A Multi-Purpose Word for This Season: Trusting God, Walking by Faith, Avoiding Modern Day Idolatry

What or whom do you trust in? Be honest, now. Is it you mom, dad, a close friend, a spouse or child? When I say depend, I mean if you did not have that person in your life doing what they do, you think your life would fall apart. If it's not a person, is it an organization, a profession, a habit, a hobby, money, plan, dream, goal? Be careful, you might be placing your trust where it does not belong. You might have a false god, what the Bible calls an idol. Sounds too harsh? Consider the following Scriptures and present yourself to the Lord for His review. If He identifies something, repent and ask Him to help you, then trust in Him alone for your deliverance.

First, let's look at a very popular Scripture; the one about the "rich young ruler." Notice he had a lot going for him: wealth, youth, and power. A powerful trio where having just one of these in abundance would be a strong detractor from submitting to God. But having all  three must have made it very difficult to walk away from it. So it's no wonder the story ended the way it did. But what else is Jesus trying to teach us in this passage of Scripture? Quite a bit as we'll soon see.

IN WHOM DO YOU TRUST OR PLACE YOUR HOPES AND DREAMS

Mark 10:17-22

¹⁷ Now as He was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸ So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. ¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Do not defraud,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’”

²⁰ And he answered and said to Him, “Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth.”

²¹ Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.”

²² But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

THE RICH YOUNG RULER'S PROBLEM

The rich young ruler had a problem of enormous proportions, but when he came to Jesus hungry for answers, he did not come with a matching willingness to do whatever was the "Good Teacher" instructed. Therefore, he learned that he had a problem in addition to the one for which he sought an answer. He knew he did not have eternal life, but he did not know that his wealth and power were more important to him than living in paradise with God forever. He was completely carnal and he though there was a shortcut to heaven other than Jesus. You see he was not willing to go the way of the Jesus, the Way. In the end, he refused to submit to the ultimate Ruler.

Bottom line, if you are trusting in something in this way, it's your god. I don't mean you trust that the chair is sturdy so when you sit in it you won't fall. Not that kind of trust. I mean the kind of trust that says, when I get this or that thing or person, I'll be all set. Or, how about this one? When I have enough money for this or that thing that God told me to do, I'll do it. But, friends if God has given you the green light, it ought not to be so. Stay with me. I have tested this. It is the difference between a brass heaven and an open one. Everyone wants an open heaven and it's faith that opens the way for God to move miraculously in our lives. The minute I believe I am doing it and not God's power working within me, I'm in trouble.

Mind you, Jesus is not saying riches are bad, so don't run out and take a vow of poverty or enjoy your lack. He is, however, saying that when you trust in, or depend upon those riches for your deliverance, that's the problem of idolatry. There has only been one Deliverer and His name is Jesus Christ. When He is replaced by person, power, place or thing there is another problem. More on this in our conclusion.

FAITH IS CRUCIAL

Please keep in mind you do not have to be rich for money to be your idol. If you have ever said, when I have the money I will do what God has told me to do. You have made money your god and your deliverer. If God says to do a thing, your job is to set out to do it. It does not make sense, it may seem crazy but “[We walk by  and not by sight.” (2 Cor. 5:7, Habakkuk 2:4) . A few points about faith:

1. Faith is not dependent upon you having the means to do a thing, then you would not need faith. Faith is required before you receive the means to do the thing God has asked you to do. I can try to explain this a million ways to Sunday and I still could not articulate being in faith.

2. Faith is substance of what you’re hoping for and evidence of what you have not seen. (Heb. 11:1) That means, it's the ability to (touch in) hope and to (behold) see what is not yet visible.

3. It is impossible to walk in faith and in the flesh at the same time. You will only walk away frustrated. 

4. The baptism from Jesus with the Holy Spirit and fire activates this spiritual component of salvation, that is, walking by faith and not by sight.

5. None of us have this down pat, but as we walk with the Lord and trust in Him day after day, we hopefully advance in this area. 

6. Finally, faith carries with it a component of humility. Habakkuk 2:4 tells us: "Behold the proud, His soul is not upright in him; But the just shall live by his faith." You cannot dependent upon God and be puffed up in independence at the same time.

7. There is no pleasing God without faith so get it by "hearing and hearing the Word of God." It all starts and ends with God. (Heb. 11:6)

8. Faith enables you to trust God at all times.

YOU MAY BE ASKED TO GIVE UP A LOT FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOSPEL MESSAGE 

Mark 10:23-28

²³ Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!” ²⁴ And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, “Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches^[d] to enter the kingdom of God! ²⁵ 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.”

²⁶ And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, “Who then can be saved?”

²⁷ But Jesus looked at them and said, “With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.”

²⁸ Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.”

THE REWARDS FOR THOSE WHO "GIVE .... UP" MUCH FOR THE GOSPEL MESSAGE

MARK 10:29-30

²⁹ So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, ³⁰ who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life."

TRUE GREATNESS COMES FROM SERVING OTHERS NOT IN BEING SERVED 

Mark 10:43-45

 ^43 "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. ⁴⁴ And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

PROGRESSION OF THIS PASSAGE OF SCRIPTURE in MARK 10

Have you ever wondered about the progression within this passage of Scripture? Taking a closer look what do we see? [Please note that the following quotations are paraphrases of the modern day language equivalent.]

First, Jesus challenges the wealthy young guy who sees himself as perfect and refused to give up his riches because....the Bible tells us he was very rich. And essentially, to him, God was not worth it. And realizing his struggle Jesus tells us how very difficult for the rich to enter the Kingdom because, after all, they have their riches to "save" them. But He cautions us that there is indeed hope because nothing is impossible for God.

You may you have all the world but you don't have God, you have nothing. "For what does it profit a man to gain the world and lose his own soul." (Matt. 16:26) Sadly, that is the choice the rich young ruler chose.

Second, Peter pipes in and says, "See, Lord, we're not like that guy, we left all and followed you." [Paraphrasing]. Then the Lord says something shocking, "I know what you gave up, your families, relationships, property for the sake of the gospel, but I am a debtor to no man. So you know what? Everyone who makes such an investment in the Gospel, I will repay 100 times. But it will come with persecution."  In other words, you'll get back more than you gave but it will come at a high personal price.

Third, He says, "but greatness is not about having great possessions and worldly influence, like that rich young ruler, the greatest person is the one who is the greatest servant. Mine is an upside down [to the world] Kingdom, the last shall be first, the one at the bottom who has my heart of service, is the one who is really at the top.

Taking it all together, He is saying, "I may ask you to give up all your people and your stuff, but don't worry I am good to My Word and will repay generously in this life. But even apart from all of that, the greatest is the one who serves the most like I am serving right now."

ABOUND AND ABASE 

As an important side note: That is why the Apostle Paul could say I could be content in any situation in which He places me. I can have much or I can have little. It does not matter. In Philippians 4:10-13, he says:  

¹¹ Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: ¹² I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Of course, people often quote that last verse out of the context of ministry and submission to God to their detriment. Outside of the will of God and without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to live this out. Only the grace of God can allow someone like Paul to say such a thing after so many beatings and imprisonments. He was satisfied with God.

THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT -  WHO/WHAT IS YOUR GOD? 

Deuteronomy 5:7-8 

7‘You shall have no other gods before Me.  

⁸ ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; ⁹ you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.   

If someone or something other than God is whom or what you look to for relief, whether it's  drugs, relationships, money, power, then that is your god and you are in violation of the first and greatest Commandment. You have replaced Almighty God. And although you may not physically bow to a thing or person, but you are subject and submissive in a way you should only be to God, then you are an idolater. So both of these most important Commandments deal with giving God the highest place and serving only Him. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ repeats these Old Testament Commandment to worship only God. Now it's not just having other gods but loving God with our entire beings. Jesus added this component of love as the ultimate worship of God because He was the ultimate manifestation of God's love. (John 3:16).

Lest you think I am singling you out, I'm not. We have all been "guilty" from time to time of allowing others, whether people or things, to take the place of honor only God deserves in our lives. We have done this because it's easier to trust in someone we see or something over which we have control. But we do find out, sometimes more quickly than others, that these mini-gods pale. Yet, we often just move onto some other mini-god, until we surrender to the One true God who never fails us whereas people or things, no matter who or what, will always fail us. Thankfully, life is designed that way so that we can never be satisfied until our trust is in God through the Son, Jesus Christ.

Friends, our greatest gift to God Who gave us His Son is to ...

"Love the Lord your God with all you heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27)