Real Life Selkirk
September 6-- Hidden Idols (Matthew 19:16-30)

  • Sermon

    Key Passage

    Matthew 19:16–30 NIV
    Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “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 twelve thrones, judging the twelve 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.

    Introduction

    I want to talk about the word “Extreme” today.
    I think most of us enjoy a nice simple seat, right in the moderate middle of most things.
    Food
    Our family went to a Mongolian BBQ place in CDA. We went there once and keep going back. Good food.
    They ask you to put these sauces on your food. On one side is just like water with no flavor at all. On the other side, they need to put your insurance card on file and ask you to sign a waiver.
    I don’t do the extremes. I find myself somewhere in the middle. I don’t want pain with my meal. But I also want a little bit of adventure. Not too much, but more than nothing.
    If your food is extremely anything, it is probably not a compliment
    Extremely hot, spicy, salty, sweet, etc.
    Personalities
    What about in the people around you, do you think personalities can be extreme?
    Do you know someone who talks too much? Like WAY too much?
    Or do you know someone who never talks?
    What about an extremely emotional person?
    Or an extremely loud person?
    Politics and ideas
    We have seen this in our world today.
    I think we all rightfully have our own opinions on the events and ideas of our world. I encourage you to hold those beliefs and ground them in the Word of God
    Regardless of the issue, the political position, or the idea, you know there are people who go to the extreme.
    We look at them and say, “I’m happy here closer to the middle.”
    Here’s the thing about being extreme.
    Extreme things stand out. Extreme things make everyone look.
    In a world where 96% of people are in the middle somewhere, the 2% on the far ends of that spectrum are the weird ones
    Extreme things require a response of some sort in almost every case
    If you are eating extremely spicy food, you may spit it out and reject it
    If you have an extremely talkative friend, you will have to reorient your life to being around them, knowing you’ll need the time to be around them.
    In our passage today, Jesus makes a few extreme statements and demands. To be honest, passages like the ones today ought to make us a little uncomfortable.
    And they should.
    Jesus is identifying something in this man’s heart that pushed him to either taking an extreme step or walking back somewhere to a point of moderate safety.
    This passage is going to drive us all to a place of discomfort. I’m just telling this to you up front.
    I’m going to tell you what the Bible says. It is your job to look at what the Holy Spirit is asking of you and respond.
    It has been my journey through this that we must all find ourselves in the shoes of this young man who came to Jesus.
    Jesus has a way of exposing our hearts. I pray that He does that today.
    He doesn’t cut our hearts to cause us pain.
    He cuts our hearts to remove the things that are replacing Him. It hurts, but it is the only way to heal.
    We are going to read through the interaction of Jesus with this young man so we can grasp the conversation, then we will break down what Jesus is doing so this young man is aware of the true condition of his heart.

    Preaching

    Matthew 19:16–22 NIV
    Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’” “All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?” Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

    Discipleship Viewpoint

    We have a definition of discipleship at Real Life that I want to highlight
    When Jesus called his disciples earlier in the book of Matthew, He said, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men”
    This is where we get our definition of discipleship:
    Following Jesus, changed by Jesus, obedient to the mission of Jesus and that mission is being a fisher of men.
    Jesus call to his 12 was simple but profound.
    Follow: They had to leave their nets, leave their families, leave their lives and choose to follow Jesus.
    There was sacrifice involved. In fact, to leave their security, stability, and even identity was a pretty extreme step for them to drop everything and follow Jesus.
    Changed: As they followed Jesus, Jesus “rubbed off” on them. They heard him watched him and started to become like him
    It has been pretty well documented in our last few chapters that this process took some time and a lot of failure, but when we open up the book of Acts after Jesus ascended into Heaven, we see that they were changed.
    Mission: They did what Jesus did. Fishers of men
    Their purpose in life changed. It was no longer about them and doing anything for their kingdom, it was completely changed to revolve around Jesus. When they got out of line, Jesus smacked them right back in line.
    Matthew 28:19-20— When Jesus ascended into Heaven, his commission to the disciples was “Go into all the world and MAKE DISCIPLES”
    This was Jesus’ model and plan.
    When this young man came to Jesus, discipleship was not his target.
    Follow: There is a subtle difference here that I want us to see.
    I believe this man came to Jesus in sincerity. I believe that he believed that Jesus knew and could grant eternal life.
    He went to the right person with the right target, but the wrong plan.
    He wanted Jesus as a GUIDE not as LORD.
    Show me where I need to go and what I need to do. It would still be him in control.
    Jesus cannot be our roadmap. He needs to drive the car.
    This man didn’t want to follow Jesus— He couldn’t be a disciple. There was an issue in his heart that was in the way.
    Change: Jesus recognizes the issue in this man’s heart and pushes him to an extreme crossroads.
    The change Jesus addresses in his life was not about money, it was about authority.
    Would this man allow Jesus to replace what had been the authority in his life?
    Mission: Jesus says, “Sell...Give...Follow Me”
    Jesus doesn’t say, “This is how to get eternal life.”
    Eternal life is not a transaction that we can buy with a “discipleship technique”
    I want to give you a definition of eternal life from Jesus:
    John 17:3 NIV
    Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
    We think of eternal life as a long time.
    Jesus thinks of eternal life as an unending depth of an eternal God.
    The journey to eternal life is not transactional. It is relational.
    Jesus invites him on the journey, but he refuses.
    The call to discipleship is extreme
    Our religious culture tries to tame it and moderate it and make the word comfortable.
    But being a disciple of Jesus is anything but moderate and tame.
    In fact, if you are comfortable as a disciple of Jesus, you may need to look a little closer at what you are following.
    Jesus’ will is never my will. Jesus’ plan is never my plan.
    Being a disciple of Jesus is an EXTREME change in our hearts.
    To highlight this, I want to dust off a word from the Old Testament: Idolatry

    Idolatry Introduced

    I want to take a deeper look at the interaction here between Jesus and this man
    Jesus gives this man the standard for salvation and right relationship with God
    That standard is holiness. He says, “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
    The 10 commandments are not arbitrary rules. They are a reflection of the holiness of God.
    I want to look at the 10 Commandments for a moment
    If you want to look in your Bibles at Exodus 20, you will see that the first half of the 10 commandments have to do with loving God. The second half has to do with our relationship with one another.
    Later, Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest of the commandments?” Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with ALL YOUR HEART” (EXTREME) and “Love your neighbor as much as yourself” (EXTREME) This statement summarizes all of the 10 commandments.
    We like to say that these passages are just extreme to make a point that we should drift in moderation toward that direction. But what if that is not what Jesus wants?
    Look at His interaction with this man?
    Jesus asks this man, “Did you follow the second half?”
    The man says, “Yes!”
    But I want you to know that you can do the second half of the 10 commandments and miss out on heaven.
    You can do the second half and miss out on the kingdom of Heaven
    You can do the second half and not be a disciple of Jesus
    The second half has to be built on the first half.
    Jesus knew this guy felt he was a good man because of how well he followed the second half of loving others around him.
    But his activity was not rooted in the first half of the commandments.
    Jesus had to show this to him.
    I want to pause here for a second. Why? Why would Jesus show this to him?
    To make a point? Because he wants to beat up on him?
    It’s because he loves him. If there is a problem in the heart, a loving God will bring it to our attention. It will be painful, but a loving God will do his part.
    Here is the first command:
    Exodus 20:3 NIV
    “You shall have no other gods before me.
    And here is the second:
    Exodus 20:4 NIV
    “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.
    As we navigate the OT before Jesus came, we see that there were all sorts of situations where people would create idols and false Gods.
    Even the people who were following God would make idols and worship them also while trying to worship God.
    When Moses went up on the mountain to get the 10 commandments that contained these two instructions, he came down the mountain and the people had made a “holy cow” and were worshipping it.
    Throughout the OT, God is relentless in His opposition to idols.
    There was always punishment and judgment when people would worship idols
    Whether it be Baal, Molech or Asherah, God would demand that the places of worship to these false gods would be destroyed. Completely destroyed. Extreme. No space for these idols.
    The word for idol worship was idolatry.
    By the time they got to the lifespan of Jesus, there doesn’t seem to be much of an idol problem in the sense of making little stone figurines to worship. Rome had them, but Israel had learned its lesson.
    Today, we look at the commands against idolatry as antiquated things. We as a society have learned about science and the needs for these kinds of idols doesn’t exist in our American culture.
    But there is a principle that we see in this young man as he approached Jesus that I think we need to address in our church today.
    Jesus alluded to this principle in His Sermon on the Mount.
    You don’t need to be holding a gun to have murder in your heart
    You don’t need pornography to have lust in your heart
    And you don’t need an idol in front of you to have idolatry in your heart.
    Jesus exposed a hidden idolatry in this man’s heart. An idolatry that still lives today, but hidden behind a mask of “we don’t have idols anymore”
    True, we don’t bow to statues anymore, but I want you to know, every heart in this room bows faithfully in worship to its god.
    We may not burn incense and sacrifices to statues, but we burn our lives in worship to our gods
    We don’t call them idols:
    We call them goals, priorities, values, or passions.
    We are created to worship and all of us do worship.
    Take a look at this man as he approaches Jesus
    Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and give it to the poor.
    This command was not about helping the poor
    This command was about AUTHORITY
    Jesus’ commands were not about appropriate money management
    It was about LORDSHIP
    Jesus is not making a point about generosity
    He is revealing a HIDDEN IDOLATRY IN THE HEART
    Jesus is saying, “You cannot follow Me until your god is dethroned. Now let me show you your god.”
    He was doing all of the 2nd half of the 10 commandments, but he neglected the first. Which exposed the superficial nature of what he was doing.

    Diagnostics

    As I was preparing this sermon, I was having a printer problem. We have a cute little pink printer in our office room.
    It stopped working a while back and in preparation for this sermon, I needed to print something up, so I started troubleshooting the issues.
    It gave me step by step instruction:
    Push this button
    Unplug
    Take out the ink cartridge and put it back in
    Reset the machine.
    When it was done, AI told me that after all of the tests it gave, the result was likely a printer cartridge that was the right size, but because we went cheap on the cartridge, it wasn’t working properly with my snooty pink machine.
    I’ve been kicking around for years a list that would help us look into our lives to assess who is on the throne of our hearts.
    We lie to ourselves and based on our text today, I feel Jesus gives us a snapshot of His diagnostic test.
    Six Diagnostic Questions
    Identity— Who tells me who I am?
    What do I fear losing because it defines me?
    What do I want others to notice about me?
    What failure feels like death?
    Six Diagnostic Questions
    Identity— Who tells me who I am?
    Security— What makes me feel safe?
    What do I cling to when life shakes?
    What do I check first when I am anxious?
    What do I believe will protect my future?
    Six Diagnostic Questions
    Identity— Who tells me who I am?
    Security— What makes me feel safe?
    Control— What must I manage to feel ok?
    What do I obsess over? (At 2:00 a.m. when I can’t sleep)
    What do I try to manipulate?
    What do I panic about when it slips away?
    Six Diagnostic Questions
    4. Hope— What builds my future?
    What do I daydream about?
    What do I fear losing tomorrow?
    What do I believe will make my life “work”?
    Six Diagnostic Questions
    4. Hope— What builds my future?
    5. Righteousness— What makes me feel good enough?
    What do I compare myself to?
    What do I use to justify myself and my actions?
    Six Diagnostic Questions
    4. Hope— What builds my future?
    5. Righteousness— What makes me feel good enough?
    6. Meaning— What makes my life matter?
    What do I sacrifice for?
    What do I want to be remembered for?
    What do I believe gives my life weight?

    RYR Diagnostics

    Identity— He went away sad… His wealth was his identity and he couldn’t part with it
    Security— His wealth was his fortress
    Control— “What must I do...?”
    Hope— He saw no future in Jesus only by holding on to what he had
    Righteousness— I have kept all of these commandments ( I am good enough)
    Meaning— Status, success and pride

    Eye of a Needle

    Matthew 19:23–24 NIV
    Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
    This is something that someone somewhere made up and every armchair theologian picked up along the way.
    Some people say that the eye of a needle was a short gate in the walls of the city of Jerusalem and a camel needed to get on its knees to go through it.
    Not true. Sorry if that’s something that you believe.
    It isn’t true historically. It doesn’t exist in any writings
    It isn’t true archaeologically. The walls are still there. No short gates
    It isn’t true contextually. This passage is making a point
    A giant camel can’t pass through the eye of a little bitty needle
    Here is what Jesus is saying here and what He isn’t saying here.
    He isn’t saying that if you have a certain amount of money in your bank, you are excluded from heaven.
    There are people who have big numbers in their bank accounts who are godly disciples
    There are people who have big numbers in their bank accounts who are godless sinners
    There are people with little numbers in their bank accounts who are godly disciples
    There are people with little numbers in their bank accounts who are godless sinners.
    This isn’t a question of the size of your bank account.
    This is a question of your identity determining your god.
    If your identity is your wealth, than that identity has been bestowed upon you by your god.
    If your identity is a disciple of Jesus, then that identity has been bestowed upon you by your God.
    A man who’s identity is his wealth will not enter the Kingdom, because the wrong god is on the throne of his life.
    No matter how many of the 2nd half of the 10 commandments he obeys.
    Camel and eye of a needle.
    The disciples heard this and their answer revealed a lot about this statement and their view of discipleship:
    Matthew 19:25–26 NIV
    When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
    Why do they say, “Who then can be saved?”
    Because it is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle.
    That’s the point. It is impossible
    Jesus says, “It IS impossible.”
    But with God, anything is possible. Even a man with wealth getting into heaven.
    This is a God thing, not an us thing.
    The disciples were amazed and GREATLY ASTONISHED.
    They thought this guy was a winner. The perfect disciple
    Rich, young, righteous, leadership qualities. Everything a ministry needs to build.
    Surely he is perfect in the Kingdom of Heaven.
    Jesus exposed his heart and the wrong god was on the throne.
    The scary thing is not that the disciples were deceived by this guy.
    The scary thing is that the rich young ruler was deceived by himself.
    Matthew 19:27 NIV
    Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”
    Peter says, “Jesus, we left everything to follow you. Remember, you said ‘come follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ We left everything and followed you. Are we in the Kingdom?
    Peter is massively confused at this point and he is questioning his own status in the Kingdom and status with Jesus.
    Jesus replies:
    Matthew 19:28–29 NIV
    Jesus said to them, “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 twelve thrones, judging the twelve 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.
    Jesus says, “Peter, you are good. You are a disciple.”
    Then Jesus points to the future. The end of the age.
    As Jesus continues in these next few chapters, he will prophetically point to the future more and more.
    We will get into some of that as we move on in this series.
    For further information about the end times stuff here, you can read about those who were given authority to judge in Revelation 20 and the renewal of the age in Revelation 21.
    Bonus reading for the people who want to read more.
    Jesus uses a very important word here to highlight the difference between the disciples and the rich young ruler.
    That word is “Inherit”

    Inherit

    Here is where this story comes full circle.
    The guy approaches Jesus at the start of this story and asks, “What must I do to get eternal life?”
    At the end, Jesus tells Peter, “You will inherit eternal life”
    Inherit
    What do I need to do to earn an inheritance? Nothing.
    An inheritance is not based on what I do. An inheritance is based on who I am.
    I love some of you like family. You are very close to me. But when I die, I’m not going to leave my retirement account and my house to you. I’m going to leave it to my kids. Why? They are my kids.
    Inheritance is based on identity, not performance.
    This is the point of this entire passage!
    Is Jesus the God of your life?
    It is EXTREME to give these things up.
    As we talk about identity, security, hope, meaning in our lives, to change them is to change the very way we see ourselves.
    It changes the way we live, the dreams we pursue.
    It is extreme.
    It requires sacrifice. You may lose friends, jobs, homes or even your life. People have throughout History.
    But because God is on the throne of their lives, they consider it joy.
    Jesus — Gospel — Identity — Lordship — Inheritance

    First and Last

    Matthew 19:30 NIV
    But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
    We have to take the things off of the throne of our lives that make us win in our own eyes.
    I fight to be first when anything is on the throne except Jesus.
    I don’t care what place I’m in if Jesus is on the throne. He must be first.
    Only then will we be brought to value, but through Him.
    Jesus said it this way, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, then all these things will be added unto you.”
    We seek Him, He takes care of us.
    We seek us, we will be humbled by a God who wants to reveal who is on the throne of our hearts.
    Out of love, because we need to see it.

    Conclusion

    As we come to the end of this passage, I want to slow down for a moment and let the weight of Jesus’ words settle into our hearts. This story doesn’t end with a technique, or a formula, or a checklist. It ends with a miracle — the miracle of inheritance.
    The rich young ruler began with a question:
    “What must I do to get eternal life?”
    Jesus ends with a promise:
    “You will inherit eternal life.”
    Those two words — do and inherit — are worlds apart.
    You don’t earn an inheritance. You don’t deserve an inheritance. You don’t negotiate an inheritance.
    You receive an inheritance because of who you are — because of the identity given to you by your God.
    And that’s the point of this entire passage.
    The rich young ruler wanted eternal life without an extreme change of identity. He wanted the kingdom without the King. He wanted salvation without surrender. He wanted discipleship without dethroning his god.
    But Jesus is clear:
    You cannot inherit the kingdom until the true King sits on the throne of your heart.
    That is an extreme change. It is an extreme reorientation. It is an extreme overthrow of every hidden idol.
    And yet — it is the only path to life.
    So before we leave today, I want to give you space to assess your heart. Not quickly. Not superficially. Not defensively. But honestly, humbly, and with the courage that comes from the Holy Spirit.
    Because the most dangerous part of this story is not that the disciples were deceived by the rich young ruler. It’s that the rich young ruler was deceived by himself.
    So here are two questions — simple, but deep — that I want you to take home, pray through, journal through, and sit with before God this week.

    Two Introspective Questions to Take Home

    1. What in my life feels impossible to surrender — and what does that reveal about who my god truly is?

    Surrender is not simply a “Manage this issue” or “put it on back shelf” there is a death, an extreme destruction of this place of worship in my life.
    If there is something I cannot imagine losing… If there is something I cling to for identity, security, control, hope, righteousness, or meaning… Then Jesus may be gently placing His finger on the throne of my heart.
    Identity
    Security
    Control
    Hope
    Righteousness
    Meaning

    2. Where is Jesus inviting me into an extreme step of discipleship — and what excuses am I using to stay in the moderate middle?

    The rich young ruler walked away because the call felt extreme. The disciples stepped in because they trusted the One who makes the impossible possible.

    Closing Word

    Church, Jesus does not expose our idols to shame us. He exposes them to free us.
    He does not cut our hearts to hurt us. He cuts our hearts to heal us.
    And He does not call us to extreme surrender without offering an extreme gift — the inheritance of resurrection life.
    You are who your God says you are. And because of that, you will inherit what your God gives.
    May we be a people who do not walk away sad… but walk forward in faith, following Jesus, changed by Jesus, obedient to the mission of Jesus, with God — and God alone — on the throne of our hearts.

      • Matthew 19:16–30ESV

      • Matthew 19:16–22ESV

      • John 17:3ESV

      • Exodus 20:3ESV

      • Exodus 20:4ESV

      • Matthew 19:23–24ESV

      • Matthew 19:25–26ESV

      • Matthew 19:27ESV

      • Matthew 19:28–29ESV

      • Matthew 19:30ESV

Real Life Selkirk
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