SERMON: YOU CAN'T DO IT ALONE

Preached by Gregory W. Lee
19 March 2006

I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Luke 18

18. A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
19. "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.
20. You know the commandments: `Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.' "
21. "All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.
22. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
23. When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.
24. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!
25. Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
26. Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?"
27. Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."
28. Peter said to him, "We have left all we had to follow you!"
29. "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God
30. will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."

-- it's only been about a month ago that the 2006 Winter Olympics came to an end -- in case you didn't know, I am a big fan of the winter games -- I don't care that much for the summer games -- but I do enjoy watching the winter olympics
-- and while my favorite event is the short-track speed skating, I was interested in watching to see how Bodie Miller was going to do in the skiing events this year -- in the 2002 games in Salt Lake City, Bodie Miller won two gold medals -- and everyone expected him to do really well in Torino this year -- in fact, several experts in the sport predicted that, not only would Bodie Miller do just as well as he did in Salt Lake City, but that he might do the impossible -- he might win a gold medal in each of the five events that he was entered in this year
-- but, if you watched the Olympics or if you followed some of the coverage after it ended, you probably are aware that Bodie Miller didn't win a single gold medal during the Olympics -- in fact, Bodie didn't win any medal at all -- not gold -- not silver -- not even bronze -- he didn't even qualify in a couple of the events that he competed in -- falling down during one downhill run and straddling a gate during another
-- in an editorial about the games, H.B. London put it quite bluntly, "[Bodie Miller] didn't live up to all the hype that surrounded him -- he failed to live up to the expectations of others and, most likely, his own"

-- what happened to Bodie in this year's olympics? -- why didn't he do as good as expected?
-- I think it comes down to one thing -- he trusted too much in himself and his own ability -- as the media reported after the fact, Bodie just didn't seem to take these olympics seriously -- he didn't train as hard as he did before the Salt Lake City games -- he wasn't as disciplined in his training regime and he spent quite a bit of time partying and having a good time instead of getting serious about getting ready to compete against the other world class athletes who he would be going up against
-- Bodie has never come out and said this, but I get the impression that he really felt like he was so good that he would win by just showing up

II. What is your trust in?
-- in this familiar passage in Luke 18, we read about another young man who felt like he had it all together on his own -- the rich young ruler
-- just to give you a little of the context of this passage, Jesus has been teaching His disciples and the crowds that were following Him about the kingdom of God -- John the Baptist had preached in the desert, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is near" -- and now Jesus was trying to do two things
-- first, he was trying to help His followers understand that the kingdom of God had arrived -- as He said in Luke 17:21, the kingdom of God was within those who believed in Him
-- secondly, He was trying to get them to see the difference between God's kingdom and the kingdom of the world that they were living in
-- the main point of His teaching in this part of the Gospel of Luke can be summed up in Luke 18:14, where Jesus says, "For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted"
-- in other words, those who exalt themselves -- those who trust in themselves and their own abilities and their own things -- those who are self-righteous -- will miss out on the kingdom of God -- while those who humble themselves and depend, not on themselves, but on God -- will find themselves exalted into eternal life with God Himself

-- such is the case with the rich young ruler in this passage -- as the story opens, the rich young ruler -- probably the leader of the local synagogue -- comes to Jesus with a question that shows the true nature of his heart
-- look back at verse 18

18. A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

-- note how the rich young ruler opens his conversation with Jesus -- "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" -- this young man was sure of himself -- he trusted in himself and in his own abilities and in his wealth to save him -- it seems obvious from his question that he thought he had already obtained eternal life -- he simply wanted assurance of his salvation from Jesus
-- but Jesus knew his heart and so, instead of answering him right away, He started out by rebuking him -- look at verse 19

19. "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.

-- now, why did Jesus say this?
-- Jesus did that for a couple of reasons
-- first, Jesus wanted the young man to understand who he was talking to -- Jesus was good because He was God -- and if the young man was calling Him good, then Jesus wanted Him to make sure and understand that this was no teacher he was coming to for answers -- it was God Himself -- perhaps that is why Mark tells us in his account of this event that this rich young ruler fell to his knees before Jesus
-- secondly, Jesus wanted to make sure the young man understood that no human was good -- only God was good -- the Bible says in Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" -- Jesus knew that this young man's real problem was that he thought he was good enough as he was -- he saw no need for a savior
-- verse 20

20. You know the commandments: `Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.' "
21. "All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.

-- since the young man felt like he could earn his way into heaven, Jesus pointed him to the law of God -- in essence, He was telling the rich young ruler, "if you are going to depend on yourself and no one else, then you are going to have to follow the law completely at every point -- if you break one of God's laws at one single point, then you cannot redeem yourself"
-- but the young man claimed to have followed all of these commandments since he was a boy -- he still didn't see his need for a Savior -- for anyone else to step in and help him receive eternal life -- so Jesus pointed him to the one commandment that was his stumbling block -- verse 22

22. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
23. When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.

-- the rich young ruler had failed to follow the first commandment -- "I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before Me."
-- the rich young ruler had made a god out of his money -- he depended on his money -- he assumed with his money and his talent and skill that he could handle any problem that came his way, even the problem of inheriting eternal life
-- when Jesus told him to sell all of his material possessions and give them to the poor, He was trying to get the rich young ruler to see that he had been putting his trust and faith in his money and not in God -- and that the only way to inherit eternal life -- the only way to live in the kingdom of God -- was through faith in the mercy and grace of God

III. What should we be trusting in?
-- there are two problems with this approach to life -- first, we can end up going through life just like this rich young ruler and just like Bodie Miller -- we end up putting ourselves or our talent or our things on a pedestal and we start relying on them instead of God -- we start thinking that we can do things that only God can do
-- the rich young ruler thought that he could earn eternal life all on his own -- he trusted so completely in himself and in his money that he asked Jesus, "What do I have to do?" -- he didn't come before Christ in humility seeking forgiveness of his sins -- he assumed that he had within himself all that it took to be saved
-- Bodie Miller did something similar this year in the olympics -- he refused to admit that he needed more training and coaching in order to win -- he felt like he had enough raw talent and skill to win without any help from anyone else
-- despite what the rich young ruler thought, Jesus pointed out quite clearly that you can't earn a trip to heaven by yourself -- you can't depend on yourself or your talents or your possessions to gain you what is possible only through God -- you can't put your trust in yourself and still live in God's kingdom -- look at verse 24

24. Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!
25. Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
26. Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?"

-- by "rich," Jesus meant those who exalt themselves or their possessions and who trust in themselves rather than in God

-- the second problem with trying to live life in our own strength and not in God's strength is that we end up walking by sight and not by faith -- instead of being like Bodie Miller and the rich young ruler, we end up thinking that we can never accomplish anything for God apart from what we know that we can do for Him
-- in other words, we put our trust in the things that we know we can accomplish in our own power and with our own talents and skills and possessions -- we exalt who we are and what we have and we depend on this to get us through our days here on earth
-- the big problem with this approach to life is that it limits what you can do for God and what God can do through you -- when you strive only for what is possible through your own strength, then that is all you get -- that is why we see such an impotent church in America these days -- we have quit trusting God to empower us to do His work in this land and we're trying to do church based on our own power and with our own possessions
-- we're not stepping out in faith and attempting to do something that is impossible in the eyes of the world -- we're not living out the kingdom principles in our churches or in our lives -- we're not trusting God to work in us and through us to help us do the impossible
-- but that's not the message of the Bible -- the message of the Bible is summed up in verse 27

27. Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."

-- when is the last time that you tried to do something that the world said was impossible? -- when is the last time that this church tried to do something that the world said was impossible?

-- in Philippians 4:13, Paul writes, "I can do all things through Him that strengthens me" -- God tells us that through Him all things are possible, even those things that the world tells us can't be done
-- the world tells us that addictions and abuse can't be cured -- but every day, God proves that He can cure addiction and abuse
-- the world tells us that people with terminal cancer and other illnesses can't be healed -- but every day, God proves that He can heal them
-- no matter what the world calls "impossible," God proves He can do it through His Spirit working in us and through us -- through the power of God in our lives, we can do all things -- through Him, we are more than conquerors

IV. Closing
-- I want to close by sharing with you the story of another olympic athlete -- one who, unlike Bodie Miller, acknowledged that his talents and skills came solely from God and who trusted in the power of God to help him do the impossible
-- Eric Liddell was a Scottish sprinter in the early part of the 20th century -- he had qualified for the Olympics by winning the AAA Championships in London in 1923 running the 100 yard and the 220 yard races -- setting a time in the 100 yard dash that remained unbroken in London for 35 years
-- coming off that great victory, he prepared for the 1924 summer olympics in Paris -- when he got there, he waited excitedly for the qualifying heats for the 100 meter sprint and the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, his best events -- but then he found out that the qualifying heats would be held on a Sunday -- Liddell refused to compete because he felt that the Lord's Day was sacred and should be kept holy -- instead, while the rest of his competitors were racing in the qualifying heats, Liddell preached in a church in Paris
-- so, since he couldn't compete in his best events, Liddell started training for the 200-meter dash and the 400-meter dash -- with his unorthodox style of running, Liddell was not expected to even be competitive against the world's elite runners in these events -- you can imagine how shocked the world was when -- three days later -- he finished third in the 200-meter dash, taking the bronze medal
-- he quietly made his way through the heats for the 400-meter dash, but still was not expected to win -- he took his place at the starting line and took off with the rest of the runners -- and, when he crossed the finish line, he was a good five meters ahead of the second place finisher -- Liddell had won a gold medal and set a world record in an event that no one expected him to even qualify in -- by trusting in God and giving Him all the glory for what Liddell accomplished -- Liddell did what the world said was impossible and wrote his name into the Olympic record book

-- let me ask you this morning -- what are we putting our trust and faith in? -- is it in ourself? -- is it in our talents and our gifts and our skills and our education -- are we trusting in our possessions and only attempting to do that which we know is possible?

-- God calls us to trust in Him and Him alone -- He calls us to not depend on ourselves or our possessions or any other worldly thing -- but to trust in Him for salvation and to accomplish the tasks that He has called us to
-- through God, we can do all things -- through God we can inherit eternal life -- and through God, we can see this church revived and lives changed
-- do you want to see God do the impossible in your life and in this church? -- then trust in Him and allow Him to work in you and through you to do just that
-- let us pray