JUST ONE THING MISSING

Mark 10:17-22

  1. Intro.
    1. in this passage, is a man who seemed to have it all
      1. when Jesus looked into this man’s life, He finds him to be lacking one very important "thing" - 21
      2. that important "thing" would have guaranteed him eternal life
    2. most, if not all, of us have dreamed of one day striking it rich
      1. if we were given the opportunity, many of us might be willing to trade places with this rich young man
      2. let us look at all that he had going for him, and at that "one thing" he was missing
      3. then let’s see whether or not we would really like to be in his shoes
    3. as we look at this passage, let each of us take some time to look at our own life
      1. see what we have, and see if we have this "one thing" that makes all the difference for eternity
      2. this one thing is the difference between having everything or nothing in eternity
  2. his possessions
    1. money - 22
      1. there is nothing wrong with having money
      2. it is when money has us that there is a problem - 1 Tim 6:10
      3. money, with all it’s power and potential, does not impress God and can never provide salvation for the soul (the rich fool in Luke 12:16-20)
    2. position and power -- Luke 18:18
      1. this young man was a community leader and held a place of honor among his people
      2. Jesus was unimpressed, in the eyes of God all men are sinners - Romans 3:23
      3. salvation cannot be earned by influence or by one’s position in the world
    3. morals - 19-20
      1. Jesus mentioned several commandments, and the man's response was that he had kept them from his youth up
      2. the fact that Jesus did not challenge this man’s claims tells us that he was a moral man
      3. morality is not enough to get us into Heaven
      4. there will be millions of good, moral people in Hell
      5. the Bible is very clear when it tells us that works will never be enough to save man’s soul -- Eph. 2:8-9
      6. it was a common belief among the Jews in Jesus’ day that good works were the secret to salvation
        1. it hasn’t changed any, many still think God will weigh the good against the bad, and which ever comes out ahead will determine where they spend eternity
        2. this is the opinion of men and not the truth according to the Word of God
        3. even the most moral person in the world will spend eternity in hell, if they are not saved God’s way
    4. A sense of urgency - 17
      1. he ran to Jesus looking for the answers he needed, for he realized that life wasn’t going to last forever
      2. lost people today need that same sense of urgency, where their soul’s salvation is concerned
      3. life is passing swiftly by, and one day time will run out - James 4:14
      4. the haste with which life is passing by is the reason the Bible tells us to be saved today - II Cor. 6:2
      5. today is the only day we are promised
      6. we may feel this same sense of urgency, but it is not enough to save us from eternal damnation
    5. humility - 17
      1. when this man came before Jesus, he demanded nothing, but bowed himself and asked of Him
      2. it takes a humble person to come before God and confess their need
      3. a humble life and spirit are good things, but just being meek and humble will not keep us out of hell
      4. many lost people have a fear of God, and that is a good thing, but this is not enough
      5. this man was humble, but he wasn’t saved
    6. he had a desire for salvation - 17
      1. this man cared about where he would spend eternity
      2. this tells us he believed in Heaven and in Hell, and he wanted the best after life that he could achieve
        1. only a fool really believes that men are nothing more than animals
        2. man has an eternal soul, and we will live forever in one of two places
      3. a desire for salvation is not enough to bring it about
      4. there are people who have spent a lifetime in the House of God and long to be in Heaven when they die, but they have never been truly saved
    7. he was loved by God - 21
      1. even though he was a sinner, he was still loved by the Lord
      2. this is a window into the heart of Jesus and His compassion for sinners
      3. every lost person enjoys this same love today, in fact, the love of God for fallen man was so great that He gave His Son to die on the cross to save men from their sins
      4. even though man is loved by God, that in itself is not enough to bring about our salvation
      5. Jesus loves us, but He will not force His salvation on us
  3. his problem
    1. when this man came before Jesus, He held up the mirror of God’s Word to reveal the man's sinfulness
      1. the Word of God has the power to show us what we really are
      2. Christ’s desire was that this man come to see himself as a sinner
      3. many in our day share a common problem with this rich man, they do not see themselves as sinners
      4. they do not feel that they need any help from God
    2. Jesus also touched his sore spot - 21
      1. Jesus told this man exactly what he had to do to be saved forever
        1. renounce his wealth
          1. this man’s money was in truth his god
          2. he trusted money, he worshiped money and he received his fulfillment from money
          3. even though he was moral and upright, his god was his money
        2. take up your cross
          1. he was called to leave his place of power and identify himself with the shame of the cross
          2. he was called upon to give up his life for Jesus
        3. follow Jesus
          1. he was called upon to place his trust in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation
          2. he was to turn away from everything he had been trusting in and place his trust totally in Jesus
      2. these requirements still stand today
        1. this man had the same problem that millions of others have this morning
        2. they are trusting everything but the right thing to get them to Heaven
        3. they possess a lot of this world’s goods, they are morally pure, they are good respectable people
        4. they are lost and hell-bound because they have never trusted Jesus as their personal Savior
  4. his preference
    1. this man was offered eternal life, but he thought the price was just too high for him to pay - 22
    2. he chose his riches over his own soul
    3. when it comes to salvation, we are going to make a decision, in fact, we will make one today
  5. his prospects
    1. he went away "grieved"
      1. this word was used to mean ‘the gathering of storm clouds"
      2. this man literally walked away from the sunshine and directly into the storm
      3. when a person rejects Christ as Savior, they have no other place to turn to - Acts 4:12
    2. this man’s prospects for eternity could have been wonderful
      1. it became very bleak and promised only Hell because he refused to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for his salvation
      2. if you receive Jesus as your Savior, you have the promise of Heaven and all it’s glories
      3. if you choose to walk away from Jesus, you will never find salvation anywhere else
      4. to be guaranteed a future in glory, come to Jesus now and receive Him as you Savior