Good morning. My name is Matthew Capone, and I'm the pastor here at Shine Mountain Presbyterian Church,
and it's my joy to bring God's Word to you today. A special welcome if you're new or visiting with us.
We're glad that you're here, and we're glad that you're here not because we're trying to fill seats,
but because we're following Jesus together as one community. And as we follow Jesus together,
we become convinced that there's no one so good. They don't need God's grace.
And no one so bad that they can't have it, which is why we come back week after week to hear what God has to say to us in His Word.
We're continuing our series in the Gospel of Mark. You'll remember that the Gospels tell the story of Jesus and His life and His death and His resurrection.
And last week, we took a look at the importance, in fact, more than the importance, the necessity of childlike faith,
the necessity of acknowledging that we have nothing to offer to God, and all we can do is receive.
This week, we're going to continue that theme with one very specific application of Jesus talking about the issue, the challenge, the danger of money.
Money is one of those things that falls into the category of not bad, just dangerous.
In fact, in many ways, money is good. It's a blessing.
There was great wealth in the Garden of Eden when God created Adam and Eve,
and we look forward to the new heavens and the new earth when there will also be great wealth.
And so money is not bad in and of itself. It just presents unique temptations and challenges.
And so it's with that we're going to dive right in.
As we come to this passage in Mark chapter 10, I'm going to tell you three things.
First of all, about the love of money. Second of all, the danger of money.
And third, the new heart. That's the love of money, the danger of money, and the new heart.
With that, I invite you to turn with me to God's Word.
You can turn on your phone. You can turn in your Bible.
You can turn in your worship guide. No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word.
In Proverbs chapter 30, verse 5, tells us that every word of God proves true.
He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.
And so that's why we read now Mark chapter 10, starting at verse 17.
And as He was setting out on His journey, a man ran up and knelt before Him and asked Him,
Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good?
No one is good except God alone.
You know the commandments. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery.
Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Do not defraud.
Honor your father and mother.
Verse 20.
And He said to Him, Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.
And Jesus, looking at Him, loved Him and said to Him, You lack one thing.
Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
And come, follow Me.
Disheartened by the saying, He went away sorrowful, for He had great possessions.
And Jesus looked around and said to His disciples,
How difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God.
And the disciples were amazed at His words.
But Jesus said to them again, Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God.
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.
Verse 26.
And they were exceedingly astonished and said to Him, Then who can be saved?
Jesus looked at them and said, With man it is impossible, but not with God.
For all things are possible with God.
Peter began to say to Him, See, we have left everything and followed you.
Verse 29.
Jesus said, Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for My sake and for the gospel,
who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands,
with persecutions and in the age to come eternal life.
But many who are first will be last and the last will be first.
I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's Word.
Our Father in heaven, we come to you this morning confessing that we need to be like little children to receive your instruction.
And so we ask that you would help us.
We know that we can't do it alone.
That all by ourselves, we are incapable of hearing and understanding what it is you have to say to us.
And so we ask that you would send your Holy Spirit to be with us.
That you would soften our hearts.
That you'd open up our minds.
That you would be at work this morning.
So that we would be able to hear and receive and obey your words.
We thank you most of all that you don't come to us as simply a moral instructor.
But you come to us as a man who lived and walked among us as Jesus.
Full of beauty and glory and holiness and truth.
We ask that you would show us him and that we would be changed as a result.
We ask all these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
The last time we saw Jesus, he was in the midst of taking these children up in his arms and blessing them despite the protests of his disciples.
But the time has come now for Jesus to pack up and move on to his next adventure.
You might think of this as a scene at the end of a lecture or an event and the speaker is trying to make his way out.
He has somewhere else he needs to be.
But you have an urgent and pressing question.
And so you rush in on him to catch him before it is too late.
Because what you have to ask is so incredibly important.
That's what happens with this man here.
He runs up to Jesus to block him before Jesus is able to escape to the next event because his question is so pressing.
And thankfully he's able to catch Jesus here just in the nick of time.
We understand why his question is pressing because he wants to know of all things,
how is it that he can inherit eternal life?
And in that he addresses Jesus as this good teacher.
Jesus' answer here should surprise us because Jesus seems to correct him.
He says, why are you calling me a good teacher?
Only God is good.
And we should be surprised by this because we saw in Mark chapter 8,
Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ.
That Jesus is actually God.
And so why is Jesus seeming to misdirect this man here?
It should seem to us it would be the most normal expectation for Jesus to accept this.
Yes, I am divine.
You recognize me for who I am.
Of course, I should be called good.
Why does Jesus act as if he's not God?
What we have to understand here is that Jesus is playing into this man's assumption.
This rich ruler does not see or know that Jesus is divine.
He sees Jesus as only human.
And so what Jesus is doing in this passage is instead of correcting him,
he decides to play along with this man's perspective.
Jesus is saying, oh, you think that I'm merely a good teacher.
You think that I am just another rabbi.
Okay, let's roll with that and see where it takes us.
Let's operate on that assumption and see what happens.
Well, if I am a mere human, if I am just a rabbi, if I'm just a teacher,
good, can't and doesn't apply to me.
Because no human can truly be called good.
And in that answer, Jesus has already indirectly cut out the legs from underneath this man's question.
What does he ask?
What must I do, right?
How can I be good enough?
And Jesus is poking him here.
No one is good.
You think I'm just a human.
Well, then you have overestimated me.
This phrase here that he asks him, what must I do?
Verse 17, it is the opposite of what we saw last week,
that we must receive the kingdom as children.
But Jesus decides he's going to keep playing this game out with this man.
And so he says, okay, let's continue to unfold this, unroll this blanket and see what happens.
Verse 19, what about the moral law?
What about the Ten Commandments?
How are you doing with your performance in your life?
This man, missing the fact that Jesus has already corrected him,
continues to take the bait and says,
yes, I can make this a matter of moral performance.
If that's the bar that needs to be set, I have met it and exceeded it.
I have done it.
I have kept all of these things from my youth.
And so he misses the deeper point that Jesus is driving at,
the deeper issue of the human heart,
the deeper issue of love for God.
Has this man kept the law?
Well, no, not in the way Jesus is going to go on and define it in Mark chapter 12.
In Mark chapter 12, someone's going to ask him what the greatest commandment is.
And Jesus' response is that the sum of the law is love for God and love for others.
And so Jesus is setting this man up to suddenly crush his understanding of himself
by helping him understand you don't love God.
You think that you have kept the law, but you are so incredibly far away.
You love and trust and worship something much more than God himself.
And that's what he sets him up for in verse 21.
Looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him,
you lack one thing.
Go sell all that you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me.
Jesus brings down the hammer on this man.
Not to crush him,
but we're told explicitly because he loved him.
You're almost there.
There's just one more thing you need to do.
Give up all your money.
Jesus is asking him,
where is your true heart?
What is it that you actually love and worship?
What is your ultimate treasure?
Disheartened by the saying,
he went away sorrowful,
for he had great possessions.
Jesus is telling him this,
you may be generally morally good and upright,
but your trust and your hope and your love is not in me.
It is in money.
You do not love the Lord your God with all your heart.
One pastor points out that this word here in verse 22,
disheartened,
that is used to describe this man
is the same word that we're going to see in Mark chapter 14
used of Jesus when he's facing separation from God the Father
as he looks to the potential
and the reality of heading towards the cross.
In other words,
what this man feels about money
is what Jesus feels about God the Father.
That is how rapt and enamored he is with his possessions.
He was good at external moral commands
and he loved money more than God.
This man loved money most of all.
And so Jesus uses this as an object lesson for his disciples
to help them understand the danger of wealth.
It's right after this episode that he begins to teach them.
Verse 23,
he looks at his disciples and said,
how difficult it will be for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God.
And then we find out verse 25,
it is not simply difficult.
Verse 27,
it is impossible.
Jesus uses this illustration of the camel,
which is the largest animal,
and the thread,
the eye of a needle,
the smallest opening,
and says,
for a rich person to enter heaven,
it is like taking the largest animal
that you have as a frame of reference
and putting it through the smallest opening.
Now,
there have been attempts throughout the centuries
to explain away this passage
and to say,
well,
the eye of the needle
maybe was referring to this gate in Jerusalem
that was narrow,
but it wasn't too narrow.
And so if you unpack the camel,
then maybe you'd be able to make it through.
And that's not what Jesus is saying.
We use Jesus' words here
to interpret his meaning.
Verse 27,
he tells us,
it is impossible.
He is giving them an image
that is meant to be so extreme
that there's no way of wiggling out of it.
If you have money,
if you're wealthy,
you can't enter the kingdom,
at least on first appearance.
With man,
it is impossible.
With God,
all things are possible.
Money,
outside of God's intervention
and work in our hearts
will keep us away from his kingdom.
Why?
There's two reasons.
One,
money pretends to be God.
And money tempts us
to believe that we are God.
Money pretends to be God
and money tempts us
to believe that we are God.
I have some examples for you
on the back of your worship guide.
There's a book called
Far From the Tree
that studies,
among many things,
children with profound disabilities.
And the author makes this observation
that people of higher socioeconomic status
tend towards perfectionism
and have a harder time
living with perceived defects.
One French study said,
baldly,
the lower classes
show a higher tolerance
for severely handicapped children.
In other words,
rich people
can't handle imperfection.
Why?
Because money
has convinced them
that they are all powerful.
there is nothing
for which they cannot
simply write a check.
And so,
they are unprepared
to face
the brokenness
of this world.
They believe
that they are God
because of their money,
their experience
in this life.
Everything has been easy.
There's been no challenge.
They're not able
to buy their way out of
or hire their way into.
And so,
when they hit up
against imperfection
that they cannot solve,
they do not know
what to do.
Money
causes us
to believe
that we are
like God.
In an article
about rich politicians,
we're told this,
a mounting body
of research
is showing
wealth can actually
change how we think
and behave
and not for the better.
Rich people
have a harder time
connecting with others,
showing less empathy
to the extent
of dehumanizing
those who are
different from them.
They are less charitable
and generous.
They are less likely
to help someone
in trouble.
And they are more likely
to defend
an unfair status quo.
These aren't
just inherited traits
but developed ones.
Money,
in other words,
changes
who you are.
are.
The researchers
then go on
to say
they believe
this has to do
with the fact
of a few things.
First of all,
money tends
to make people
think that they're
special and different.
Somehow they're set
apart from other people.
They don't have
to be bothered
by what bothers
normal everyday folks.
The other reality
is that money
allows them
to disconnect
from other people.
The more money
you have,
the less dependent
you are.
You don't need
to ask your neighbor
or friend
for help
if you're simply
able to pay
to get things done.
Which makes us
less empathetic
and connected
to those
around us.
The point
of all of those
things is this.
Money
allows us
to pretend
we aren't
children.
money gets
in the way
of the childlike
posture we talked
about last week.
And remember,
Jesus didn't say
being like a child
is helpful.
He said being
like a child
is necessary.
It is a requirement.
Need
is the price
of admission.
And wealth
deceives us
into believing
we have
no need.
Wealth
is an obstacle
to childlike
faith.
Wealth
is dangerous
because
it is an
obstacle
to childlike
faith.
What is it
that children
don't have?
Many things.
One of them
is money
and resources.
Trusting
in riches
is the
opposite
of trusting
in God.
Trusting
in money
is the
opposite
of having
childlike
faith.
And so
we think
in this
way.
You know
what?
Jesus
is kind
of volatile.
You know?
But money
is safe
and secure.
And the
more I have
of it,
the more
I've piled
up and
saved,
the safer
I am.
That's
something I
can really
rely on.
And so
I don't
have to
be like
a child.
I don't
have to
recognize
and embrace
helplessness.
It's a
natural
posture
for a
child to
believe
that her
parents are
going to
provide for
her.
And so
there's
something
deeply
wrong.
I want
you to
imagine
for a
second
that
you're
a
parent
and
you
discover
that
your
son
is
hoarding
money
in this
mason
jar
in the
back
of
his
closet.
Right?
And so
you ask
him,
what is
this
money
for?
Why
do you
have
this
jar
filled
with
quarters
and dollar
bills?
And your
son says
to you,
well,
I'm afraid
that there's
going to
come a
time when
you're not
going to
be able
to buy
food for
us.
So I've
stored a
little
something
away.
And what
is your
response as
a
parent?
Heartbroken,
right?
And
there's a
ridiculousness
to it
that this
child thinks
they can
store enough
away to
care for
the family.
There's a
sadness,
right?
You want
something
better for
that child.
brothers and
sisters,
the same
is true
with us
and our
heavenly
father.
It is
ridiculous
for us
to think
that it
is our
job
ultimately
to provide
for
ourselves.
It is
laughable
that we
can store
away enough
money to
protect
ourselves.
there's
something
sad for
you,
right?
As a
parent,
you want
something
better for
that child.
You know
that children
are not
meant to
stash
away money
in the
back of
their
closets
thinking
that you're
going to
run out
of an
ability
to feed
them or
provide
for them.
And so
there's a
joy and
a relief
that comes
for that
son or
that daughter
in trusting
that their
parents are
going to
make sure
that they
have
enough.
The same
is true
for us.
as tempting
as money
is,
as alluring
as wealth
presents itself
to be,
God wants
something
better for
you.
God wants
you to
have the
joy and
relief and
trust that
comes from
knowing that
he will
provide.
He wants
us to be
able to
pray and
believe,
give us
this day
our daily
bread.
wealth is
such a
challenge
and such
a threat.
And by
the way,
whether you
think so
or not,
if you
live in
America
in 2022,
you're
basically in
the top
1% of
the world
throughout
history.
In other
words,
you're
wealthy,
whether you
want to
admit it
or not.
what are
we supposed
to do
if wealth
is the
opposite
of
childlike
faith?
Well,
Jesus gives
us an
answer here.
Verse 21,
he tells
this man,
go sell
all that
you have
and give
to the
poor and
you will
have
treasure
in heaven
and come
follow me.
What's the
solution for
that child
with the
mason jar
in the
back of
his
closet?
The
solution is
to get
rid of
the
mason jar.
What is
the solution
for making
wealth
into a
god?
The
solution
is to
get rid
of it.
Now,
don't hear
what I'm
not saying.
Jesus'
command is
not for
every person
to give
all their
money away.
This man
receives a
specific
command from
Jesus because
money is
such an
idol for
him.
We talked
earlier about
the fact
that money
for him
is like
God the
father to
Jesus.
He's so
wrapped around,
it is so
powerful in
his life that
the only way
he's going to
be able to
receive and
embrace the
kingdom is
to give it
all away.
Jesus does
not give that
same command
to everyone
he meets in
the gospels.
Luke 19,
for example,
Zacchaeus,
remember,
is defrauding
people.
Zacchaeus gives
a tremendous
amount of his
money away.
We don't hear
that he gives
all of it
away.
If we take
the teaching
of the
Bible from
Genesis to
Revelation,
we see there
are three
things we're
supposed to
do with
money.
We're
supposed to
give it,
we're
supposed to
save it,
and we're
supposed to
spend it
in that
order.
And so
Jesus'
command for
you this
morning is
not that you
would give
all of your
money away to
the poor and
have nothing
left,
but the
way to
break the
power and
allure of
money is
to get
rid of
it.
Remember
what Scott
read earlier
this morning,
we know
that money
is a
problem for
us if we
are unable
to give
large amounts
of it away.
We know
that money
has become
a God
when we
are unable
to give
large amounts
of it away.
money.
And if
that sounds
radical,
that simply
reveals how
powerful and
consuming
money truly
is.
If that
sounds radical,
it simply
reveals how
powerful and
consuming
money truly
is.
And so
that's why
Jesus tells
us the truth
here,
verses 26
and 27,
it is
impossible.
with man
it is
impossible,
with not
with God,
for all
things are
possible
with God.
The command
for this
man is not
necessarily the
command for
us,
but what
should be
true of us
is this,
Christians'
fists are
not tightly
grasped
around
money.
We're able
to let it
go.
when we
let it
go,
the spell
that money
has over
us breaks.
When we're
able to
let it
go,
we recognize
it's not
our God.
When we
let it go,
we are
saying,
Jesus,
I trust
you enough
that you're
going to
provide for
me tomorrow.
I am
able to
receive from
you my
daily bread.
God.
If we
cannot let
money go,
it proves
we don't
trust God.
It's that
simple.
If we
cannot let
money go,
it proves
we do
not trust
God.
hard task.
How do
we do
it?
I've
told you
before about
this man
named Thomas
Chalmers,
who is a
Scottish
preacher in
the 19th
century,
and he
preached this
famous sermon
on 1 John 2
called the
expulsive
power of a
new affection.
He says
if you
want to
get rid
of one
thing,
you must
replace it
with another
thing.
Our hearts
are this
affection vacuum
that we
have to
love
something.
We can't
get rid
of one
love without
replacing it
with another.
He gives
this illustration
of a house
where a
strong man
lives.
If you
want to
get rid
of that
strong man,
there's only
one way.
You have
to find
a stronger
man to
kick him
out.
If you
want to
love one
thing less,
you must
find another
love that
is even
greater,
even more
powerful.
He goes
on to
talk about
the love
of riches
in this
sermon,
and he
says if
you want
to tell
a man
to stop
loving
money,
it's the
same as
telling him
to burn
his house
down.
It makes
no sense.
And so
what he's
saying is
basically
everything
that I've
told you
this morning
is worthless.
it doesn't
matter.
You can
tell someone
over and
over again
that they
need to
give up
wealth,
but no
one is
going to
burn their
own house
down,
right?
Except
unless,
Chalmers says,
he knows
that when he
burns it
down,
he's going
to have
a new
house
ten times
as great.
no man
in his
right mind
will burn
his house
down unless
he knows
when he
does,
he will
receive one
ten times
as valuable.
Jesus
knows the
human heart
better than
anyone else,
and that's
exactly what
he does
here in
this
passage.
church.
He tells
them,
there is
something
ten times
as valuable
as money.
In fact,
more than
ten times
as valuable.
Jesus is
the strong
man that
is more
powerful than
the love
of money.
And he
presents them
with this
vision here
in verses
29-31.
Peter,
looking for
reassurance
here,
says,
see,
we've left
everything
and followed
you.
By the way,
people pointed
out,
Peter does
not say,
we've sold
everything
and followed
you.
Again,
Jesus'
command is
not for
every
Christian
to divest
themselves
of all
resources.
Jesus
gives him
this assurance.
Truly I
say to
you,
there is
no one
who has
left
house or
brothers or
sisters or
mother or
father or
children or
lands for
my sake and
for the gospel
who will not
receive a
hundredfold now
in this time
houses and
brothers and
sisters and
mother and
children and
lands with
persecutions and
in the age to
come eternal
life.
Jesus is saying
there is
something not
ten times
greater, a
hundredfold
greater.
there are
things that
wealth offers
you that it
cannot deliver.
It cannot
provide
satisfaction and
joy and
significance.
You know
what can?
God and
his people.
The brothers
and sisters that
he is promising
them here in
the present are
the people that
you can look
around and see
here this
morning.
when he
talks about all
the great things
that he has for
his people, he's
also presenting
them the vision of
what is to come in
his heavenly
kingdom.
Money, brothers and
sisters, cannot
deliver on its
promises.
It can arouse and
entice.
It cannot
fulfill.
Do you want
more of what
matters?
Do you want
more relationships
of significance?
Do you want
more things that
fill up the
emptiness of your
heart?
Jesus tells us
clearly what needs
to happen.
He says, follow
me.
Do you want
to have a
future?
Jesus says, the
future is with
me, not in
your investment
accounts.
I am your
security.
And so what he
tells this man is
true of us as
well.
No one is
good.
God, everyone
needs, verse 27,
Jesus to do the
impossible.
Everyone needs a
change, a radical,
miraculous change of
heart so that we
love what is truly
good and valuable and
precious and not
just what appears to
be.
This man does not
understand that he is
not simply spiritually
bankrupt, but he is
also in debt.
He needs Jesus'
divine intervention
just like us.
And so we have not
just Jesus' promise of
what is to come in the
future, but we have
Jesus as our hope that
what is impossible with
man is possible with
God.
That when Jesus died on
the cross for us,
taking the punishment
that we deserve, when
he lived the perfect
life doing what we
should have done, he is
able then to come and
change our hearts and
lives and minds so that
we love what is
actually valuable.
And so we confess with
this man, or with
Jesus here, that we are
not good.
God alone is good.
We need him to change
our hearts and our
loves and our
affections.
In the year 79 AD, there
was a volcano that
erupted on Mount
Vesuvius on the
western coast of
Italy, destroying the
ancient city of
Pompeii, which was
terrible for the
residents of Pompeii and
was wonderful for
archaeologists because the
ash preserved everything
that was in that city.
And so it buried what
became an archaeologist's
dream.
In January of 1911,
there was a California
newspaper that
announced a recent
discovery that
archaeologists have
made of a woman's
petrified body as she
was fleeing from the
city trying to escape
the volcano.
With her, she had what
was most valuable, and
so the newspaper report
tells us both of her
hands were full of
jewels.
Evidently, the woman
was fleeing from the
eruption that overwhelmed
Pompeii, carrying her
valuables and was
buried.
The jewels are
excellently preserved.
They consist of
bracelets, necklaces,
rings, amulets studded
with gems, and a pair of
earrings which are
probably unique.
They may be the most
valuable specimens of
ancient jewelry ever
discovered.
Each earring contains
21 perfect pearls set in
gold in imitation of a
bunch of grapes.
She had the most valuable
specimens of ancient
jewelry ever discovered, and
they were worthless.
Ultimately, her jewels were
of no use.
Mark chapter 10, verse 15,
truly I say to you, whoever
does not receive the kingdom
of God like a child shall not
enter it.
And verse 21, Jesus
looking at him, loved him
and said to him, you lack
one thing.
Go sell all that you have
and give to the poor and
you will have treasure in
heaven.
And come, follow me.
Let's pray.
Our Father in heaven, we
thank you that you offer us
something so much more
precious and more valuable
in the wealth and riches of
this world, and yet we also
confess that we, without
your help, love what cannot
deliver.
And so we ask that you would
change our hearts, that you
would do what is impossible
with man but possible with
you.
That we would be willing to
burn it down knowing there
will be something ten times
more valuable, the value of
you and your kingdom.
We ask all these things in the
mighty name of Jesus Christ.
Amen.
I invite you to stand for our
closing hymn.
Amen.