.
Guys, there's nothing thatyou've given up in this world
that Jesus is not taking accountof.
He sees everything and he keepsaccount, and there's nothing
(09:53):
that you've given up that hewill not reward you for in this
life and in the next to come.
Amen, amen.
Our treasure is in heaven.
We are saving up treasure inheaven and we need to be
reminded of that, because thisworld does not remind us of that
.
The world calls us fools.
The world says you're a worldsays you're a fool.
(10:14):
You're a fool.
Why would you give all that upFor religion?
Why would you give that up ForGod?
And Jesus is saying don't losehope.
There is a reward for those whochoose me, amen.
There is a reward for those whochoose me.
But then he has anotherencounter.
Okay, luke 19.
(10:35):
In my Bible I just got to flipthe page Luke 19,.
He has another encounter, andthis time I know you know this
one too Chapter 19,.
Starting in verse 1, it says hemeaning Jesus.
He entered Jericho and he waspassing through and there was a
man by the name of Zacchaeus andhe was a chief tax collector
(11:00):
and he was rich.
Now Zacchaeus was trying to seewho Jesus was, but he was
unable because of the crowd, forhe was a man small in stature,
he was short.
For he was a man small instature, he was short.
So he ran ahead and he climbedup a sycamore tree in order to
see him, for he was about topass through that way.
(11:22):
When Jesus came to the place, helooked up and he said to him
Zacchaeus, hurry, come down, fortoday I must stay at your house
.
And he hurried and he came downand he received him gladly.
And when he saw it and whenthey saw it let me start over
and when they saw it, they allbegan to grumble, saying he has
(11:45):
gone to be the guest of a manwho is a sinner.
And Zacchaeus stopped and hesaid to the Lord behold, lord,
half of all my possessions Iwill give to the poor, and if I
have defrauded anyone ofanything, I will give back four
times as much.
And Jesus said to him todaysalvation has come to this house
because he too is a son ofAbraham, for the son of man has
(12:09):
come to seek and to save thatwhich was lost, amen.
So we got another rich man.
We got another rich man, amen.
And Jesus said it is possible,right, it is possible for rich
men to enter the kingdom.
Well, here's Zacchaeus, he's arich man.
(12:30):
It is possible for a rich manto enter the kingdom.
Well, here's Zacchaeus, he's arich man.
What's the difference?
The Pharisee, just like in theparable, the Pharisee, was very
proud of himself.
(12:50):
He didn't see himself as asinner, he didn't know his
greatest need.
Zacchaeus had the money, but heknew it didn't satisfy.
Amen.
See, the rich young ruler wasthat Pharisee who stood there
and said Thank you for me.
Thank you that I'm awesome.
(13:12):
Lord, you made me awesome.
Thank you, I'm not like othermen.
See, the rich young ruler waslooking for a theological
discussion.
I've kept all the commandmentssince my birth.
(13:34):
Now, rabbi, you show me thetrick.
What's the trick?
How do I get this eternal life?
Show me the trick, lord Jesus.
Show me how do I figure thisthing out?
I've got everything elsefigured out.
Now how do I figure this out?
And Jesus puts his finger on theone thing he won't let go of.
See, he was looking forinformation.
(13:58):
He wasn't looking for Jesus.
Zacchaeus was looking for Jesus.
See, we find what we look for.
If we're looking for Jesus, wewill find him.
Amen, if you're looking forJesus, if you're seeking Jesus,
(14:19):
you will find him.
But you got to seek him andZacchaeus was looking for Jesus
and Jesus didn't have to tellhim to let go of his stuff.
Jesus didn't have to tellZacchaeus to let go of his stuff
.
Zacchaeus willingly said Lord,here you go, here you go.
And see, people were criticalwhy would you eat with a sinner?
(14:41):
Why would you eat with a sinner?
Because you're all sinners.
And he's the one who realizesit.
Amen, he's the one who knows it, he's the one.
Those who are well do not needa physician.
And he realizes he needs aphysician.
And I meet that need.
Amen, isn't that good?
(15:02):
Isn't that good?
See, the rich, young ruler.
He just wanted to have aninteraction, an exchange of
information, of ideas.
Zacchaeus brought this man intohis home.
Zacchaeus had fellowship withJesus.
See, when we bring Jesus close,when we get close with him,
(15:28):
when we really listen, when wereally find out what's on his
heart, when we really find outwho he is, nothing else really
has that pull on us anymore.
We can let go of these thingsthat we've been holding on to.
That we think give us ouridentity, we think gives us
(15:52):
security, we think it makes uswho we are.
So we hold on to those thingsso tightly.
Because who is the rich youngruler if he's no longer rich and
he's no longer ruling?
Who is he?
He's nobody.
See, he's identified as therich young ruler.
Take away his money, take awayhis position.
(16:14):
He's nobody.
And see he was in love withhimself.
So how's he going If he givesthat up?
Who is he?
See, we have to decide to beidentified in Christ.
We have to decide that Jesus ismy identity.
We have to decide that.
You know what?
I trust him with all the stuff.
(16:36):
I trust him with all theposition.
I trust him with all the power.
I trust him he's not going tolet me down, amen.
And the fellowship is where thetransfer happens.
See, it's the fellowship iswhere the transfer happens.
When he comes in and he abideswith me and I abide with him and
I get to know him and I realizehe's the prize, he's the pearl
(16:58):
Amen, he's the pearl of greatprice.
He's worth it all.
When I fall in love with him,then the stuff he loses it's
hold on me Amen.
It doesn't represent my veryidentity, it doesn't represent
my security in this world Amen.
I put my trust in Jesus and hewon't let me down.
(17:22):
I put my trust in Jesus and hewon't let me down.
I put my trust in Jesus and Iget eternal life.
But what good is eternal lifeunless I'm spending it with
Jesus?
See, guys, we got to fall inlove again and again and again
and again.
We got to fall in love or itbecomes a drudgery Amen, it
(17:46):
becomes a drudgery.
I was reading something I'vebeen.
I was reading this book thisweek about marriage and I've
been studying about that becauseI've been teaching some of it
on my podcast and it wassomething I read and I thought
(18:07):
oh, that's good.
It said without love, withoutintimacy, without closeness,
marriage is just a businesstransaction.
Amen.
It's just figuring out who'sgoing to watch the kids, I mean,
it's just figuring out who'sgoing to pay the bills.
It's just figuring out.
You know, it's just a businesstransaction, unless there's love
(18:28):
in there.
I mean, that's why you gotmarried in the first place,
hopefully, right when that goes,it's just business, it's dry.
And that's how it is withserving Jesus.
Without the love, withoutfalling in love with him, over
and over and over and over againRemember that song.
Without falling in love withhim, it's just a business
(18:52):
transaction, it's a drudgery.
It's like, oh, I've got to dothis again.
Oh, I've got to go to churchagain.
Oh, it's raining outside Amen.
But when he's in there amen,like Michael said this morning
when the oil is still in thereand the fire is still going,
then I'm drawn to him, I'mattracted to him, and the things
(19:14):
of this world will growstrangely dim in the light of
his glory and grace.
Amen.
And he's so good that I want togive him to other people.
So that's when Jesus is good.
He's when you want to give himto somebody else, when you found
the way, when you found thething and you want to give it
(19:36):
out.
That's when it's, that's whenit's good.
That's when it's good.
That's when it's good.
It's like oh, I found thisthing.
You've got to see what I found.
It's so good and it's theanswer to all of the questions.
And it's so good.
Amen, isn't he good?
He loves you.
Amen, he loves me.
(19:59):
It's not a business transaction.
It's not void of feeling andemotion.
It's not about the rules on thewall and making sure you do it
all right so you can get intoheaven.
Amen.
It's about the one who gaveeverything for you.
It's about the one who said Iwill be associated with those
(20:19):
that are called sinners.
Jesus wasn't afraid to beassociated with the sinners.
It says he became sin that wecould become the righteousness
of God.
It says he stooped down to pullus up, and that's His heart.
Amen.
And when we know that we're thesinner, it makes it so much
(20:41):
easier.
Amen.
When we know we're the sinner,it makes it so much easier.
Amen, when we know we're thesinner.
And the best way to know we'rethe sinner is to look to Jesus.
Okay, see, when we look at eachother and we compare ourselves
to each other, especially tothose who aren't trying I mean,
especially to those who aren'teven trying to serve Jesus.
And we look at them and wethink, well, I'm all right, I'm
(21:01):
okay, I'm doing all right.
You know I'm not doing that.
No wonder what she does.
See, that's what the Phariseedid.
He said I'm doing okay, I'mdoing okay.
But see, when we put our eyeson Jesus, we know we'll never
measure up.
And that's a wonderful place tobe.
That's a wonderful place to bewhen you come to the realization
(21:23):
that I am never going to dothis.
See, the rich, young ruler cameto Jesus and said what can I do
for eternal life?
He said, jesus, what can I do?
There's nothing he could do.
There was nothing he could do.
See, he'd always done it, I'dalways done it, I always done it
, I always did it myself.
I'll do this thing, I'll figurethis thing out.
(21:44):
There's nothing you can do toget close to Jesus, but just
come to him and say here I amLord.
There's nothing you can do toinherit eternal life, but to
receive what he's already done.
Amen, there's nothing we can do.
And I've got to fall in lovewith Him.
(22:04):
My love's been waning.
My love's been waning.
It's been a transactionrelationship, amen.
Prayer is not like the ATM,right, the ATM you put your card
in, you put your code in, youput in how much you want and you
get it out right, that's atransaction.
Today I need this.
I'm going to go to God.
I transaction.
(22:28):
I'm just going to put today Ineed this.
I'm going to go to God, I'mgoing to pray, I'm going to put
in my code, the magic code.
Right, I know the right words.
I put in my code and then I'lltell him what I need and he'll
give me that.
It's a transaction, right.
No, it's a relationship.
And when it becomes atransaction, it gets really
complicated, amen.
Because then we start thinkingwe deserve the things, because
we've done the right things, andit's you never deserve the
things.
(22:48):
Amen.
It's always grace, it's allgrace, it's always grace.
And that good.
You know, when I, when I came tothe Lord and I gave the Lord my
heart, I had never known lovelike that, didn't know it was
possible, didn't know it existed.
When I met Jesus, I found lovelike I had never known, melted
(23:11):
all of the other stuff away.
Oh, my goodness, is this real?
This is too good to be true.
It costs you everything.
You can have it, but it costsyou everything.
But if you it, but it costs youeverything.
But if you spend some time withthem, you realize you got a
deal.
Amen.
The rich young ruler didn't knowthe prize.
(23:33):
See, he was in transaction mode.
You tell me what I can do andI'll earn it, and then I'll have
eternal life with all my riches, everything else I've collected
.
That'll be the main thing,right?
Jesus said no, it don't workthat way.
Don't work that way.
I hope that it's something thatyou can chew on this week.
I hope that it's something thatyou can meditate on this week.
(23:56):
Amen, I hope that you'll getalong with Jesus and say Lord, I
don't want it to be atransaction anymore.
Amen, I don't want it to be atransaction anymore.
I want to really know you, lord.
We just thank you that, lord,your grace is enough.
(24:18):
Lord, jesus, your grace isenough.
Lord, there's nothing we can doto earn your love.
There's nothing we can do toearn eternal life, lord.
And we ask you to draw us near,lord.
We ask you to help us to fallin love with you over and over
(24:42):
again.
God, show us how to keep thefire burning, burning, burning.
Lord.
Show us how.
In Jesus' name.
In Jesus' name, amen.
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