Sermon Tone Analysis

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Sooner or later, man has always had to decide whether he worships his own power or the power of God -- Arnold Toynbee

INTRO - Sometimes making a choice between two things is not all that easy.

Our dog, Gizmo, this past Monday was busy eating a rawhide chew.

Usually he runs to the door when mommy pulls into the garage to welcome her home with a wagging tail and a ball or some other toy.

However, when telling him, “mommy’s home,” he started to leave his bed and rawhide chew, but found himself in a dilemma; the rawhide or mommy.

He chose the rawhide.

Today’s story tells of a time when, confused in their understanding, people didn’t quite understand Jesus’ teaching about choosing the more important things over others.

While wealth is not bad in itself, when faced with loosing it, sometimes we put our focus there instead of on God.

Note: Mark highlights the theme of God’s power more than any other Gospel.

TRANS - Let’s travel to a time somewhat different than ours, yet with some striking similarities.

PRAY

What does it say?

What does it mean?

Trail to Truth

How did Jesus’ views on wealth and poverty differ from those of His culture?

A false concept of prosperity teaching, or blab it and grab it, teaching was prevalent then just as it is today.

Much like the reaction to so many of the “prosperity preachers today,” people were pretty impressed with the thought of being blessed financially by God for their good works to the point they were “exceedingly astonished,” not unusual a reaction, when that teaching was challenged by Jesus.

Sure, Isreal was promised abundance blessings, both material and spiritual, if they listened and obeyed the Lord.

Consider what they understood from Scripture, that riches and honor come from God.

However, many misunderstood God then just as they do today and because of their ignorance, draw wrong conclusions.

Many see prosperity as God’s favor for some special personal quality and personal loss as God’s rebuke.

Consider Job’s friends reaction to his loss:

Or

Job’s friends seemed to think God was some kind of business partner with whom you make a request, behave in a way and always get something for your investment.

Many living at the time of Jesus held this same misguided false philosophy as Jesus helps us to understand as recorded in the book of Luke:

Being better than others, behaving in a more religious way, Jesus teaches that this is really not what He is seeking.

Fact is, the true Christian does not need to “work” all that hard because it is Christ in them who aids them to be holy.

Even the 12 were influenced by this gripping lie as noted in John:

If they truly studied the Scriptures, they’d know their thinking was misguided.

God is not “supreme grandfather” who will spoil begging grandchildren just because they ask for some “thing.”

No, God wants people to see, know, hear from, and understand Him.

Truthfully, the Bible even notes bad people have riches!

For example,

Okay, so in view of their misguided thinking, we can understand how the disciples were amazed when Jesus said it’s hard for a rich man to enter the Kingdom.

POINT - Jesus taught what was contrary to their thinking and what often runs opposed to our preferred concept of God even today.

TRANS - let’s move forward.

Way of Wealth

What makes it difficult for wealthy people to follow God?

First off, lets start with the understanding that the teaching here is in line with Jesus’ teaching in other places.

For example, Jesus teaches that humankind can’t serve two masters:

Because great wealth urges people to chose it, for them there is more difficult to say “no” to wealth and “yes” to Jesus.

Both demand devotion, but we can only serve one.

The Jewish people faced another dilemma; their understanding of the Kingdom noted the absence of poverty, sickness, and huger.

The idea that, in heaven, everyone is wealthy, healthy, and well fed permeated their concept of the promised made to the Hebrew people.

So, running with that thought, they considered having wealth in this life they thought was a good thing; who can argue that?

Well, where that leads a person to fail to think they “must be right with God because they are rich,” that is because they already “have it all,” leading to so why would they want more?

POINT - Unless a person longs for and desires God, if their fulfillment comes from any other source, they will find their riches, or any other worldly thing they hold to so tightly, worthless when it comes to what God offers a person.

What does it mean for a camel to go through the eye of a needle?

Okay, to start with, you might be familiar with some of the erroneous teaching about the needle and the camel.

We do have historical evidence from other rabbinical sayings that prove the use of the metaphor was known in its use.

Common hyperbolic use noted “an elephant going through the eye of the needle.”

However, rather than studying from the Scripture using historical and factual backgrounds, some wrongly attempt to describe this passage from the contemporary, or feed backward into Scripture; eisegesis as apposed to exegesis.

For example, some fanciful interpreters, such as, “the translation is wrong and it actually means ‘rope’”

People of the day knew the camel as the largest animal and the needle as the smallest hole imaginable.

Some claim at gate too small for a camel to enter with no evidence what soever and the parallel rabbinic saying abut the elephant that refutes that interpretation.

Only when we see Jesus’ use of a common figure of speech can we understand His meaning.

POINT - Jesus emphasized the great difficulty and the huge problem that riches represent when a person places something ahead of serving God.

Highway to Heaven

Do the disciples rightly align being “saved” with entrance into the kingdom?

Okay, first thing, nothing we do merits our salvation.

Attaining salvation is beyond anything, any attempt, any achievement, accomplished by a human being.

But, the rule of impossible does not limit the reach of God; He specializes in doing the impossible.

Jesus saves!

To God belong both the ability and power to present admission to His Kingdom, His Salvation, and His Eternal Life.

The reality of God’s salvation unto humankind is God very own gift wrapped in the life of Jesus with the pages of Scripture and sitting on the table in eternity with your name attached.

POINT - Only God gives Salvation, but our part is to receive and open the gift.

What did Jesus’ answer in Mark 10:27 teach the disciples about salvation?

According to Jesus, no person can save themselves; only God can save a person.

Remember Sarah’s reaction when confronted with birthing a baby in her advanced years?

Note the words from Genesis:

All through the Bible, God teaches His power over all things.

What Jesus said ran contrary to the rabbinical conclusions of the day that specified a person who keeps the Law is saved.

Note the words recorded in the Midrash Rabbah, “If a man commences to purify himself, he is assisted from heaven,”

POINT - Jesus’ words lined up with Scripture, but ran contrary to popular religious teachings.

What is God saying to “DO”?

Jesus reminded the disciples that we cannot be saved by our works; salvation is a work of God (Mark 10:27).

We sometimes feel our good deeds entitle us to eternal life.

Let us thank God for the salvation that comes from Him alone, and let us extend the free gift of eternal life to others.

GROUP READING Ephesians 2:1-10

This reminds us that salvation is an act of God.