Who Can be Saved?, Part 3

If you have your Bible, turn with me to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18. King David had his harp. Our David has an organ, a big old brown organ that sounds so good when he plays it. King David never had it so good. Luke chapter 18. We want to finish what we've been talking about the last couple of weeks, answering the question, who can be saved based on what Jesus tells us. I find it very interesting that throughout the ministry of Jesus, he never offered an invitation to people. We do that today in the church.

We offer invitations. Jesus never did because invitations can be politely turned down and you can still be accepted. Jesus offered commands and demands. In fact, he said that he commanded men everywhere to repent. That is, he demands that man forsake his sin and follow him as Lord and Savior. That's what the Bible says in 1st Thessalonians 1.9, that those in Thessalonica turned to God from idols to serve the true and living God.

So Jesus came and he made demands. He gave commands and the command was to follow him. In other words, you were to leave everything and believe in all that Jesus says and follow him.

In the church today, we have set out to make the gospel relevant, that we might be respected. In so doing, we have minimized repentance. We have a church that started out in where I live, out in the boonies there in Fontucky, and it's called the Relevant Church. The Relevant Church. I was so offended by that, I wanted to start a church called the Irrelevant Church. They are called the Relevant Church because when you go to the Relevant Church, the message is relevant to where you are. It's about you and your needs and whatever your needs may be and their promise is to meet that need.

They want you to come casually. They want you to come and sit back and enjoy the atmosphere because the atmosphere is non-threatening. It's very lackadaisical. It's very, in their words, a fun environment. That's the church of the 21st century. It's called the Relevant Church. They have a rock band with some pretty far out music and so when you come and the things you hear, it's not that much different than what the world gives and so the commitment you make is not that big a deal because it sounds so much like the world.

Jesus would never do that because the words that Jesus spoke were an antithesis to the world and everything that the world offered and so when Jesus came, he came and he preached to us the gospel of the kingdom and so when we read a story like Luke chapter 18 verses 18 to 30, it goes contrary to our means and methods of evangelism because that answers the question, who can be saved? How does one get saved? You can answer it this way. It talks about the impossibility of salvation because Jesus tells us in the story that salvation is impossible and so when you read Luke 18, you realize that Jesus is fleshing out things that he's already said in Luke's gospel about what it means to deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.

That if you want to gain your life, you'll lose it but if you're willing to give your life away and lose it, you'll gain eternal life. It's a fleshing out of what shall a profit a man if he gains the whole world yet loses his own soul. It's a fleshing out of of Mark's gospel for what will a man give in exchange for his soul. That's the story of Luke chapter 18. We've been looking at it with you these last several weeks. Our desire today is to conclude it as we understand who can be saved. The topic is about eternal life.

It begins with a question about eternal life. It ends with a comment about eternal life. It begins with the request of the ruler in verse number 18. And a certain ruler questioned him saying, good teacher what shall I do to inherit eternal life? We told you that Matthew 19 and Mark 10 both record this incident. And as you go back to Matthew and to Mark, you're able to fill in all the the different spots to help you understand the the full gamut of the story in the conversation between Christ and this this ruler who is, as the Bible says, very very rich.

And so this man that had everything going for him. He was young. He was rich. He was the ruler of a synagogue. He was well respected. He was prominent. He was influential. All the things that a young man would want in his day or even today, he had it all. Mark's gospel says he comes up to Jesus. He comes to the man who is eternal. He doesn't necessarily know that Jesus is God, but he believes that evidently Jesus is from God because he calls him good. And because only God is good, either Jesus is God or from God or a representative of God in the mind of the man.

And so he comes to Jesus and he asks him what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He asks that question because he lives in a works-based system. Judaism is totally works-based. That somehow if I do all these things in order and I accomplish them, the good outweighs the bad and I'll find favor with God and heaven will be mine. The problem is he's done all that and is still empty. The problem is he's accomplished everything he needs to accomplish in his own mind and yet he is missing something. So there must be something he can do to inherit eternal life.

He comes, he comes empty. He comes unfulfilled. He comes unhappy. But listen, when you go to Jesus because you're unhappy or unfulfilled, you won't ever be saved. You must come not because you're unhappy, not because you're unfulfilled. You must come because you are unholy. Big difference. The problem is he didn't see himself as unholy. He just saw himself as unhappy. He just saw himself as unfulfilled. But he never saw himself as unholy because he kept the law in his own mind. So this ruler comes and makes a request.

He's not worried about embarrassment. He comes and he falls down before Jesus. He comes and does it in front of a group of people according to Mark's gospel. He falls down and says what must I do to inherit eternal life? There's got to be something I'm missing. And Jesus says as he reasons with the man, this is the the reasoning of the Redeemer, why do you call me good?

Why would you call me good? Because no rabbi was ever called good. Ever. Because only God is good. So either I'm from God, a representative of God or you do see me as God in the flesh. Why do you call me good? Jesus says.

And if you read Matthew's account, Matthew says it the way in Matthew chapter 19. He says there is only one who is good. But if you wish to enter into life keep the commandments. Keep the commandments. So why would Jesus say that? Because that's what they did. He is saying you know that if you want to inherit eternal life, your religion says you got to keep the commandments. His response in Matthew's account is which ones? Which ones? Because according to my recollection, I've kept them all. And so Jesus tells them which ones.

He takes them to the latter half of the Decalogue. The ones that deal with man's relationship with man. Not man's relationship with God, but man's relationship with man. He says very simply this, I tell you do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness, honor your father and mother. He said all these things I have kept from my youth. I've done that. He thinks that Jesus is going to enlighten him into something that he hasn't done. He says okay this is what you got to do.

You can't commit adultery. I haven't done that. Can't murder. I haven't done that either. You got to honor your mother and father. I've done that. You can't lie. Didn't do that. Now did he not commit adultery? Probably. But had he committed adultery in his heart? Probably so. Had he not murdered? Probably not. But did he hate his brother in his heart? Probably so. Because when Christ came in Matthew chapter 5 he dealt with the heart of a man. But in his own mind, in this young ruler's mind, remember he's a ruler of a synagogue.

He's a leader. He's prominent. He's rich. He has everything that any other person could ever want. In their minds he kept the law. In his mind he kept the law. I've done all that. I've accomplished that. I've done it in fact even from my youth. And Jesus says, when he heard him, one thing you still still lack.

This becomes the requirement of the Redeemer. One thing you still lack. You see Jesus wanted to understand or get him to understand his view of the law. So he takes him to the law. And now he wants him to understand his view of the Lord. So he brings him face to face with him. You see the man would look at the law as something he kept.

Like the Apostle Paul, Philippians 3. Paul said, as to the law I was blameless. Paul thought he kept the law. He thought he did everything according to the law of God. This rich young ruler thought he was blameless according to the law. And Jesus takes him there because they saw the law as a means of salvation. Listen, the law was designed to show you your sin and to slay you as a sinner. It was designed to show you your sin and to slay you as a sinner. It was never designed to save you from your sin.

Jesus does that. So Jesus takes him to the law to show him his sin, to slay him in his sin. And his response is, well I've kept all that. I've done that. Been there. Done that. I've accomplished that. Even from my youth. That's what he says. So Jesus says, one thing you lack.

One thing. In his mind he's thinking just one thing. What is it? What is it? And Jesus tells him, sell all that you possess. Distribute it to the poor. You shall have treasure in heaven. And come and follow me. Sell everything you have. But when he had heard these things, he became very sad. For he was extremely rich. He came to Jesus sad. He left Jesus' presence extremely sad. You see, Jesus was never concerned that when you came to him you left comfortable. You left fulfilled. You left happy. He wanted you to come to him and either repent of your sins and experience the forgiveness of God or leave in a miserable state.

Leave miserable. This guy would leave miserable because he came empty and he left unfulfilled. He left the presence of Jesus unfulfilled. He left the presence of Jesus still unhappy because he didn't see himself as unholy. Because he did not sense his iniquity, he could not see his idolatry. And so in Christ telling him one thing you lack and that is this, you have another God. You have another God and it's not me. That God is wrapped up in your riches. That God is wrapped up in your possessions.

That's who your God is. It's not me. And so Jesus takes him from his view of the law to his view of the Lord. You have an idolatrous heart because you are unwilling to give up something for me. Listen, anything that you have that you cannot give away, you don't own it. It owns you. And his riches owned him. He could not give them up. He would not give them up. He came. He came. Listen, because his priority was him. He came to Jesus to fix him. He came to Jesus to make him feel better about himself.

He came to Jesus because he had a felt need, not a fallen need. He came to Jesus because his priority was fix me, fix me, fix me. That's the way it is in the church today. People go to church. Why? They have a broken marriage. Jesus fixed my marriage. They have a broken home. Jesus fixed my home. They go to Jesus with all these felt needs. Somehow that Jesus is the fix-it man. That he can kind of fix up their little temporary things somehow and make them feel better about themselves. Jesus doesn't do that.

Jesus is a savior of people. He saves them from their sins. He wanted to feel better about himself. And now he felt worse about himself. Jesus wanted to help him understand, you need to come to me. In order to come to me, you must sell everything that you have, distribute it to the poor, and come and follow me. Now, does Jesus make that demand for everybody? No, he doesn't. But this man's God was his riches. You see, he wasn't willing to forsake his God to follow the one true God. He wanted to add Jesus to his present situation and condition.

He came wanting to add Jesus to his present lifestyle. He didn't want to forsake his present lifestyle and follow Jesus only because, you see, if he was to sell his possessions, how would that affect his wife? What do you think she would say? You did what? You went to church and you did what? Are you kidding me? See, he would have a problem at home. Would he not? He'd have a problem with his children. Dad, what are you thinking? This is our inheritance. This is our future. You sold it. You gave it to the poor.

Now we have nothing. Dad, you have snapped the twig. Something's wrong. You're off your rocker. What's wrong with you, dad? He'd lose his friends. Oh, he'd lose his position as a ruler in the synagogue because you can't follow Jesus and rule in the synagogue. He'd lose everything. But that's what salvation is. See, for what will a man give in exchange for his soul? That's the question. It's always the question. If there's something you won't give up for Jesus, that becomes the God of your life and not Jesus.

That's the point. You see, Jesus wants to be preeminent in your life. Jesus wants to be the sole occupation of your life because he is the only God of the universe. He wants full undivided attention, full unadulterated affection. He wants everything. And if you're unwilling to give him everything, then you don't get anything from him. He demands it all. He commands for you to repent, to forsake, and follow him. See, that's the message of the gospel. That's what Jesus has always said. He has never said anything different.

Jesus never said anything different than that. He never did because he demands everything. Folks, this is crucial for all of us to come to grips with and to understand. This man, man's priority was not God, was not his kingdom. This man's priority was his riches and all the relationships he had because of those riches. So he was unwilling to abandon them. But I want you to notice something.

As unwilling as he was to abandon them, there was no way on God's green earth that he could abandon them. That's important. No way. There was no way this man could abandon his God. He couldn't. And that's why Jesus makes the commentary that he does as he talks to us about this, because this man had absolutely no power to exchange his life for God's life. He did not. Was this man a seeker? Yes, he was. But he was a seeker in a human sense, not a seeker in the divine sense. For the Old Testament prophets said that you will seek me and you will find me when you seek for me with all of your heart.

It's a hard issue because there was in this man no conviction of sin. There would be no contrition of soul, no brokenness over his sin. Therefore, there would be no confession as Christ as Lord. Therefore, there could be no capitulation to all that Christ said. He would not, could not submit to the authority of God in his life because he did not see himself as a sinner separated from a holy God. And Jesus' whole purpose was to help him understand that he was so far from God, even though he was a ruler in synagogue, even though he was a rich man.

And that's why Jesus says these words. He says, as he looked at him, verse 24, Mark's account said he looked at him and felt love for him because the guy turned and walked away. He turned and walked away. Jesus said, how hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. Now that statement in and of itself would blow his audience away. It would completely blow the audience away. Jesus simply said how hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. Why? Because in Jewish thinking, the reason you are wealthy is because you have found favor with God and he has blessed your life.

Jesus says how hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. And that was the whole discussion in the book of Job. Job was very wealthy. Job was very rich. He lost everything. And so Job's miserable friends came to him and said, you must have sinned, Job. There must be sin in your life. And Job says, no, I've searched my heart. There is no known sin in my life. They said, no, no, there's sin, Job, because you were rich, because you were favored by God. Now that you're no longer rich and you've lost everything, you fell out of favor with God.

That was the whole discussion in the book of Job. Because in Jewish thinking, that was what they believed. The Talmud says this about riches. Almsgiving is more excellent than all offerings and is equal to the whole law and will deliver from the condemnation of hell and make one perfectly righteous. That's what the Talmud says. That's what the Jews believed. That in my giving of wealth, I am rich, because God blessed me with wealth. And the more I give, the more heaven is mine. They could actually, they actually believe they could buy their way into heaven.

And Jesus comes along and says, oh, how hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven. Listen to what Jesus says in Mark's gospel.

He says these words, how hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. And the disciples were amazed at his words. Why were they amazed? Because the disciples understood Judaism. They were Jews. They understood that if you were wealthy, it was because God blessed you. And the reason God blessed you was because you have found favor with God. You of all people are going to heaven. And Jesus said, no, that's not the case. The disciples were amazed. But Jesus answered again and said to them, children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God.

So listen, he says, not only is it hard for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God, it's hard for any man to enter the kingdom of God. And no, Jesus has already said up to this point, it's difficult to enter the kingdom. The road is narrow. The gate is small. Few there be that find it. Strive to enter. For those who, there will be many who want to enter and be unable to enter. He said that in Luke 13. The other one was Matthew chapter 7. He said in Luke chapter 16, those who enter the kingdom, enter it forcefully, violently.

It's already difficult to get in. Now, Jesus says it's hard to get in. And the question is, how hard is it to get into the kingdom of God? Jesus tells you, you're glad you're here today. Verse 25, for it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. How hard is it to get into the kingdom of God? It's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. Now, there had been all kinds of spiritual gymnastics around that, but this was a proverbial statement that speaks of the impossibility of something spoken about.

People would say, well, you know, there's this little gate entry into the temple. It was called the needle gate. And that people would squeeze their camels down in through that little needle gate to get them into the temple area. Folks, that's just not true. Number one, because that's never been found in the city of Jerusalem.

Number two, why would you stuff your camel through a, quote, needle gate if the big gate was just a few yards away?

Think about it. Just think about it just for a moment. Doesn't even make sense. Okay. What Jesus is talking about is the impossibility of man to get into the kingdom of God. Not only is it hard, it is impossible. Absolutely impossible for you to get into the kingdom of God. It's not just difficult. It's not just hard. It is absolutely impossible to get there. That's the point that Jesus is saying. Why? Because there is no sinner who has the power in and of himself to change his loves, his ambitions, his desires, his self-righteousness.

He cannot do it. Certainly, a sinner can feel bad about his life. This guy did. You can feel bad about your condition, your situation, but he cannot abandon that situation and enter the kingdom because of his fallen nature. That's why the prophet Jeremiah said, can a leopard change his spots? Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Answer, they cannot. They cannot. That's why the Bible says the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked.

No one can know it. That's why in the book of Genesis, it says that man's intentions are only evil continually. Everything about the heart of man is evil and everything he does is evil. That's why the Bible says, Tim read it earlier this morning, there is none good, there is none who is righteous, there is none who seeks after God.

So Jesus comes and says, it is hard for a wealthy man to enter the kingdom of God. You add Mark's comments. He says, children, it is hard for a man to enter the kingdom of God, not just a wealthy man, but any man. And so the question comes, how hard is it? It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man or any man, for that matter, to enter the kingdom of God. There is absolutely no possibility of a man or woman to forsake their passions and forsake their loves and forsake their gods and say, yes, Jesus, I'm going to follow you.

They cannot do that on their own. It's impossible. And Jesus is explaining to us why this is so absolutely impossible. That's why the question comes and they heard this and said, then who can be saved? That's why the question comes. Who can be saved? Who can be saved? That's a legitimate question. If it's impossible with man, then who can ever be saved? And Jesus says, the things impossible with men are possible with God.

Matthew's account says it this way. He says, with men, this is impossible. But with God, all things are possible. It is impossible because there is no man in his human power able to forsake himself, forsake his pride, forsake his sin, and exchange his life for God's life. It's impossible. It cannot happen no matter how strong his felt need may be. Unless he comes with a fallen need, he will not, he cannot ever be saved. And so, Jesus says, but with God, all things are possible.

And see, what that means to me is that we have, we have all these churches in America creating the right mood, the right environment, okay? Because they think that they can manipulate and motivate people to walk an aisle and be saved. They think that if they create the right mood on stage, they create the right setting in the auditorium, then people will be moved in such a way that they will come down to the altar and they will be saved. And all they're doing is stuffing camels through needles. They should be called the First Church of the Camel Stuffers.

That's all they're doing. They're trying to take camels and stuff them through needles and they believe they can do it. They believe that they can take a camel. Listen, I got a hard enough time taking a little piece of thread and putting it through the eye of a needle. That's hard for me, let alone taking a camel. And how's that going to happen? It's impossible. You can't do it. But we have all these churches thinking that if we can create the right mood, create the right setting, give them the right music, let them dress the way they want to dress, let them come just as they are, excuse me, that too, whatever.

That if we can do all that, they're going to come. And when they come, boy, we're going to push them right through the eye of a needle. We're going to stuff them right through there. And they'll be in the kingdom. That's what the modern church today is doing. How sad. When Jesus said, it's absolutely impossible with man. No matter what you do, you can't get anybody to forsake their sin. Only God can. Only God can. God does it. Salvation, that's what we call salvation, a miracle. It's a miracle of transforming and translating someone from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son.

No human can do that. No man can do that. You can't do that. Only God can do that. That's why it's called a miracle. Listen, if you can do it, it's not a miracle. If you can manipulate it, it's not a miracle. If you can move it, it's not a miracle. If God does it, it's a miracle. Because God did it. He uses us to preach the gospel. That's true. We do. And God expects us to do that because faith cometh by hearing and hearing by word about the Christ. But we need to understand what the Bible says.

Listen to what the Bible says in John chapter 1. He came unto his own, verse 11, and his own did not receive him. But as many as received him, the word there is lambano, which means to take hold of or to grasp or to seize, to them he gave the right to become the children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. To as many as embraced him, to as many as seized him, to as many as were born again, who gave their life to him, they did that because they were not doing it because of the will of the flesh or of the will of man.

It was only accomplished by the will of God. Only God does this. No one else. Nothing else. God does it. That's why the whole conversation with Nicodemus, what must I do to receive eternal life? The same question that Rich Youngwood asked. It's all about eternal life. Christ says you've got to be born from above.

You've got to be born again. And what was Nicodemus' response? Well, how can I do? I can't do that. I can't be reborn. I can't give birth to myself. I can't do that. And Jesus said, right, you've got to be born of water and of the spirits by the washing of regeneration and by the renewing of the spirit of God. And that's why Christ gave those words in John chapter 3 when he said this, do not marvel that I say to you, you must be born again or born from above. The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it's going.

So is everyone who was born of the spirit. In other words, you can't control it. You can't see it because God is completely in charge of it. And as you can't see the wind, only the effects of the wind, nor do you know when the wind is going to come, but it's going to come. So it is with the spirit of God. God does it. God's at work. That's why Christ said no one comes unto the father unless he's been drawn by the father. Can't do it. God does it. It's impossible with man, but with God, all things are possible.

God saves us all. That's why it says over in 2 Timothy chapter 2, verse number 24, and the Lord's bondservant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all able to teach patient when wrong with gentleness, correcting those who are in opposition. If perhaps God may grant them repentance, leading to the knowledge of the truth. God grants man repentance. You see, God demands that you forsake your sin and you follow the savior. But the only way you can do that is because God grants you repentance. God grants you the opportunity and the ability to forsake your sin and follow him.

You cannot muster up the energy. You can't be in the right environment or the right mood to make that happen. Jesus does it. It's the spirit of God who draws you to himself. God does the work, not man. This is based on the sovereign choice of almighty God. Boy, this is important. You need to get it. Our job is to preach the truth. Our job is to give people the truth because faith comes by hearing and hearing by word about the Christ. Let God do the work in the heart. Let God do the convicting work in the soul.

That's what God does. And he uses it in conjunction with the scriptures and the spirit of God. Now note, disciples get this and the rich young ruler got this. Because in our text it says this. And Peter said, behold, we have left our own homes and followed you. Peter got it. Peter understood what it meant to forsake his family, forsake his future, forsake his fortune, forsake his friends. He knew that. He got it. Lord, behold, we have left everything and followed you. Over in Mark's account, it says this.

Peter began to say to him, behold, we have left everything and followed you. You see, Peter got it. They understood it. Lord, we've left it all behind. We are forsaken the world. We are forsaken our treasures, our earthly treasures. We are forsaken everything and followed you because that's what salvation is. It's all about following Jesus, but you can't follow Jesus unless you forsake every idol you have. And the only way you can forsake those idols is because God in his sovereignty has chosen you to salvation and brought you to himself.

That's it. That's how it works. God does it because God's in charge. Boy, that's just such a marvelous, marvelous truth. Peter says, we left it all. Over in Matthew's account, it says this. And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished. In verse 27, Peter answered and said, behold, we have left everything and followed you. What then will there be for us? That's a good question. That's what we did. That's what we did. We forsook everything for you. Could you enlighten us as to what's in it for us?

I mean, there's always a little bit of narcissism, no matter how righteous you are. It's always a little bit about me. What do we get? What's in it for us, Jesus? We forsook our families, our future in the fishing business, our fortune with our father, our friends. What's in it for us? Let me read to you the three accounts.

The one in Luke, Matthew and Mark, because each of them adds something different. Jesus said, should I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come eternal life. Wow. See, the guy wanted eternal life. He came because of a felt need. Lord, I'm missing something. I need to have it in my life. He missed the life that connected into God because they know that eternal life connected to God.

And the God life was the life of comfort, the life of joy, the life of peace, and it would last forever in the presence of God. They knew that. They're Jews. They get it. So he comes to the one who either is from God or is God, meaning that he knows everything about eternity. He came with that felt need. There was something in him that says, I'm empty. Fill me, Jesus. Fill me with whatever it is you have. I need to be filled up. And Jesus tells him the requirements of the kingdom, and he goes away sad.

He goes away emptier than when he arrived because he would not forsake everything to follow Christ. And Christ says, Peter, let me tell you what's in it for you.

There's nobody who leaves their father or mother or brother or sister who does not receive many more times that in this life. Over in Mark's account, it says, Should I say to you, I'm sorry, this is Matthew's account, Matthew 19, that you have have followed me in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you also shall sit upon 12 thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for my name's sake shall receive many times as much and shall inherit eternal life.

Wow. So now he says, look, I'm going to tell you what you get in the regeneration, in the restoration of Israel, in the restoration of the kingdom. When the kingdom comes, you will sit on the 12 tribes, 12 thrones ruling over the 12 tribes of Israel. That's what prompted him to ask the question in Acts chapter 1. Are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel? And Jesus didn't say, who gave you guys that idea? Who gave you the idea that we were going to have a kingdom and we're going to restore the kingdom?

No, he said, it's not, it's not at this time for the kingdom to be restored. It will be, but not at this time. And so they were, they were given the privilege in the restoration, in the regeneration, when Israel is restored, when the kingdom of God is upon the earth, that they will help rule in that kingdom. Plus they will receive as many times mothers and brothers and fathers and sisters because of the family of God. Mark's account says it this way. In Mark chapter 10, he says, truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms for my sake and for the gospel sake, but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions.

Luke left that one out. So did Matthew. Mark included that one. Because listen, when you forsake everything and follow Christ and you live the Christ life, all those who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. God says, you have yet to see how it is, Peter.

I'm going to bless your life because you've given up everything for me. I am your ambition. I am your adoration. I am your affection. And because I am, let me tell you something.

Nobody, in essence, nobody who has forsaken everything to follow me will ever be disappointed. Ever. Can't be. Because I am the king of glory. What a marvelous, marvelous insight to the ministry of our Lord. Folks, let me tell you something.

If you're here today and never given your life to Christ, makes no difference whether the lights are up or the lights are dim. You like the song or you don't like the song. You drink your coffee in the pew or you don't. Okay? Don't make a difference if you come in shorts or tie in a suit. None of that matters. Because none of it makes a difference. Because salvation is impossible with man. But it is possible with God. It's God. Those who are born not of the will of the flesh, nor the will of the spirit, or the will of man, but solely by the will of God.

God does it. It's a sovereign work of Almighty God. And when God calls you, there is a conviction of sin. How do you know God's chosen you? There is a conviction of sin. There is a contrition in your soul, a brokenness over that sin that cries out, God, be merciful unto me, a sinner. There is a confession that says, Jesus, you are Lord. Jesus, you are Master. Jesus, you are Savior. Jesus, you are King. And there is a capitulation, a complete submission to everything he says. That's how you know. You've been called by God.

We pray with you. Father God, we thank you, Lord, for today and the chance we have to be in your Word. And our prayer, Lord, is that you would do a mighty work as only you can. For you truly are sovereign. You rule over all. You are the King of the universe. And we know, Lord, that you are the one who does the saving work. And our prayer is that there be one person today that's here, that they would not leave in an unbroken, unconverted state, but they would come and say, God, be merciful unto me, a sinner.

What must I do to be saved? That you might experience the joy of eternal life. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.