Well, good morning, everyone. My name is Alistair.
I have the privilege of being the assistant pastor here at Brunsfield
and the privilege of opening up that passage for us in Matthew.
But before we get to that, let's just quickly pray together. Let's pray.
Father, in the words of Psalm 19, we pray that my words would be a blessing to you
and that you would help the meditations of our heart be glorifying to you.
In Jesus' name, amen.
I wonder this morning how many of you remember reading the Mr. Men or Little Miss books.
I'm seeing a few hands, a few nods.
Or maybe you remember reading them as a child or reading them to a child.
So these books are in nearly every doctor's surgery or dentist surgery waiting room up and down the UK.
There's one particular character I'd like to draw your attention to this morning.
Do any of you remember Mr. Topsy-Turvy?
I'm getting nods. Okay, that's good. That's good.
So Mr. Topsy-Turvy is a bit of a funny character, isn't he?
So everything about him is either upside down, inside out, or back to front.
He wears his socks on his hands.
He sits down when he's told to stand up.
He stands up when he's told to sit down.
His left is his right and his right is his left.
Even speaks in a topsy-turvy way.
So when he's selling his house, he doesn't say house for sale.
He says sale for house.
Everything about this man is topsy-turvy.
Even his house, his doors, his curtains, his windows, everything is upside down.
Mr. Topsy-Turvy lives in a topsy-turvy world.
And children love to read his stories because his whole life is just so bizarre that it's funny.
But I wonder if when you listen to the reading of Matthew 19 this morning,
you notice something that was upside down.
I wonder if you realize that Jesus was speaking about something which seems a little bit topsy-turvy.
In this section, we see Jesus having two conversations.
And in both cases, he is teaching people about an upside-down kingdom.
In verse 30, Jesus says that many who are first will be last,
and many who are last will be first.
So in this whole conversation, Jesus is teaching about an upside-down kingdom.
And he's telling his people, his disciples, that they are to be Mr. Topsy-Turvies in the world.
So as followers of Jesus this morning, we are to be distinct,
radically different from those around us,
because as Christians, we are living for an upside-down kingdom.
So we get to listen in to this conversation that would change a life forever,
and a conversation that will change our outlook on life,
both in the here and now, and in the yet to come.
So it's about an upside-down kingdom.
Jesus tells the rich man to sell, give, and follow.
And he tells his disciples to leave and receive.
So the first thing that Jesus says about this upside-down kingdom to the rich young man
is sell, give, and follow.
In verses 16 to 22, sell, give, and follow.
So a rich young man comes to Jesus and asks him in verse 16,
Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?
So this man is acknowledging Jesus as a good teacher,
and the question that he asks is a question that many people are asking today.
What must I do to get eternal life?
But he isn't asking how he can live forever.
He isn't on the search for the fountain of youth so that he'll never grow old or die.
But the eternal life that he is speaking about
is the eternal life that is promised to those who are the people of God.
An eternity, a life that continues after death in the presence of God,
as opposed to eternal damnation and separation from God.
So this man knows about the truth about the existence of heaven and hell,
and the seriousness of it,
because he comes and asks Jesus this very important question.
But do you see the problem with his question?
This rich young man thinks that his deeds,
or that his religious acts,
are enough to get him into heaven.
He thinks that religious performance will make him right in God's eyes.
And Jesus responds in verse 17, look with me.
He says, there is only one who is good.
Now this does not mean that Jesus isn't good,
or that he has no authority to say what is good or not,
but Jesus is challenging this young man's superficial assumption
that he is good enough,
or that he can never work enough to get into heaven.
And Jesus continues and says that only God is good.
If you want to enter life,
keep the commandments.
So Jesus says that God has already revealed and defined to the world
what good is when he gave the Ten Commandments,
when he gave the Old Testament law.
But Jesus isn't saying that following the Ten Commandments
will make a person right with God.
Living by a set of rules won't save you,
but having faith and trust in Jesus Christ will.
So this young man asks which commandments he needs to follow,
and Jesus lists some of them in verse 18.
You shall not murder,
you shall not commit adultery,
you shall not steal,
you shall not give false testimony,
honour your father and mother,
and love your neighbour as yourself.
And what does the young man say in verse 20?
Oh, I've kept all of these,
so what else do I lack?
Now this reveals two things about this young man.
The first is that he is very, very proud.
He thinks that he's perfect,
that he's got it all sorted.
And the second is that he has a superficial and shallow view
of what God is asking of someone in the Ten Commandments.
See, the Old Testament law wasn't given as a way to work your way up to God.
And that's how this man was living.
That's the way of religion.
That leads to doubting and a lack of assurance.
But the law was given so that people could see
how far short of God's perfect standard we all fall,
which then leads to faith and dependence on him,
which then in the Old Testament results in following the law.
We cannot work our way to God because he is perfect, we are not.
He is holy and we are not.
A person is saved by faith in Jesus, not by works.
This man is like one of Madame Toussaint's wax figures.
So if you go to one of these museums,
you'll see figures made out of wax that look exactly like the person.
I've been told they're almost identical,
but the truth is that they are fake.
They're just figures, nothing more.
They have no brain.
They have no life.
They have no heart.
They are wax.
They look the part, but they're fake.
And this young man is the same.
He looks the part on the outside.
He has all the right trimmings.
He can say and do the right things.
But on the inside, his heart is in the wrong place.
He isn't trusting in God for eternal life,
but he is trusting in his own religious performance.
And then Jesus delivers a truth that will flaw this man.
Something that will make his whole idea of self-perfection crumble before his eyes as he lays bare,
as he realizes his sinful state before a holy God.
Jesus says,
if you want to be perfect,
meaning that you want to be made right with God,
if you want to live the life that you were created for and be truly obedient to God,
then you need to go sell, give and follow.
Now at this point, you can imagine the gasp from Lord Sugar's office.
And many other businessmen and people for that matter,
people who build their life around money,
will realize that this whole conversation will make their world crumble.
Jesus is telling a very rich man to sell, give and follow,
which will lead to him having treasure in heaven.
What an upside down kingdom this is.
This young man focused so much on his performance and on his prosperity
that he had no desire to submit to Jesus.
Performance and prosperity will not get you into heaven.
Keeping religious rules and being a good person will not get you into heaven.
What will?
Acknowledging your sinfulness and wrongdoing against a good and holy God.
Repenting of them, turning from them, believing in, submitting to and following Jesus Christ.
That is the only way to heaven.
This young man is focusing on his performance
and he's not willing to give up his wealth to follow Jesus.
He was trying to find his satisfaction in religious performance.
And so he walks away sad.
How devastating is it that this man,
that his money,
that his material wealth was more important to him
than his eternal state before a good and holy and just God.
He saw the cost.
He didn't like it.
And he walked away.
Does this mean that Jesus is telling us to go and sell and give everything that we own?
No.
You can breathe.
It's fine.
Jesus is not telling this young man that his wealth is wrong.
But Jesus is warning him that his money and his possessions are his idols.
If he doesn't let go of the thing that is stopping him from coming to God,
then he will never have eternal life.
Jesus calls people to come and follow him.
And once we do that,
our desire should be to serve him and to live obediently
and out of a devotion to him
in every area of our life,
including our money.
So whether you're rich or whether you're poor,
whether you came to church this morning in a Bentley or on a bike,
God is asking for your heart.
That is what this young man in Matthew chapter 19 wasn't giving to God.
He wasn't giving his heart.
Are you here this morning
and you're trying to work your way into God's good books?
Trying to look the part on the outside,
but you know deep down that your heart is being pulled away
by wealth or other distractions.
That is wrong, Jesus says.
You will never be good enough.
You can never work enough.
You can never have enough money for God to be pleased with you.
In this upside down kingdom,
the only way to be made right with God,
to have eternal life,
is to surrender to and follow Jesus.
Will you do that this morning?
Or maybe you are a Christian,
but you're so focused and caught up in money.
You can have money as an idol,
whether you're rich or whether you're poor.
Where your heart is,
there also your treasure will be.
What is more important to you?
The comfort in this world for the few years that we have here?
Or eternal peace and communion with the God who created
and who loves you?
Practically speaking,
do our bank balances and our possessions
reflect the things that we worship?
Now this doesn't mean that we shouldn't have nice things,
but if we're working overtime to get that second home,
or if we're working overtime to get that second car,
or that bigger TV,
or that new phone upgrade that's just come out,
we need to ask ourselves,
what and who is our money serving?
What and who are we doing?
God's kingdom,
or are we worshipping ourselves?
Now some of us might need to search our hearts
and motives and see where we stand,
and it could mean that we need to go sell, give, and follow.
Is Jesus telling you this morning to do that?
If he is, let me encourage you that the reward
is far greater than the sacrifice.
The reward makes the sacrifice non-existent.
And that is the second thing that we see in this passage
that Jesus says about this upside-down kingdom
to his disciples,
he says,
leave and receive in verses 23 to 30.
Leave and receive.
So in the culture of first century Israel,
people often believed that if someone was rich,
that that was an obvious sign that God was blessing them,
and that they were almost automatically into heaven,
that that was their get into heaven card.
And so what Jesus says in verse 23
shocks his disciples,
and is counter-cultural.
He says in verse 23,
truly I tell you,
it is hard for someone who is rich
to enter the kingdom of heaven.
And then he gives an illustration
to drive the point home,
because no camel can fit
through the eye of a needle.
Jesus is turning their whole worldview upside down,
and letting them see that God's eternal perspective
is far, far different from our earthly perspective.
The disciples are astonished
and ask in verse 25,
well, who can be saved?
Surely this man's wealth
is an indication that God is pleased with him.
If the rich,
those who seem to be under God's blessings,
aren't saved,
then who can be?
In verse 26,
Jesus brings light to this whole situation
and says,
with man this is impossible,
but with God all things are possible.
salvation,
eternal life,
perfection,
all of these words in the passage
are pointing to the same thing,
and eternity spent in the presence of God,
being forgiven of our rebellion,
and rejection of him,
and having a right relationship with God.
Jesus says,
with man this is impossible.
Salvation,
both for the rich and for the poor,
cannot be achieved by human efforts.
We cannot save ourselves.
We cannot work our way to God.
We can never do enough
or give enough
to be made right with God.
People cannot save themselves.
Salvation is only possible with God.
Now, do you see how different
this makes Christianity
from all other beliefs?
Other religions are built on works
and deeds and good actions.
Other beliefs tell you
that the way
that you have to work your way up
to some kind of God.
But Christianity
is an absolutely different message
because God came down.
Salvation is an act of God.
God opens people's hearts.
God draws people to himself.
We are solely saved
because of him
and by his grace.
And the great news is
that God is the God
who specializes
in the impossible.
God set the plan
into motion
to rescue humanity
from our sin
and rebellion
against him
from the beginning of time
by sending his son,
Jesus Christ,
to pay the punishment
that we deserve
on the cross
and to be raised to life
so that we know
it is true.
Salvation,
being made right with God,
is only possible
through Jesus.
There is no other way.
And Peter speaks up
in verse 27
and wants to know
what this teaching means
for him and the disciples.
He says,
we have left everything
to follow you.
What then
will there be for us?
So the disciples
weren't just sitting around
one day doing nothing
and Jesus
comes up to them
and says,
hey, do you want to come
hang out with me
for a little while?
No, in Matthew chapter 4,
you can look this up later,
Jesus was walking
by the Sea of Galilee
when he saw two fishermen,
Peter and his brother Andrew.
And Jesus didn't walk up
to them and give them
five reasons to follow him.
He didn't sit them down
and ask them about their strengths
and their weaknesses.
He didn't.
He just simply said,
come and follow me
and I will make you
fishers of men.
These men left
absolutely everything
to follow Jesus.
They left behind family,
jobs,
the comfort of their own home.
They sacrificed so much
and Peter wants to know
what their reward will be.
And Jesus tells them
some marvelous truths
in verses 28 to 30.
Jesus says,
truly I tell you,
at the renewal of all things,
when the Son of Man
sits on his glorious throne,
you who have followed me
will also sit on 12 thrones,
judging the 12 tribes of Israel.
And everyone who has left houses
or brothers or sisters
or father or mother
or wife or children
or fields for my sake
will receive a hundred times as much
and will inherit eternal life.
But many who are first
will be last
and many who are last
will be first.
So Jesus says,
in the new creation,
when he returns to judge
and rule the world
and be with his people
forever,
that's when the reward
will come.
Jesus here is talking
about a future time,
a time when every eye
will see him coming
and every knee will bow
and he will reign.
That's when his followers
will be rewarded.
But look at verse 29 again.
Is this a fair reward
for their sacrifice,
that they will receive
a hundred times?
Absolutely not.
The reward far outweighs
the sacrifice.
Jesus is saying,
Peter, you have missed the point.
The reward that you will get
for following me
is not to be found in this world.
It is not in the here and now.
But the reward is far beyond
your imagination,
far beyond what you can ever grasp.
And you will have an eternity
to enjoy it in my presence.
Mind-blowing.
And in the first century,
when people left the traditions
of their families
and the teaching of Jewish religious leaders
to follow Jesus,
it often meant a radical break
from their families.
And that was very difficult for them.
And the same still happens today
in many cultures,
in many religions,
and in many countries.
But Jesus isn't saying
that we need to leave our families
and forget about our responsibilities.
What Jesus is saying
is that his followers,
that we should have a radical change
of priorities in our lives.
The world tells you
to look out for yourself,
strive to be number one.
But Jesus says in verse 30,
many who are first will be last,
and many who are last will be first.
Jesus says that as the world sees it,
those who exalt themselves now
will be brought low
in the life to come.
And those who humble themselves now
and follow Jesus
will be exalted in the life to come.
You could be on the Forbes richest list
in 2019,
but if you're not right with God
and you do not believe in Jesus,
then you will be humbled in the end
and you will not have eternal life.
Do you see how upside down
this kingdom is?
This whole section
is an illustration
of what Jesus is teaching.
This young man
was rich during his life,
but when the end would come,
he would receive no blessings,
no reward,
because he would not sell,
give,
and follow Jesus.
But the disciples
who were willing to sacrifice
and leave everything,
they would receive
the greatest reward
that they could ever imagine
in the kingdom of God.
So let me ask you a question.
Let me ask all of us a question.
How upside down
is your life?
This passage is first and foremost
about our response to Jesus
and whether we're willing
to follow him.
It is about salvation,
eternal life,
and our priorities.
Are you following Jesus?
not the same
or not?
But this passage
also has big implications
on all areas of our life
and not least
our money.
Our money is a gift
given to us by God
and as Christians,
we should want to use it
for him.
Are we living the same
sacrificial life
that the disciples were?
Are we living
as if we are last?
Now this challenge
challenges us
how we use our money
and it is a big challenge
for every single one of us
in this room.
It has been a big challenge
to me this week.
What is the first thing
we do with our paycheck?
Do we go on
that shopping spree
that we've been
looking forward to
for ages
or do we use
our funds for God
and do we plan
how we give?
When we give
to the church
do we think
okay I'm going to
pray about this
I'm going to plan
how to give
or do we just give
what we have left
at the end of the month
when everything else
is gone?
This is all about
identifying
where your heart is.
And we can tell ourselves
that money isn't
an idol for us
but practically living
but are we practically
living like we are
last and God is first.
Our bank balances
and our lives
don't lie about
the state of our heart.
This week alone
I've seen three
different churches
all in need
of financial support.
Money to keep
their building up
to scratch.
Money to buy
a building.
Money to hire
someone to do
gospel work
in a scheme.
so that people
can hear the good
news of Jesus Christ
and get this eternal
life that we're
thinking about.
Investing in eternity
investing in this
upside down kingdom
is far greater
than storing up
treasures here on earth
that will fail
and that will be gone.
The radical lifestyle
that Jesus is calling
us to in this passage
affects every area
of our life.
we cannot serve
both God
and money.
But we do need money
because we do
have needs
but so often
our money serves
our own desires
and wishes
rather than just
our needs.
But our money
isn't there
to serve us
but all of our money
should be serving God.
So how are you
using your finances?
How are we using
our finances
to serve God?
Jesus doesn't tell us
to move out of our homes
to sell our cars
and give it all away
but I wonder
if we need the reminder
that our money
is ultimately
not our own.
That we should invest
it in eternity
that we should use it
for God's glory.
But we need to check
our hearts
because Jesus
isn't preaching
a prosperity gospel
here whereby
you give in order
to get
or you sow a seed
in order to reap
financial gain.
If we walk away
from this passage
with that in mind
then we've completely
missed the point.
Jesus says
that if we sell,
give and follow him
our reward
will be in heaven.
But our financial
sacrifice here and now
will bless God's people
will bless God's church
and it will mean
that we have Jesus
as a priority
in our lives
and we will be living
obediently
and sacrificially
for him.
This has worked out
very well
in my own life
when I studied
at the Faith Mission
Bible Colleges
a few years ago.
Sabina and I
were newly married
both studying full time.
We had no money
coming in
and I had no idea
how I would pay
my tuition fees.
Started out
Bible College
not knowing
if I was going
to make it
to the end
but thankfully
God put it
on someone's heart
to put an anonymous
donation
into college for me
that paid
all of my fees.
Through someone
else's sacrifice
I was able
to complete
my studies.
That person
sacrificially gave
to God's kingdom
and we were blessed
as a result.
That changed
my life.
God
this is an upside
down kingdom.
Jesus flips
our whole world
upside down
and tells us
that our priorities
need to be eternity
in God
not earth
and ourselves.
So if you're living
for the here and now
building your own kingdom
focusing entirely
on yourself
and giving no thought
to God
in his kingdom
then Jesus
is telling you
go sell
give
and follow.
But if you're
a Christian
who is sacrificially
serving
and giving
someone who
has God
and his kingdom
at heart
someone who
has been
giving up
and continues
to give up
for God's kingdom
then Jesus
says
you will be
rewarded
far beyond
your imagination
when he returns.
As we draw
to a close
I want us
to walk away
this morning
knowing
that it is
far better
far
far better
to live
for eternity
to live
for this
upside down
kingdom
than it is
to live
for a world
that will not
satisfy us
and that in the end
will leave us
cut off
and separated
from God.
This is the
upside down
kingdom
that we live
for.
Many who are
first in this
life
will be
last in the
life to
come
and many
who are
last in
this life
will be
first in
the life
to come.
Let's pray
together.
Loving God
and Heavenly
Father
would you
reveal to
us
where our
heart is
not in
the right
place?
Would you
challenge us
this morning
if we need
to sell
give and
follow?
Would you
encourage us
because we
have left
and we
will receive?
But Lord
we ask all
of this
not for our
own fame
for our
own glory.
We ask
this for your
fame and your
glory only.
Would you
help us
in the name
of your
Son Jesus
Christ.
Amen.