Transcript
Speaker: Good morning. Would you turn with me to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18. Luke
Speaker: um chapter 18 verses 18 through 30 is known as the encounter that Jesus had with the rich young ruler.
Speaker: Or maybe we should say the rich young ruler had an encounter with Jesus. But you know, his he had an opportunity that he turned away from. And maybe in your outreach to other people, maybe to family, maybe to neighbors, coworkers, people at school, you've tried to reach out and yet it didn't end well.
Speaker: I just wanted you to know that Jesus knows how that feels. And also Paul knows how that failed felt. And John and all the others, Peter and so forth. First John chapter two, verses 15 through 17, tells us part of the problem is the world.
Speaker: The world wants to influence people away from Jesus, and we're turning toward Jesus. And so John said in 1 John 2, 15 through 17, do not love the world or anything in the world.
Speaker: If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. Even the Apostle Paul wrote something similar in Romans 12 verse 2. He said, do not be conformed to the pattern of the world.
Speaker: Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold is the idea. And then going on from John and from Paul, even James in James chapter four, verse four warned us. And he said, anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.
Speaker: Wow. How serious can that be? It gets down to very practical things whenever you see the apostle Paul as he's discipling. He's mentoring other people. Are you discipling and mentoring, let's say your children? Are you discipling and mentoring grandchildren or those around you who are getting started in the faith?
Speaker: Well, Paul was doing that, and one of those men that was in his team was a man named Demas. But 2 Timothy 4 verse 10 is sort of shocking when it says, For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.
Speaker: Have you ever seen something like that happen? It's hard to make sense of it. But one thing we know that we are called to do is to win souls for Christ. We're called to share the gospel.
Speaker: Of course, we can't make them receive Christ, but are we even trying to present the plan of salvation to them? You know, in Proverbs chapter 11, verse 30, it says, the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life.
Speaker: And he who wins souls is wise. So it talks about how wise it is whenever we're trying to win souls. But Paul said 1 Corinthians 9, that in addition to being faithful to the message to try to win souls, we also have to say, what about the methodology?
Speaker: Should I use the same methodology with a child or with a student or with an adult or with a senior adult, with a man, with a woman? You know, are there any um adjustments that we should make to the way we present Christ and tell them about the Lord Jesus Christ?
Speaker: Well, in 1 Corinthians 9, verses 19 through 22, the apostle Paul said in his heart, he wanted to win more. Is that a driving force in your heart? Do you want to win more people?
Speaker: Well, one thing we have to understand is there's not a cookie cutter way of sharing the gospel, that heart of the gospel, the death, burial, resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have to say, okay, how can I best put this, frame this so that the people can connect with it?
Speaker: He says in 1 Corinthians 9, 19 to 22, when he was winning Jews or attempting to win Jews, he had to tailor his approach.
Speaker: When he was winning those who were under the law, he had to try a different way to take the gospel into their hearts. To those outside the law, he said, he would only they would only be won if the methodology was adapted to them.
Speaker: Paul even says in this passage that he longed to win the weak, but he would need to tweak his outreach strategy to engage them with the gospel.
Speaker: But what about when there's someone who's wealthy? What about if they're going a step beyond wealth? It's okay, I mean, God may bless you with your wealth, with all the material things that you have.
Speaker: Maybe you've worked hard for those things. There's nothing wrong there. But what is wrong is when we move from being wealthy to being worldly. where we're saying those things and my job and my bank account and all of those things, they mean more to me than God.
Speaker: They mean more to me than Jesus. That's when there's trouble. And so that might be somebody in your life. And so I think that what Jesus says to this man known as the rich young ruler, it may be what you need in order to connect with that person on the in their heart.
Speaker: So as Luke records his travelogue of the Lord's journey to Jerusalem, He highlight highlights the encounters not only with the rich young ruler, but maybe next Sunday, Lord willing, we'll see. He also connected with someone who was a blind beggar.
Speaker: He was poor. He didn't have a lot. So you've got him connecting with a rich man. And then next Sunday, Lord willing, we'll see how can he connect with a poor man? Does he change his strategy? Does he change his approach?
Speaker: But then he goes into Jericho and he sees a man up in a tree named Zacchaeus. Will he and engage with him the same way? So the encounter of the rich young ruler can also be read not only in this passage that we're about to read together, but also in Matthew 19, 16 30, and in Mark chapter 10, verses 17 to 31.
Speaker: and in mark chapter ten verses seventeen to thirty one But how did Jesus approach this man? What was the way? What was the methodology that he used to try to help this man to realize his need?
Speaker: Would you stand in honor of God's word? Let me read the passage and ask God to help us understand it. And then we'll get started. And a ruler asked him, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
Speaker: And Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother. And he said, all these i have kept from my youth.
Speaker: When Jesus heard this, he said to him, one thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor. and you'll have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.
Speaker: But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said how difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.
Speaker: For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person. to enter the kingdom of God. And those who heard it said, then who can be saved?
Speaker: But he said, what is impossible with man is possible with God. And Peter said, see, we've left our homes and followed you. And he said to him, truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive many times more in this time and in the age to come eternal life.
Speaker: Let's go to the Father in prayer. Lord, these are your words. We want to learn from you. We want to make an impact on Columbus, on Colorado County. We want to make an impact at school. We want to make an impact in our company where we work. want make We want to make an impact in our neighborhood.
Speaker: But how can we best impact those who are embracing some things of the world? Perhaps money, perhaps possessions. Maybe there's other things that are clouding their judgment and they just don't hear what we're saying.
Speaker: So help us, O Lord, to learn from you. You're the master. Even though this man did not receive you, you won that day. And so help us to win those who are worldly that live around us.
Speaker: Help us to win them to Christ. You're worthy. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Thank you you. may be seated. You know, here was a successful, confident young man pursuing religion, yet obtaining assurance of eternal life.
Speaker: He just hadn't, he didn't have it. He's like, i don't feel sure. There's something missing in my life. As a matter of fact, in the gospel of Matthew, in Matthew 19, 20, that man actually says to Jesus, what do I still lack?
Speaker: You ever feel like something's missing from your life? What's missing from your life may be a person. It may be the Lord Jesus Christ. Is it possible that this young man overheard what Jesus said about the children?
Speaker: the message The message that Josh gave us last week where he was talking about speaking to the children. And here's what Jesus said. Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.
Speaker: I wonder if it threw him off his game. I wonder if he was in the crowd. And so that's why he comes up and ask him this question. Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
Speaker: I don't want to miss it. And somehow I don't feel like I have it. So the first thing that we need, that you need if you're going to win someone else to Christ, especially someone who's worldly, you're going to have to be able to see the problem.
Speaker: You're going to have to be able to see the need without Christ. Amen. Can you see the need no matter how much they have? Let's say for example this morning, he's not here so don't get excited, but let's say Elon Musk pulls up in the parking lot.
Speaker: He's in his Tesla, he gets out and comes in and maybe you would see him and you would think, man, that guy doesn't need anything. Look at look at how much he has in his life.
Speaker: When you see a celebrity like that, can you see beyond all that they have and see the needs that they have? Well, I think that this guy in verse 18, what the word of God is trying to show us is spiritual starvation.
Speaker: Can you see spiritual starvation in someone who does not have a relationship with Christ? I mean, let's look at it. This guy, it says, was a ruler, right?
Speaker: And a ruler asked him, good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? See, something's missing. Oh yeah, he was an overseer of a synagogue, or maybe he was a leader of the Pharisees, or maybe he was a civic magistrate of some kind.
Speaker: But no matter what he had, all his position and all his possessions, he Something was missing and he was restless. He was anxious. Actually on the inside, he felt empty.
Speaker: You know why? Because he had religion, but he did not have a relationship. The Lord was not in his life. As a matter of fact, in Mark chapter 10 verse 17, it tells us something that Luke's ah luke's version here doesn't tell us.
Speaker: It says that when that rich young ruler asked Jesus the question, you know what he did? It says he ran up and he knelt down before Jesus. And that's when he asked.
Speaker: What does running suggest to you? To run to Jesus. It suggests to me intensity. There's something not there and he's tired of it not being there. Are you tired of that emptiness without Jesus Christ? So there's this intensity, but there's also humility.
Speaker: He's like, I don't care what I have to do. I will fall down on my knees right in front of Jesus, right in front of all the other people. Can you picture someone like... yeah Elon Musk or someone, a celebrity, can you picture them falling down and worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ like that? I mean, this is an amazing thing that's taking place, but why?
Speaker: Why? Even though he was young, even though he was wealthy, even though he was influential, even though he was basically good, he still was starved spiritually.
Speaker: It's amazing because his religious devotion drove him to ask one question. What can I do to inherit eternal life? Ah, that's the question.
Speaker: So when Jesus answers him, he also uncovers a second thing that we need to see. I mean, spiritually see. Can you see moral imperfection? How many perfect people have you met in your lifetime?
Speaker: I mean, absolutely perfect. Nothing wrong with them. Probably nobody, right? Nobody's out there like that. Well, according to the text, Jesus said, okay, how about the seventh of the Ten Commandments?
Speaker: no No adultery. He's like, check. I got that one. I've never committed adultery. He says, okay, how about the sixth commandment? No murder. Check. No murder. How about stealing? I've never stolen.
Speaker: Check. That's the eighth commandment. How about number nine? Lying. No bearing false witness. Check. How about your mom and dad? Oh, my mom and dad is how I got my money. It's how I got my land.
Speaker: Oh, I don't have any problem honoring my parents. So check. Check. He says basically to Jesus, when Jesus brought those up, he said, all of these I've kept from my youth. I've got these.
Speaker: There's got to be something else. And there is something else. There was something else. Something else that maybe you haven't considered either. You see, why did Jesus just call out those five commandments?
Speaker: What were the other five commandments? The first four commandments don't relate to man at all. They relate to God. He did not have a personal relationship with God. And so the Lord didn't even bring those up but because he knew the answer that would be there.
Speaker: But then he also didn't bring up something else. Do you know what the 10th commandment in the 10 commandments is? Exodus 20 verse 17 says,
Speaker: You shall not covet. You shall not covet anything that your neighbor has. Have you ever saw what somebody else says? And you thought, man, I wish I had that.
Speaker: I had a pastor that when I was a youth minister, and he tried to get around that. And so whenever he would feel the temptation to covet something another man had, let's say he drives by, you know, in a Ferrari or something. He says, I wish I had a Ferrari just like that. And I wish he had 10 more in addition to that. And he thought that would clear him of any covetousness.
Speaker: I don't think it works that way. But there's another thing I don't think we always see. Maybe it's not in public, but I wonder what it's like when the rich young ruler goes home at night.
Speaker: I wonder when he lays his head down on his pillow, does he feel fulfilled? Does he feel happy? Well, notice the emotional incompletion that's there without Christ. You see, I think there are many today who walk away from Christ.
Speaker: They're saying, I don't need church. I don't need cry. i don't need the Bible. I don't need the gospel. I'm fine. And yet, you know what they do? They call up the therapist. They call up the counselor. And they're saying, you know what? I don't know why I'm so depressed.
Speaker: I don't know why I'm so afraid. I don't know why anxiety is getting the best of me. I don't know where this anger comes from. I don't know why the rejection from others gets to me. I don't know why I'm so stressed out.
Speaker: That's why i think Dante called the ruler's rejection of Christ here. He called it the great refusal. Because if we only knew when we refuse Jesus Christ, look at all the other blessings we're refusing by just saying no to Jesus Christ.
Speaker: I think that's why verse 23 says he became very sad. He became very sad. Verse 24 says Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, he was so sad. Everybody could see it on his face, especially Jesus. He could just see it.
Speaker: Wow. You know, Hebrews 11.25 says that sin is fun for a while. Here's exactly what it says in Hebrews 11.25. It's possible to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.
Speaker: In other words, maybe sin is fine for today, for this week, for this month, for this season in your life. But you know what sin does? Be careful, your sin will find you out.
Speaker: It will come eventually. and it will pull you down underneath. As a matter of fact, in Proverbs chapter 14, there was a ah king, wealthy king, who noticed what was happening in the noble circles that he moved in.
Speaker: And here's what he observed in Proverbs 14, verses 12 through 15. He said, the heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.
Speaker: The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the wicked will flourish. There is a way, upright rather, the tent of the upright will flourish. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.
Speaker: Even in laughter, the heart may ache and the end of joy may be grief. The backslider in heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways.
Speaker: And a good man would be filled with the fruit of his ways. Wow. You know, I think it's important that we realize, Lord, help me not walk away from the best joy there is.
Speaker: First, ask the Lord to improve your spiritual vision so that you can see the need of those around you. Do you feel an impulse that you gotta share with them? Because you see them going down.
Speaker: They're just like this guy. He got a lot in his hand, but he has nothing in his heart. So the second thing is, do you know the principles regarding life without Christ? Do you know the principles?
Speaker: Have you ever read in John 16 where it says the Holy Spirit can convict the worldly of their need for Christ? That's what the Holy Spirit does. Convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment is what it says in John chapter 16.
Speaker: But he uses the truths of Scripture to convince us of our desperation without Christ. The reason you need to be in the Word of God, the reason I need to be in the Word of God, is because the Word of God tells us the truth.
Speaker: It's going to tell us the truth. The truth without Christ, if that's your condition today, those who trust in their works are simply going to miss out apart from Christ.
Speaker: You know, in Romans chapter four, verses one through eight, the apostle Paul points to Abraham. He points to David and he said, you know what they have in common?
Speaker: These both were credited with righteousness, but their righteousness didt did not come based on their works. The righteousness came based on their faith. They trusted the Lord.
Speaker: Romans 3.28 says, for we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law. Ephesians 2.8 and 9 says, for by grace you've been saved through faith.
Speaker: And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast. see, the this rich young ruler, he kept on checking off to all those commandments. Yeah, I got it. I got it. I know I can do this. I've already proven it in my life.
Speaker: So Jesus thinking, you know what? All I got to say one thing. and just got to say one thing. And your whole house of faith that you call it is going to create And so the young man needed proof that he could not work his way to heaven apart from Christ.
Speaker: So Jesus issued a test, a test to prove it to him. And I'm not saying this test is for everyone, but it was certainly tailored to him. A second principle is not related to a friend's deficiencies who chooses the world over the Lord. The second principle is going to tell you right up front, it's going to be difficult.
Speaker: How difficult your friend will be to win to Christ if your friend says the world is number one. What they say about me on social media, it's number one in my life. I'll change everything just so they'll like me. What they say to me at work, what they say about me at school, I'll change everything if they'll just like me.
Speaker: They'll just love me. They'll just approve me. Do you know that the IMB discovered 32 what they call church planting movements? A church planting movement is where so many people are becoming disciples. So many people are trusting Jesus Christ that it just it's unstoppable.
Speaker: it just It just goes on and on and on. But you know what? Out of 32 around the world, do you know that only one was not a third world country?
Speaker: All of the rest, 31 were all from poor third world countries and only one Singapore. That was the only church planning movement that they could document based on the evidence and the facts and the numbers and what they could observe with their eyes.
Speaker: You know, Proverbs 11, 28 says, whoever trusts in his riches will fall. It's just a matter of time, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
Speaker: I would recommend 1 Timothy chapter 6. If God's blessed you with means and resources, if you have a good living, you feel very comfortable, I would i would suggest 1 Timothy 6, verses 6 through 11, verses 17 through 19, because I think it gives us some biblical instruction on how to manage money for the kingdom rather than being manipulated by money to build your own kingdom.
Speaker: It talks about something we have to be very careful. It's like a minefield. The love of money. Because the love of money hurts people. The love of money ruins things. And it destroys things.
Speaker: And that's why it's so serious when this guy said, you know what? If you're telling me I got to give up all my money, then I'm out of here. And he just walked away. And we saw a while ago when he walked away, sad. He was sad.
Speaker: But the third principle is the the delight of those who do trust in Christ's work. Peter sees what's going on. And Peter, he sees the guy walk away.
Speaker: he says, see, we've left our homes and followed you. So in other words, we've already walked away from everything. Is it really worth it? I think that's what he's basically saying. Is it going to be worth it for us that we've we've followed you and it cost us a lot to follow you?
Speaker: You know, paul Paul, the apostle Paul was confident in Philippians 3, 7 8.
Speaker: Philippians 3, 7 and 8, he was confident that his losses for Christ did not even compare to his gains in Christ. Is that how you feel?
Speaker: I mean, even though, let's say you have a lot, but you don't trust in those things. You're trusting in the finished work of Christ on the cross. And so Philippians 3, 7 and 8 says this, this is the apostle Paul.
Speaker: But whatever gain I had, I count it as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.
Speaker: For his sake, I've suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ. Wow, that's powerful. That is so powerful that he felt that way and meant it.
Speaker: But Jesus acknowledges that the cost of putting his kingdom above finances, the cost of putting his kingdom above family, he acknowledges there's going to be a cost there.
Speaker: But he highlights that whatever we sacrifice to follow Christ will be blessed. Have you ever thought about that and considered that? Okay, so there's a cost to obey, but what is the cost for disobedience?
Speaker: What happens if I don't trust Christ, if I don't follow Christ? Well, I saw three things in verses 29 and 30. First, I saw what he says. Truly, I said to you, there's no one who's left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive many times more.
Speaker: More than what? More than what you just gave up. And think, whoa, wait a minute. That's like that's like a principle, right? The blessings will be more than the losses.
Speaker: How about that? But there's also another thing he says. The blessings will be mixed in with this life. Maybe you say, yeah, I know. i know when I get to heaven.
Speaker: But what about now? Oh, well, he includes that, right? He says, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who will not receive many times more In this time.
Speaker: Is he worth it to follow him in this time. As well as in heaven. i've believe the answer to that is yes. He. He is worthy. He is so worthy. The other thing I noticed. Is the way he ended it. And in the age to come. Eternal life.
Speaker: And so I thought wow. The blessings will be more than the losses. The blessings will be mixed in with this life. But the blessings. Will be measureless. measureless later in heaven.
Speaker: Man, don't you want to be a part of that? I don't understand why the rich young ruler would walk away. If I were you and I were trying to find somebody I want to emulate, somebody I want to be like them, i wouldn't want to be like this guy.
Speaker: I would say, Lord, help me see through that. Lastly, you will need to stand God. at least two promises regarding regarding reaching out to the worldly who are without Christ.
Speaker: So let me close with two promises that are mentioned in these verses. I love verse 21. Jesus looking at him, loved him. So maybe you thought, man, Jesus is being hard on that guy. Jesus doesn't like that guy.
Speaker: He doesn't like that guy because he's got money. No, that's not it at all. The text itself tells us, no, Jesus looked at him And he loved him. So here's the first principle I want to say is that everyone you know is loved by God.
Speaker: Everyone. Everyone you know is loved by God. And Jesus, looking at him, loved him. You know, I noticed something. i think it was yesterday in my personal devotion time. 1 Timothy 2, verses through says, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Speaker: And it talks about Jesus dying on the cross. And it said, who gave himself as a ransom for all. Wow. Isn't that incredible? In other words, Jesus went to the cross for you and for me, but he also went to the cross for everybody at your school, everybody you work with, everybody on your street, everybody in your extended family.
Speaker: Do you know that he went there for them? Will they all be saved? No, probably not because the broad way, the broad road And it's so broad. So many are going to miss it.
Speaker: But there are some on the narrow way who are going to catch it. And what they're going to start with is, I know that the God of heaven loves me so much. He sent his own son for me.
Speaker: So let give you a second promise you can stand on. The first one is, everyone you know is loved by God. The second thing, when it comes to reaching out to those around you, maybe sometimes you feel like, it's more than I can do.
Speaker: i just don't think I have enough. Everything you face is possible with God, verses 26 and 27. What is the context again?
Speaker: The context is, he's trying to answer this man's question. The man said, what must I do? It's not what you're going to be able to do because none of us can do It doesn't matter who. None of us can earn our way into heaven, earn our way into God's family.
Speaker: So there's nothing you can do. But along the way, isn't it nice to know that the Lord says, you know what? I'm going to take care of you if you're reaching out to others. Those who heard it said,
Speaker: Well, then who can be saved? We thought that that wealth and prosperity and possession, we thought that was a sign of God's blessing. We thought that was it. So who can be saved?
Speaker: But he says, what's impossible with man is possible with God. That's incredible. What is impossible with man is possible with to God. So I think to myself, okay, what's the context context of that promise?
Speaker: then who can be saved? But what's the content of the promise? What's impossible with man is possible with God. So the richest person you know, the most popular kid at school, the guy that's the most successful in your business world, all of them, they can be one.
Speaker: They can be one. It doesn't mean they will choose to open the door to the gospel, but they can be one. And then I thought, well, the challenge for the promise is what he said about the camel.
Speaker: Remember what he said about the camel? For it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. So once again, ah I'm not promising you it it will be easy, but here's what I'm saying.
Speaker: It's possible. And somebody that you've been given up on already, they might be so close. As a matter of fact, let me introduce you to seven people who were wealthy in the New Testament.
Speaker: These guys were wealthy, but they weren't worldly. These people turned out to be godly followers of the Lord. Let's talk about Lydia.
Speaker: Lydia, she was a businesswoman. Lydia would definitely be one. How about Joseph of Arimathea? Remember what he did? He provided the tomb. He must have been a wealthy man.
Speaker: What about Barnabas? He was willing to sell some property that he had and give all that money at the feet of the disciples so they could help others. How about Philemon?
Speaker: How about Zacchaeus? How about Dorcas? She was always making stuff for other people. How about Jason? He's in the book of Acts as well. You know, there was a man named Paul Harvey.
Speaker: He had a radio broadcast that began in 1976, and it ran for 33 years. he He gave like 2,793 episodes. But you remember how he always signed off?
Speaker: His signature sign-off was, and now you know, rest of the story. There's some people in the room old enough to remember. Sorry, didn't mean to slam you there.
Speaker: But you know what?
Speaker: He would hold it back. He would hold that back. He would say, this is the rest of the story. I don't know the rest of the story for the rich young ruler. Maybe he trusted Christ.
Speaker: Who knows? Maybe later he got to thinking about it. But all we know of at this point is he had an opportunity that day and he walked away. So let me ask you, what will be the rest of the story for you?
Speaker: If you've heard this passage, you've seen what happened. You saw how this man walked away and he walked away and it's strange because he couldn't keep all 10 of the 10 commandments.
Speaker: he could He had money as his idol. Money was number one, not God, not the Lord. He's standing right there in front of Jesus. Jesus is here today and Jesus will help you. He will save you.
Speaker: He will rescue you. He will fill whatever's missing in your life. If you'll just lay it down and say, okay, Lord, I surrender. i want us to have a closing time of invitation. Time of invitation is when we say to other people, hey, if you're ready to trust Christ, I'll be down here. We can start a conversation. We don't have to end it today, but we can get it started. We can make an appointment for later.
Speaker: But I just want to give you that opportunity to say yes to Jesus if... You are like the rich young ruler. Maybe say, hey man, I'm not rich and I'm certainly not young.
Speaker: Who cares? and All of us need Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter what generation. doesn't matter how much you have in your bank account. What matters is God loves you.
Speaker: What matters is God said, it's not impossible for you to become a Christian today. So why don't you come to know the Lord? The musicians have come. They're going to lead us in a song called Just As I Am.
Speaker: That's what the Lord was saying to this man. Just as you are, you just come. Admit your need, but he couldn't do it. Can you do it? Let's stand together. Let me pray. And then we'll begin this song. You come to talk with me. I'll be down front if you need someone to talk with.
Speaker: Lord, I thank you so much for this time to look into your word. I pray that you spoke. I do believe what you said. Your word would not come back to you void. It will accomplish what you sent it forth to accomplish.
Speaker: And so Lord, You speak to those, you know, maybe we need motivation. Maybe we've stopped trying because so many are worldly. Help us not stop trying.
Speaker: You didn't stop trying. After you talked with a rich young ruler, you're going to talk to a blind man. Then you're going to talk to a man up in a tree named Zacchaeus. So help us, O Lord, not to stop trying to share our faith.
Speaker: In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Speaker: This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.
