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[0:00] Good morning, church. It's such a joy to be able to preach God's word with you this morning.! My name is Ed. I'm one of the pastors here at Trinity Cambridge.

[0:13] ! We're going to continue on in our series in Matthew. We're in Matthew 19, verses 13 to 26.

[0:25] Matthew 19, verses 13 to 26. If you don't have a Bible and you would like to use one, we'd be happy to gift you a Bible, so feel free to raise your hand and we'll get you a hard copy if you'd like to use it.

[0:43] Okay. Won't you bow your heads with me as we go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, Heavenly Father, we come before you knowing that we have nothing to offer.

[1:14] You need nothing from us. And yet we so often think that we can prove ourselves to you.

[1:25] I pray, Lord, today, over the course of the next 40, 50 minutes, that you would challenge us by your word.

[1:38] You would help us to feel the freedom of childlike faith. more than anything, that we would renounce all of our unrighteous ways and turn to you alone for our righteousness, the all-sufficient merit of Christ.

[1:56] Expand our eyes. Help us to have a bigger vision of you, Christ, above all, and a lower view of ourselves. And that you would transform us as we remember that it is only possible to make it to the kingdom of heaven because of your work.

[2:17] So we look to you, Lord Jesus. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. If you would rise for the reading of God's word to honor him.

[2:28] Starting in verse 13. Then children were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people.

[2:40] But Jesus said, Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. And he laid his hands on them and went away.

[2:53] And behold, a man came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good?

[3:06] There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments. He said to him, Which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder.

[3:18] You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother. And love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these I have kept.

[3:31] What do I still lack? Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, Go, sell what you possess, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.

[3:42] And come, follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.

[4:00] Again, I tell you, 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. When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved?

[4:16] But Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. This is God's holy and authoritative word.

[4:27] Please be seated. Amen. On October 12, 2024, around 2 a.m., my life was forever changed.

[4:44] Because on that day, my bright-eyed, big-bellied baby was born. From head to toe, he was perfect. We took him home and every day since then have marveled at his growth and development.

[5:03] Feels like every day he's learning a new skill, exploring a new part of the house, figuring out how the world works. And he laughs through it all.

[5:17] But just as much as he's learning every day, I feel like I'm learning even more from him, specifically about what it looks like, what it sounds like, what it feels like to be a child again.

[5:33] For example, my 16-month-old son, as all parents know, makes an absolute mess when it comes to dinner time. It's like someone planted a cherry bomb in his pasta dinner.

[5:46] And yet, when he's absolutely disgusting, covered in sauce, if you give him the chance, yet without any second guessing, he will run up right to you, arms up, begging for you to hold him.

[6:00] Or right now, my son is at the stage of his development where he knows what he wants, but doesn't have the vocabulary to say it. And so those two factors combined means that he screams.

[6:14] A lot. Relentlessly. He unashamedly screams for us to get more cheese, to pick up that ball, to sing that song again.

[6:25] Whatever it is, he's screaming for it. I see my son when I read this passage. Jesus welcomes these needy children, arms up, mess and all, and says, to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.

[6:43] They come with nothing, and they leave with everything. But I read on and then I see someone like me. A young man approaches Jesus to see what he can do to have eternal life.

[6:58] He has the spiritual resume. He has the morality. He has the resources. In many ways, he is the polar opposite picture from what we see in the kids. So of course, Jesus would love to have him in his little posse.

[7:14] So he invites him to join, and they go conquer the world together. But that's not at all what happens. To the man who comes to Jesus clean and competent, capable and confident, to the man who comes with everything, he leaves with nothing.

[7:33] This is the upside-down kingdom. And with both interactions, Matthew is trying to illustrate this one simple truth. Only by childlike faith in Jesus Christ is it possible to enter the kingdom of God.

[7:49] So in turn, I'm going to be speaking first about the children's humility, and then the young man's hindrance, and finally, the father's help. Once Jesus finishes his radical teaching on marriage, children are brought to Jesus, presumably by their well-meaning parents or relatives, to receive the prayer and the blessing of a holy man.

[8:12] This was quite a common practice back then. But yet, despite the innocence, the earnestness of their request, the disciples seemed to get quite annoyed by all these kids around them.

[8:26] Perhaps the kids were just being kids, being rowdy, making too much noise. Back then, much like the aristocratic Victorians, ancient Jews often thought that kids are to be seen, not heard.

[8:41] Or perhaps their anoint stems from their general low view of children. Remember that in ancient Israel, kids were at the bottom of the social ladder for their lack of utility.

[8:53] The Old Testament in general does uphold children as vital blessings and a heritage of the Lord, but at the same time, the culture collectively didn't have baby fever or romantic idealistic view of children.

[9:09] They knew that kids could be a lot of work. Depending on their age, kids can't work, cook, drive, tie their shoes, or even go to the bathroom on their own.

[9:22] Also, Matthew doesn't mention any major issues with the kids. They aren't oppressed by demons, they're not sick or about to die, they clearly have loving parents, they seem healthy and functioning, so all things considered, the disciples are probably just feeling like, come on guys, we have bigger fish to fry.

[9:46] Let's get a move on and go conquer Jerusalem. We have better things to do. Yet once again, the forgetful disciples lose sight of Jesus' teaching.

[9:58] Just from a chapter ago, Jesus' words should have echoed in their ears. Unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

[10:15] Just consider how radically unusual Jesus' teaching is here. Never once do you find in any contemporary Jewish or Greco-Roman teaching, are children held forward as model examples for adults.

[10:31] In fact, that could be construed very easily as insulting. But to Jesus, the children seeking his blessing are not annoying, not disposable, but they're the perfect example of the ideal prime candidate to enter the kingdom of heaven.

[10:51] Imagine this kind of job interview. interview. Thanks for coming down to chat with us, to interview for this role of CEO at this Fortune 500 company. Needless to say, this is the most important role at this company, so we're going to be really selective on who we choose.

[11:08] Just to be frank, I'm rooting for you in particular, so let me give you insight of what we're going to be looking for over the course of this interview. We're really looking for someone who, number one, has no formal education, number two, has no job experience, and number three, has no demonstrable skills.

[11:28] To Jesus, the unskilled, unschooled, unseasoned children will be co-heirs, co-rulers, co-judges with him in the new kingdom. And that's why he says, let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such, and Jesus is speaking not just about the kids directly in front of him now, but broadly to all, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.

[11:54] And he prays for them. To all those who humble themselves like children, who are needy and unimportant and know it, they know that they have nothing to offer, they're the ones who are put in these great positions of high esteem and honor.

[12:13] Yet, how prone are we to wander away from this kind of childlike humility? in one of my seminary classes, Tom Schreiner, a prolific author of more than 40 books, one of the world's most respected New Testament scholars, talking to the man, the man basically bleeds Bible, just knows Bible like the back of his hand.

[12:38] He's one of the most respected figures in all of evangelicalism. And yet, this great figurehead shared that in one season of his life, he felt incredibly dry.

[12:52] Reading scripture felt tiresome, worship felt flat, praying felt unnatural. It wasn't until God spoke to him through these very passages in Matthew 18 and 19 to wake him up to see what he was missing.

[13:09] He realized all the time, almost unconsciously, he fell into a pattern where he thought it was all up to him, that he had something to offer God. Look, I know how to study the Bible.

[13:23] I know how to pray. I'm a pastor. I'm a seminary professor. I know how this Christian thing works. Yet, it was precisely that kind of attitude that sucked all the vitality, all the joy out of his Christian life.

[13:40] As Pastor Rob Golding wrote, it is the foolish child who forgets that it's the Father's hand that makes him fly. We feel this tendency to drift too, don't we?

[13:54] For Bible reading, what once was an opportunity to simply receive your daily bread from your Heavenly Father, now turns into a stressful assessment to make sure that you interpret the passage correctly, read the right commentaries, meditate on the passage, memorize, memorize, memorize.

[14:12] In evangelism, what was once an opportunity to simply share the joy of the gospel, to explode with joy in evangelism, now becomes a test to see if you can get all the theological facts just right.

[14:27] In prayer, what was once an opportunity just to pour out your heart before your Father, your Abba Father, now becomes a performance of saying the right things, quoting enough scripture, convinced it's up to us now, we forget how to laugh at ourselves, and we're always on because we need to keep up the act.

[14:49] But Jesus knows the thin veneer of self-sufficiency. Children playing house don't convince anyone that they're grown-ups.

[15:01] As much as we try, we don't convince God either. And if we're not convincing anyone, we might as well learn to own up to our neediness.

[15:15] I've shared with those closest in my life that ever since I've been ordained as a pastor, and honestly before that, I've been struggling with imposter syndrome, wrought by the sin of comparison.

[15:29] I find it hard not to when you have such gifted men in Sean, Todd, and Andrew. I find it hard not to when our church, is stacked with faithful, knowledgeable, evangelistic, loving members such as yourselves.

[15:46] So I see my flaws. I see my weaknesses, and my gut instinctual reaction is to cover them up, to hide them.

[16:00] Or, really ideally for me, is to pour in all my effort into working on this thing, these weaknesses, weaknesses, through some hopefully quick training montages, so that in the end, in the grand cinematic reveal, they're now my greatest strengths.

[16:17] But the Apostle Paul has a different approach when it comes to his perceived weaknesses. He doesn't hide them, pretend that they don't exist, but he counter-culturally boasts in them.

[16:32] He says, if I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. Just imagine what our church could be if we all own the fact that we are needy children.

[16:47] All of us Christians generally acknowledge that we are sinners. Fewer of us share specifically how we are sinners. But do you know what others will say when we boast of our weakness?

[17:02] When we let others see our limitations? When we refuse to build a reputation, but confess that we fall short as husbands and wives? How we struggle with bitterness?

[17:14] How we're prone to anxiety? It's not how ridiculous you struggle with that, but it's I'm not the only one. And only then do we learn to welcome and receive fellow needy children like ourselves.

[17:33] We don't shoo them away, tell them they're a waste of time. But vulnerability alone is not the end that we seek.

[17:44] If we merely confess sin in our accountability groups and only say, yeah, me too, yeah, I struggle with that too, that does nothing to mature us. We receive others ultimately for the goal of pointing them to Christ.

[18:00] God has to come to me, Christ said. Some Christians think we grow and change by working on our heads, reading more books, sharpening our theology.

[18:13] Others think that we grow working on our hands, purifying our behavior, living more in line with a moral code. Others still think that we change by changing our hearts, searching our feelings, cultivating deeper spiritual experiences.

[18:32] None of those things are bad, but in isolation, they're ineffectual to change us. The only catalyst to change is a relationship. It's a relationship with the living Christ.

[18:45] And the one requirement that he has is that we simply come with open hands, empty pockets. And if that's true, how does this next character fare?

[18:59] A man comes up to Jesus, sincerely asks him, teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? At this point, everyone's ears must have perked up, because this is the most important question, the most important answer of all time.

[19:21] What do we need to do to make it to the kingdom of heaven? As important as all other questions of theology, like baptism, spiritual gifts, maybe even divorce and remarriage, they're all dwarfed by the magnitude of this weighty question.

[19:38] If you joined us today and you're not a Christian, I just want to quickly say again, we are so glad that you are here. I especially invite you to tune into Jesus' answer here, because if you understand it, it will change not just your life here on earth, but your eternity forever.

[19:57] Initially, Jesus gives a curious response. Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. This response has led to great confusion, debate, leading some, often Muslims, to conclude that Jesus is denying his own deity here.

[20:15] But I don't think that's a reasonable interpretation, because the focus in the Greek is not on the word me, but it's on the thrice-repeated adjective good.

[20:27] Jesus really isn't focusing on himself right now. He's not trying to comment about himself. He's simply probing the young man on how he defines goodness. How do you understand what is good?

[20:41] As a quick plug, during our ongoing bridge course at our church, the first session addressed this question, how good are you? I screenshotted this little image, the good old meter, on one of our pamphlets associated with bridge, sensing that this man thinks that he is at ten, which is only confirmed later by his answers.

[21:05] Jesus is reestablishing the standard of goodness here. Why do you ask me about what is good? Don't you already know that there is only one who deserves that ten, and that's not you?

[21:18] But Jesus continues to play along, and he gives them basically the most Jewish answer ever. If he would enter life, keep the commandments. Jesus knows that the law was given to expose and to exacerbate sin, for through the law comes knowledge of sin, as Paul writes in Romans 3.20.

[21:40] James 2.10 writes of the impossible standard of keeping the law, for whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point, just one point, has become guilty of it all.

[21:52] So when the young man replies, which ones? I don't really think that he's picking up what Jesus is putting down here. Still stuck in his Jewish culture, he's thinking about what others, what other rabbis have essentially done.

[22:08] They've ranked the commandments in tier lists of the most important laws to keep. So he wants now Jesus' tier list. of how these 613 Old Testament laws stack.

[22:21] Okay, Jesus continues to play along and you can tell he's playing along because he doesn't even include the greatest commandment to love your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

[22:33] But instead he focuses on the second half of the Ten Commandments, which are all observable and doable, at least to how the Jews defined it. Interestingly enough, only Matthew, not Mark or Luke, includes this sixth command, love your neighbor as yourself.

[22:53] I think it's conceivable that there are some who haven't murdered, cheated, stolen, borne false witness, or publicly rebelled against their parents, but to love your neighbor as yourself, that should have made the young man hit pot and second guess whether he truly has lived a good life until now.

[23:15] But even that commandment doesn't stop this train. He believes that he's kept all of these. And in Mark and Luke, it says that he says that I've kept all of these from my youth.

[23:29] The young man apparently missed all of Jesus' sermon on the mount. He missed how Jesus didn't come to relax one of the least of these commandments. There he didn't lower but raised the bar for obedience.

[23:45] So looking at a woman lustfully is adultery. Anger for another is murder. Divorce for any cause leads to adultery. And to cap it off, he commands you must be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect.

[24:01] Remembering that context then, we can see very clearly that this man is spiritually blind. He's spiritually out of touch. Contra the man's belief by no stretch of the imagination has he perfectly kept these from his youth.

[24:19] But then again, perhaps, this young man might actually be more spiritually in tune than we think. Because even when he thinks he's blameless to the law, even when he thinks that he's that 10 on the good-o meter, he's earnest and self-aware enough to sense that he's missing something.

[24:40] All this rule-following can't be it. Commentator Bill Mounts suspects that the man's uneasiness reveals an instinctive, intrinsic human awareness that legalism falls short of God's intention.

[24:57] Or as church father Augustine famously said, our hearts are restless until they rest in you. the irony is striking. The man with many possessions is still missing something.

[25:13] So restless and uneasy he asks, what do I still lack? Then Jesus finally goes for the jugular. He finally gets to the very heart of what this man is lacking.

[25:27] If he is to be perfect like our heavenly father is perfect then Jesus commands him go sell what you possess and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come and follow me.

[25:41] Although he's kept up so far when the young man hears this final command he goes away sorrowful because of his many possessions. If we weren't so familiar with this passage we would be shocked first we're stunned at how bad Jesus is at closing a conversion.

[26:06] Doesn't Jesus know that all we need to do is just believe we're saved by faith alone? Wouldn't we in our sophisticated 21st century knowledge of us who know how to close a conversion just say just believe our works don't save us all you need to do is just ask God into your heart but Jesus doesn't make that pitch he asks him to give not 10 not 50 not 99!

[26:37] but shockingly all of it and the man can't do it even when Jesus tries to motivate him with greater secure treasures in heaven he still goes away sorrowful and empty handed the first question in everyone's mind reading this probably is is Jesus asking the same of me is this the same requirement for me to make it to the kingdom of heaven and the answer is yes sort of selling all of one's possessions is not presented anywhere else as a universal prescription for every disciple Jesus doesn't make the same requirement for many of his other followers like Mary Martha and Lazarus the wealthy wife of Chusa or even Zacchaeus who gives only half of his net worth away but while he does demand nothing rival him in our hearts that's the spirit of the command

[27:42] I don't think Jesus commands us to sell everything that's the letter of the law we do need to follow the spirit of the law that we cannot have anything rival him in our hearts but if you just breathe a sigh of relief thinking that we're free from the letter of the law you might be the exact kind of person Jesus would say this to in fact in preparation for this sermon I found myself all too keen to try to soften the blunt!

[28:16] edge of Jesus' demand on this young man we try to justify this because this can't possibly apply to us right? Surely this young man is a lot richer than me but are you so sure?

[28:32] First the text obviously doesn't specify how much the man had and secondly we live in a time and place of unparalleled affluence a country where the poverty level exceeds the average standard of living in nearly every other society in human history past or present so perhaps we'd be wise not to just move on from this passage immediately for Jesus knows how difficult it is for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven that's verse!

[29:06] In fact money is one of Jesus favorite topics he speaks far more about money than about heaven hell faith or prayer in all the gospels Jesus focuses on money because he knows that there is a powerful relationship between our true spiritual condition and our budgets it's true of our church too every year we present a budget and you could see very clearly on paper for better for worse what is important to us and what is not important to us and the same is true of you and your budgets the way you spend your money is the expression of the inner workings of your heart it's questionable whether he actually said this but Martin Luther is often quoted having said there are three conversions!

[30:00] necessary! the conversion of the heart the conversion of the mind and the conversion of the purse elsewhere Paul writes to Timothy those who desire to be rich fall into temptation into a snare into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction for the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils but the greatest evil is that it numbs our sense for need for God it creates the illusion of self sufficiency that kind of sin goes all the way back to the garden where Adam and Eve they ate of the forbidden fruit to be like God self sufficient independent in an abundance of money can have that same subtle effect on us a stocked fridge a stacked 401k and a stately house can easily grip you grip you into a choke hold and lull you to sleep until you begin sleep walking through life living in a false reality where you think that you're independent secure and in control that doesn't mean that we should all quit our secular jobs and now take vows of poverty as go be monks right if in a sense we know we struggle with materialism asceticism isn't the solution again

[31:37] Martin Luther he famously compared humanity to a drunkard who falls off his horse to the right and gets back on and then falls off to the left money is a gift and a tool not a plague and a disease but while we are not afraid of money we do need to guard ourselves to handle it rightly then in the same spirit of childlike vulnerability is it time for us to share with others openly about how we spend our money and be held accountable for it our culture has taboo topics to avoid in conversation such as religion and money we've overcome the latter but it's time to re-evaluate our privacy with sorry we overcome the former but it's time to re-evaluate our privacy with the latter do we have trusted people that know how you spend your money how much you give or do you consider that your private business we have to take radical measures with money because

[32:49] Paul pulls no punches the desire to be rich has plunged people to ruin and destruction and Jesus was on to something when he commanded the young man to give all that he had to this day one of the best ways to break our crip and allure of money is simply to give it away to have less of it proverbs 30 captures this well give me neither poverty nor riches feed me with the food that is needful for me lest I be full and deny you and say who is the Lord or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God and if you have riches all and could the Lord be calling you to give generously for those who are in need around you for both your and for their benefit as a win-win situation for all we've been confronted by Jesus hard teaching on riches!

[33:51] but he's not done yet it's not just difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven but now he says that it is impossible just as a six foot tall 2,000 pound camel can't fit through the eye of a needle a one millimeter eye of a needle some attempt to soften Jesus teaching here by surmising that there was a small but yet large enough gate in Jerusalem called the eye of the needle that only if you stripped the camel completely bare had it bend at the knee and as perfectly poetic as that sounds there is no legitimate historical evidence of such a gate Jesus teaching is clear and undeniable if you are rich and you love being rich it's not just difficult but impossible to make it to the kingdom of heaven to this the disciples are simply floored to them riches were the true sign of

[34:55] God's blessing revered men like Abraham Isaac Jacob David and Job they were all uber rich they thought that the rich were the best of us and so when they see that this young man walk away with nothing to show for it how he how Jesus now rejects all people all rich people their immediate wonder is whether anyone even the poor even themselves could be saved who could possibly have a chance this is precisely Jesus point as he delivers the key verse of our passage today verse 26 with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible friends you want to grow as a Christian you want to find victory in your battle against lust or your marriage to transform and find contentment at work stay in this verse meditate on it let it fill every corner of your mind on your knees pray through it don't leave until you get this verse and once you feel like you got it then come back again to these 12 simple words consider the rich young man again he comes to

[36:21] Jesus knowing that he's missing something sure but you sense in his mind in his pattern of thought that he thinks he's almost there in reaching eternal life or at the very least it's within his own power at times we reflect the same kind of thinking too we're mostly good we're mostly fine apart from that one little issue that one little lust thing that one little laziness issue that one little drinking thing but don't worry I'm working on it I'm praying through it I'm reading books on it once I fix that one thing then you know I'm good to go but see how Jesus demands the young man to sell everything and give to the poor why to expose this man to hold up a mirror in front of his face so that he can get a really good look at himself see for yourself who you really are you think that you are a pious nearly perfect man but you aren't anywhere close to the goodness of

[37:26] God you can't even keep the first commandment you shall have no other gods before me Jesus is trying to show him the unachievable standard of goodness needed for salvation and how far he!

[37:40] short of it and when we look at ourselves through the mirror of the law isn't that true of us brothers and sisters isn't it true that we remember who we once were how we made an absolute wreck of our lives and how our relationships with God were broken that apart from Christ we have each and every single one of us rebelled against our loving gracious father I love and delight in my son so much far more than I could have imagined and along with all my heart to have a relationship with him in the future and I cannot imagine the pain of having him reject me or replace me but I'm a sinful father I do and I will fall short but our heavenly father has never done us any wrong and we have rejected and dishonored him saying

[38:42] I don't need you I don't want you don't we know that for that sin we deserved eternal and don't just skip over that word eternal everlasting never ending condemnation damnation are we not amazed by the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ the one who made the impossible possible who breached the impassable chasm are we not overcome to see the death resurrection and ascension on behalf of hopeless helpless ones like us if this young man knew if he only knew the price it took to atone for his sin that the only way was for the heavenly father to send his one and only begotten son and for the son to humble himself by adding to a human nature to himself live a life of perfect obedience and then be hung on a bloody cross to look down the barrel of full wrath of a just

[39:42] God in the stead of undeserving sinners if he knew that if he knew the precious cost of the blood of the lamb he would have sold everything right then and there what he should have done right then is to fall on his face and declare that he is in childlike faith but he doesn't because there is no appreciation of verse 26 in his heart compare him to another character in the book of Luke Luke 7 one of the Pharisees asked to eat with him and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table and behold a woman of the city who was a sinner when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house brought an alabaster flask of ointment and standing behind him at his feet weeping she began to kiss his feet with tears with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment sensing the

[40:47] Pharisee's judgment Jesus then says to the Pharisee a certain money lender had two debtors one owed 500 denari and the other 50 when they could not pay he canceled the debt of both now which of them will love him more Simon answered the one I suppose for whom he canceled the larger debt and he said to him you have judged rightly then turning toward the woman he said to Simon do you see this woman I entered your house you gave me no water for my feet but she has wet my feet has not ceased to kiss my feet you did not anoint my head with oil but she has anointed my feet with ointment therefore I tell you her sins which are many are forgiven for she loved much but he who is forgiven little loves little do you see the difference between the woman of the city and this rich young man unprompted without the reassurance of valuable treasures in heaven she willingly offers probably what is her most prized possession her alabaster flask of ointment the rich man doesn't give up a dime why because those who are forgiven much love much and those who are forgiven little love little you don't give to become a forgiven accepted protected child of

[42:17] God you give because you already know you are one love of money has no grip on you anymore because of your greater love for God and you can leave everything at the drop of a hat to come and follow Jesus my son Theo understands this more than me every Sunday morning practically every time we go out whenever Christine and I start to get ready Theo Theo immediately starts to get anxious he demands that we hold him pays close attention when we get changed and he follows us wherever we go in the house when it's finally time to go whatever he's holding whether he's holding his favorite toy favorite doll all of that gets immediately dropped to just run after us not just dropped but he practically throws it away he doesn't need to bring anything we don't need to announce to him or convince him to come along he just wants to follow us

[43:27] I pray that we all learn to follow Jesus like my son let's pray heavenly father we boast in our weaknesses because ultimately we boast in you we thank you Lord Jesus for your death and your resurrection on behalf of needy desperate broken sinners like us we know we have made a wreck of our lives but we thank you that you have transformed us everything that we have is yours every breath every dollar every day every hour it's all yours so empower us by your spirit to go forth and to live in that to know that we are yours we are forever yours and you are our Abba father in Jesus name we pray amen Thank you.