Transcription
It makes human beings grow. [music] [music] It helps us grow, improve, transform. So I await you, guys, every Monday at 8:30 in the morning. You tell me when, my Pati. Perfect. Good morning once more. Please, take a seat. We continue studying our book of Matthew, and this morning we are going to look at chapter 19, verses 16 to 30. This text is a text that will challenge us, make us uncomfortable, confront us, and most impressively, it will see if you and I are truly committed to the gospel, how committed we are to what we say we believe, and what we would be willing to give up to be followers of Jesus. It says that in the United States, for the first time, it fell into the top 20 happiest countries. It's no longer number one, it's very low. They say that at the threshold of Wharton School, money stops making people happy. Money is no longer making people happy. It's no longer a source of joy, of gladness, many times. And 94% say they want to earn more than they earn. So, that is the reality for many people. We want to earn more than we earn, even though we are not happy with what we already have, because we are living in the era of anxious abundance. And what is anxious abundance? More content, more career options, more algorithms, more clothes, more trips, more shopping options, more food options, everything is more. And it seems that every day more is created for you to live wanting to try everything and feeling more unhappy than ever. So, in the midst of that noise, a rich young man comes running to Jesus with the same question that you have kept in some corner of your soul, because it is a question we must ask ourselves at some point in life. And he says, "What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life? What must I do to go to heaven? What must I have to be worthy of entering the kingdom of God?" And this text confronts us with a truth that bothers, that makes us uncomfortable. And the question is, is it possible to be young, successful, morally irreproachable, and be completely empty? Imagine, he has all the money in the world, he is young, imagine, he is rich at 80, he doesn't even eat well anymore. He needs help to go and enjoy a beach, but young, rich, morally correct, meaning, he wasn't even into drugs or alcohol, like today's rich young people who die at 30 from health problems, from so many excesses. But this one was morally correct. Augustine says, "You have made us for yourself, Lord, and our heart will be restless until it rests in you. Our heart will find no rest in anything else, in any other place than in the Lord." And the question is, in what have you placed the rest of your heart? And here it begins in verse 16, it says, "Then one came and said to him, 'Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?'" And he said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments." In the book of Mark 10:17, it says that the young man comes running and kneels. Add this detail. What we see here is that there is no religious disdain, there is a genuine urgency to want to be better, to want to be in heaven. The Greek word agathos, good or good thing, appears twice in these verses, 16 and 17. And Jesus redirects him and says, "Why do you call me good?" It is not a denial of his divinity, but a diagnosis. The young man is looking for a moral action when what he needs is a person. What else good must I do to go to heaven? What else good must I do for God to bless me? The question is correct, the framework is incorrect. He thinks that eternal life is achieved, not received. And nowadays, that is the great problem of Christians. We want to achieve and not receive eternal life. I have to do this, this, this, and this more, and the other more, and then, yes, I will be worthy of entering the kingdom of heaven. The Bible says in Galatians 3:24, "The law was our tutor to lead us to Christ. All the commandments tell us, you cannot enter heaven. You shall not murder." And this morning you say, "Fredy, I haven't killed anyone, but the Bible says, perhaps if I am only angry with someone, I have already murdered them, you are already resentful, bitter with someone, you are a murderer." That is what the law says. You shall not murder, says the law, you shall not lie. How many of you here have not lied? Whoever says they haven't lied is already a liar. And the Bible says, "Liars will not inherit the kingdom of heaven." Then it says, "Fornicators will not enter the kingdom of heaven." That is what the law says. How many of you here have not committed adultery and fornication? Jesus said, "If you only desire in your heart the person next to you on television, pornography, you are an adulterer condemned to hell." The Bible says, "Honor your father and your mother." How many of us have broken that commandment? So, are we worthy of what? Of going to hell. The law does not help us reach heaven, it shows us where to reach heaven. And that person is Jesus. And this man is saying, "What more Christian act do I have to do to enter heaven?" Martin Luther, the natural man, asks, says, "What must I do?" The gospel answers, "What you cannot do has already been done by another." The natural man says, "What else must I do to be happy, to be successful, to be a good Christian, etc.?" But he says, "Luther, this has already been done by Jesus." Luther broke with centuries of merit theology, because nowadays our culture in Latin America lives in merit theology, that I have to do this, that, I am walking, doing pilgrimages, penances, etc. And sometimes we also transfer that, a tradition of merit theology to Christianity. And Luther broke with centuries of this precisely because he understood this text. The question, "What shall I do?" is the sign of one who has not yet understood the gospel, who has not yet understood the grace of God, who has not yet understood the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Imagine someone who downloads a new wellness app every week: meditation, fasting, productivity, gratitude. They open it every morning with hope. They close it every night with the same emptiness. That was the rich young man. He downloaded commandment after commandment, and his soul remained unsynchronized. The problem was not the lack of effort, it was that he was connected to the wrong server. He thought he could earn heaven by obeying the law. And there you are thinking, Fred, where are we going to end up? The question "What shall I do?" disguises itself today as personal optimization, early mornings, growth podcasts, online courses, everything. We consume all kinds of information thinking of being good or thinking of being successful. This program will help me. This program will help me achieve success. We consume, consume, consume. But when these practices, when these practices replace Christ as the center of your identity, you are not disciplined. You are a rich young man, modern, seeking emotional stability, filling your existential void with junk food. Because if Christ is not the center of your life, everything you are doing leaves you emptier than ever. Is your pursuit of personal improvement anchored in Christ or in your own ego or in your own performance? My friends, verse 18, he came running and said, "What must I do?" What does Jesus say? The man asks when Jesus tells him, "You must keep the commandments." And he says, "Let's see which commandments I keep?" He said, "Which ones?" Jesus said to him, "You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself." He says, "You must do that." How many of us have kept these commandments? I believe that those of us here, none, starting with me. I believe I am number one on the list, the champion of not having kept this. And do you know what this young man answers? And the young man said all, he didn't say some. He says, "All these I have kept from my youth. What else do I lack?" He says, "Give me more commandments to keep." Imagine that search, that emptiness in his heart, the dissatisfaction of having kept so many commandments and still feeling insecure about his salvation, insecure about who God is. Jesus quotes the commandments of the decalogue, and the young man responds with six devastating words in his confidence. "All these I have kept from my youth. What else do I lack? What else do I lack? What is left to do?" This phrase is not arrogance, it is tragic sincerity. He was a morally impeccable man by the standards of his time. Today we do not have those standards, but he had those standards. Wow. He was an impressive, incredible rich guy. The law, my dear, made him feel empty. The law was designed by God not to save us, but to show us that we need a savior, that we need Christ. The commandments tell us, He is the savior. The young man had passed all the exams of the course, but he had never understood what the course was for. He had not understood why the law was there. Impressive, my dear ones. The law acts as a mirror. In it we contemplate our powerlessness and through it the iniquity that stems from it and finally the curse that arises from both. The law was never the destination, it was the path to the doctor. The young man looked in the mirror, but thought the image made him free. The law leads us to seek a savior. An executive may reach 40 years of age without having stolen a cent, being faithful in his marriage, giving 10% to the church, and wake up at 3 in the morning with inexplicable anguish. The anguish that leaves a human being emptier, even though he has everything. There is anguish from accumulation, there is anguish from need, there is anguish from absence, from separation. But the anguish this man feels is that he has achieved everything and still feels empty. Imagine yourself, young, 27, 25 years old, you have everything, power, money, health, youth, and you wake up every morning thinking, "And now what do I do with my life?" There is all the luxury in your house. Everything is perfect. There is no blemish against your name, but still you feel empty. My friends, trusting in moral performance is the most dangerous thing you can do. The law tells us, "You need Christ." Why? Because by grace I am saved, says the Bible, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one may boast. That is what changed the history of Christianity, merit theology, that you have to do this, this, this, and this. It is not by works, so that no one may boast. What did this man do there? He boasted. Lord, I, I don't. your disciples. Wow, they don't even come close to me morally. I mean, that Peter, look, that John, not Jong and all. And here there is even a traitor in the future. I mean, he says morally correct, but living in a terribly empty way. You can be the person who never cheats in your company, gives tithes, goes to the gym four times a week, treats your team well, and still feel that something is missing. And still feel that life is not enough, because there is a difference between being a good person and being a transformed person. Or listen to me carefully, there is a big difference between being a good person and being a transformed person. Many people say, "But he is a good person, he will go to heaven." Let me tell you this morning that good people will go to hell. Good people will spend eternity in hell. Good people will not enter heaven, because people who are transformed, who have been born again, who have left their old life and have given their lives to Jesus, enter heaven. The law tells you what you should be. Only Christ gives you what you already are in him. Chronic stress and spiritual burnout are frequently symptoms of people who rely on their own performance instead of Christ's grace. And here it is even speaking to us who say, "Wow, how hard is the work, the ministry." If you are already living that way, it is likely that Christ has ceased to be your center. Christ has ceased to be the one who nourishes your soul, your mind, your spirit. And here is Jesus, he is going to perform surgery, he is going to confront you with the truth so that you realize that it is not your money, not morality, not your youth that God seeks. And it says here in verse 21 something that is also for us. And how many of us would be willing to respond positively to Jesus? Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, who wants to be perfect here?" Because he says, "If you want to be perfect, do you want to be perfect?" No one wants to be perfect here. You are already afraid, aren't you? You have to prove your faith because the fact that you have been coming here for 10 years, you might go to hell. Many of those sitting here have probably not been born again, and their names are not in the book of life, but in the book of death. And Jesus says, "If you want to be perfect, go, do something." He says, "Sell everything you have, give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me." How many of us would say yes, Lord? How many of us would say, okay, Lord. Leave that there. I will follow you. If we are not willing to give up what distances us from Christ, probably, probably we have not been born again. My friends, Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go and sell everything." Jesus does not give instructions to everyone. He does not tell Nicodemus or Zacchaeus the same thing, who gives 50% and not 100%. That is a personalized diagnosis for this young man. He needed to hear that. Zacchaeus had an encounter with Christ, and what did Zacchaeus do? He said, "I will return everything I have stolen, and the rest I will give to whom? To the poor." That is transformation. That is being born again. A Greek word, teleios, perfect, can also be translated as complete, mature, whole. Jesus is saying, "If you want the integrity that is lacking, there is something to let go of." And this morning I ask you, what prevents you from following Christ? Why don't you let go of what prevents you from walking with him, from following him? Because it seems we walk just looking at him from afar. Mark 10:21 adds that Jesus loved him. This demand is not punishment, it is love at work, it is surgery, not torture. He was performing soul surgery. Look at what a German theologian said. He says, "Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, without the cross, without a living and incarnate Jesus Christ." Expensive grace is Jesus' call to which the disciple responds by leaving his nets to follow him. Bonhoeffer, a German theologian, the only Christian who confronted Hitler and paid for it, because there are times in life when we must value God's grace. Bonhoeffer was writing from Nazi Germany, he knew that following Christ had a real cost, because there is a real cost to following Christ. If it hasn't cost you anything, ask yourself, whom are you following? The invitation is not to add faith to your portfolio of achievements, it is a total reordering of your loyalties. That is why nowadays the gospel says, "Come to Christ and you will be happy." The rich man already has money, young. Oh, yes, of course. The church becomes something else in his life, not his life. Not his life. Imagine going to the doctor for a routine check-up and leaving with a diagnosis that changes everything. A doctor who loves his patient does not hide the truth. He tells him exactly what he needs to do and hear to save his life. That is what Jesus does with this young man. He does not tell the young man what he wants to hear, he tells him what he needs to hear. What he needs to hear. And he does it looking at him with love. Mark 10:21 says he looked at him with love. He loved this young man. A doctor who only tells you what you want to hear is not compassionate, he is negligent. And so is a father, a pastor, and a figure of authority. My dear ones, Jesus is not against riches, he is against anything that occupies his throne. Because your heart can be God's throne, or it can be Satan's workshop, or it can be the throne of your ego, of your achievements. My dear, for one it will be money, for another it will be reputation on LinkedIn, for another control, for another family approval, for others likes on Instagram and TikTok. What is it for you? What is it that if Jesus asked me to let go of today, it would make me sad? This is your idol. It's that I have to work, if I don't work. It's that I have to do this and no. What would Jesus ask of you personally? And you know it would cost you to give, because this is personal. To this young man he said, "Go and sell everything you have, give to the poor, and follow me." That was his idol. And Jesus wants to remove that idol from his heart. Jesus wants this young man to be able to love him freely, because there are things that prevent us from freely loving the Lord: an addiction, a toxic relationship, activities, habits that prevent us from walking with him. He said, "Come and follow me." And there are things we must remove from our lives to follow our Lord. And what are those habits? Jesus' love is powerful enough and honest enough to point it out. How did the young man respond? But before continuing, do a self-analysis. What prevents you from coming to pray on Saturdays at 6 in the morning? The sheets. Is it that hard to give that up? What prevents you from coming to pray on Sunday at 7:30 in the morning? The sheets. That, it costs you to give that up. What prevents you from serving the Lord? Think about that. What prevents you? From discipleship, from growing more as a man. On a Monday night, a Tuesday night, for the women. What prevents you from growing? From following him. Take it personally, find out what it is that is preventing you from being a disciple of Jesus. Hearing these words, the young man went away sad, for he had great possessions. That is, he said, "No, no, Jesus, you see, don't mess with my possessions." That is, anything else, but not my money, not my wealth, not my possessions, no. He went away sad. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly I tell you, it will be hard for a rich person 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 a rich person to enter the kingdom of God." The irony of the text is overwhelming. He went away sad with all that he had. He kept his riches and lost the only one who could give him what he sought. He preferred to continue living in depression, in anguish, in despair. He would prefer to live as a slave to his possessions. Or in our terms, we prefer to continue in the same meaningless routine of our lives, like a hamster running on a wheel, and not follow Jesus. And the sad thing is that this man sought that. Jesus pronounces one of the most astonishing statements. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. The eye of a needle was not a small door in Jerusalem. That medieval legend has no historical evidence. It is a radical hyperbole of Jesus, typical of first-century Jewish language, which is humanly impossible. It was a metaphor used to say this is not possible. Let's conquer the whole world. Someone would come and say, "No, it's easier." Then they would use that metaphor of the needle and the camel. My friends, the problem is not money. The problem has never been the rich for Jesus. But he said, "There goes a rich man who has made his money his idol, who thinks that will save him, who thinks that gives him a place in heaven." My friends, the problem with an idol is not that we love it too much, but that we love God too little. When something takes God's place in the heart, it gives us no more, it gives us less than it promised, says C.S. Lewis. Idols are not bad for being powerful, they are tragic because they cannot fulfill what they promise. The rich young man left with all his possessions and arrived home empty. And so we all arrive home every day, empty, even if we come with our paycheck, we sleep empty every night. This is called the bias of the fallacy, which states that when we reach the goal, the promotion, the house, the followers, the ideal body, we will be happy. But we achieve all this and remain unhappy. When we reach it, the emptiness returns, because during the process of achieving it, there is adrenaline and dopamine. You achieve it and automatically realize you are empty. That is why we need Christ. But there is another rich man in the Bible, richer than this man. It says, "There was a man in the land of Uz named Job, blameless and upright, one who feared God and shunned evil. And he had seven sons and three daughters. And he had a lot of possessions, he was greater than all the people of the East." I am talking about Job. When God took everything from him, he said, "Naked I came, and naked I will depart." Job never allowed himself to be kidnapped by possessions, because some of us are kidnapped by possessions, by success, by work. We are slaves, a friend of mine in the United States used to say. Here we come to be slaves, Fredy, because the day I don't work is the day I don't eat. Your life becomes, what? Slavery. You are a slave to the system. And Job had everything. And when he lost everything, he said, "Naked I came, and naked I will depart." Why? Because he knew that everything he had was lent to him, and he enjoyed his family, he enjoyed it. But the day he lost it, he still had whom? The one who gave it, the Lord. And the Lord says he doubled what he lost. My friends, the problem is not riches, it is when riches become our idol. I pray that you may be a billionaire, prosper, be happy, buy houses, take your children on vacation, that's fine, but always for the glory of whom? The glory of God. For the glory of God. Now identify your possession, that thing that if you had to give it up, it would make you sad. What is that possession? What would it cost you to give? Tell me, what would it cost you to give? What would it cost you to give? To forgive someone. This morning the Lord says, "Listen, forgive that father who hurt you, that friend who defrauded you. That is giving, because that keeps you from sleeping, anxious. Listen, stop the pornography, let go of that today. Stop looking for affection in a person and look for me. Would you do it? Would you let it go? Because it's not just about money, it was for him, for that young man that time. Instead, when the Lord said to Peter, "Come and follow me." What did Peter do? He left his nets and followed. What prevents you from following the Lord? Serving the Lord, and how much we need men and women to serve the Lord here in the congregation, outside the congregation, etc. So it is not a call to forced poverty, it is an invitation to ask yourself, what controls my heart? To whom do I owe loyalty above Christ? The Bible says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world." 1 John 2:15. Let's conclude from verses 25 to 30. What God does with what man cannot. His disciples, hearing this, were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" I mean, you are right. I mean, who, who will be saved? Here is a morally correct guy, and the only thing he asked him to sell, and he can't. And looking at them, Jesus said, "With men this is impossible. It is impossible for a man to save himself, but with God all things are possible." And why is it possible? Because of the cross of Calvary. Then Peter answered and said, "Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" Mm, look at this. You see the difference. This man didn't want to leave anything. He wanted Jesus to be just another icon of his religion, another achievement in his life. That's what the rich young man wanted, for Jesus to be just another achievement he had reached. Ah, Jesus also belongs to me now. And instead, Peter says, "Lord, we have left, what? What have you left?" Repeat that word. What has Peter left? Everything. [laughter] That's tough, isn't it? And now he asks, "Why is his name in God's history?" Because he left it. Everything, he says, and he sincerely asks, "And what is our reward for leaving everything?" And the Lord tells him this. Jesus said to him, "Truly I tell you, in 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." He says, "You are my staff. You are my leadership team, you are the ones who will rule the world with me." But beware, listen to this. Jesus never offered that to Peter. Peter, if you leave your nets, you will be the one who rules with me. Because nowadays there is also a gospel that says, "Come to the Lord and he will make you a millionaire." When the Lord says the opposite, leave that and follow me. You see, you have to be careful. What will the Lord have for you? I don't know, but God always has plans. For Peter, he had the plan that he would sit with him to judge Israel. How powerful, how impressive. What will he have for you? I don't know, really. I can't lie and say, "You know what, Eugenito, the Lord has for you to be president of Ecuador?" I don't know, but there are people who promise that to people and lie. But Peter didn't follow Jesus because he offered him that, he followed him because he loved him. And along the way, the Lord reminds him and says, "This will be your reward, Peter. Seek the reason why the Lord called you. Follow him. I don't know what he has, but he always has something for everyone. And whoever has left, he says, houses or brothers or father or mother or wife, I'm thinking about that. I tell you this. I was talking with my wife last night discussing the text. She says, "And if the Lord tells you to leave your wife, your children, and go live in the United States, would you obey?" "Yes, of course," she said, "I have no problem. Just you go ahead or follow me, and nothing happens." It's that, isn't it? But here the Lord says this, doesn't he? And lands for my name will receive 100 times more and inherit eternal life. But we don't go for that 100 times more. We go because we love him. And he says, "But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first." This man sincerely went to the Lord seeking to bring peace to his heart and left more distressed. Why? Because his possessions were not his. Those possessions belonged to him. My friends. Impossible for man. Yes, absolutely impossible for God, never. Grace does what human nature never could. Where man reaches the end of his rope, God is just beginning. Spurgeon preached to thousands of London workers and professionals. He understood that the gospel does not equalize by taking away, enriching, giving, it does not steal your life, it gives you the life for which you were created. And that is the life I want. And if it is in God's plan for my life to be used by him to change the politics of this country, glory to God. If my life, Lord, you want to use it to change the educational system, glory to God, the Lord knows why. Because I don't believe your life should be in the same place it is now. God has something for you, as he told Peter. So, in January 2009, I remember clearly, I was in Miami and US Airways flight 1549 lost both engines after colliding with a flock of birds. Captain Sullenberger ditched the Airbus A320 in the Hudson River. All 155 passengers survived. None were saved by their own flight merits. None earned it. Grace works the same way. It is not an incentive for you to try harder. It is the intervention of someone with the capacity you do not have when you have lost all your engines. The only thing they did was scream in fear, probably, but the captain's expertise saved them. And so the Lord saved all of us. We were on a path of drifting, to hell, in darkness, and he on the cross saved us. That is what he is talking about. There are people in this room who have tried with their own strength to let go of control, to let go of anxiety, to let go of the idol, and they cannot. That is exactly what Jesus is saying. You cannot, but God can. Grace is not an incentive for you to try harder, it is God's intervention. Where you and I fail. And the question I have to conclude is, what are you willing to give up to follow Jesus? What has the Lord asked you to give up to follow him? The rich young man left, but there is another man in the Gospels who did not leave, who left everything, not his wealth, but his glory. Philippians 6 to 8 says that being rich, for our love for us, he became poor. He carried the cross, the symbol of maximum human powerlessness, and through that absolute impossibility, he made possible what no one could, the reconciliation between God and men. Jesus left everything on the cross to come to earth to rescue us. So, Jesus is the rich young man who did leave everything, and he did it for you and for me. And to him we owe our loyalty, our love. Stand up. So, the question is not, "What good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" The question is, "Will I receive what he has already done so that I may have eternal life?" And here I ask you, how many of you have already received the gift of salvation? How many of you have already received the grace of eternal life? And if you have not done so, this is the day, this is the moment not to return home sad, but to return home joyful, knowing that God's gift is greater than anything you can give him. If you would like to receive that grace this morning, close your eyes, bow your head, and meditate in your heart. Do you want to receive the grace of salvation? And if you want to receive the grace of salvation, say this prayer with me. Beloved God, this morning I ask for forgiveness for all my sins. I give you my heart. I believe that you died on the cross for my sins and that salvation is the greatest gift you can give me. I receive it in the name of Jesus. Amen. You are a child of God. Read the Bible, disciple yourself, and disciple others. Today we have Communion. We are going to pray for the tithes and offerings. That's fine. Imagine, the rich man left with his money. You don't want to leave with your money. Beloved Father, thank you very much for this morning, for your people. I bless them. May your word this morning have spoken to our minds, to our hearts. We do not want to leave with all that we have, but without you, Lord. We want to have you, all that you want to give us, Father. And all that you have given us, Lord, is yours. And that is why this morning we want to give tithes, offerings with joy, with gladness, knowing that from you we have received all that we have. In the name of Jesus, amen. As they collect the tithes and offerings, we prepare for Communion. And don't forget, on Tuesday we have the medical brigade. Those who want to support us are welcome. Those who want to support us financially, there is a piggy bank in the back, what's it called? For support. The solidarity piggy bank. You can go and support there too. Okay. May God bless you greatly, but don't leave. We have Communion. [music] [music] [music]