The Challenge of a Divided Heart: Following Jesus Fully

Loving Christ means rejecting the claims of every rival no matter the cost. The grandmother listened intently and when Amy was done with quiet sorrow, she simply said, "I cannot follow so far. So far. I cannot follow so far." [00:43:22]

But when confronted with the command to forsake all and follow after him, his heart pulls back. Because you see, the real tragedy of both of these stories isn't unbelief, it's unwillingness. Both saw clearly the beauty of Christ. [00:44:45]

And so they simply turned aside. This morning as we look at Luke 18:es 18- 27, I want us to consider the question of a seeking heart, the correction of a confused heart, the challenge of a divided heart, the tragedy of a refusing heart, and lastly, the hope of an idolatrous heart. [00:45:09]

But this was a man of influence. This was a man who possessed some authority, some power. We're also told in verse 23 that he was very rich. And so this was a rich ruler. And then in Matthew's gospel, in his parallel account of the story found in Matthew chapter 19, we're told that this man was also young. [00:46:13]

And so if you think about it, in one sense, he had everything that the world can offer. He had his youth. He had wealth. He had power and authority and influence. And yet he recognized that something was missing in his life. And so he comes to Jesus. [00:46:41]

And the reason that he's thinking in those terms is because he has a superficial understanding of the law. You know, in his sermon on the mount, Jesus will explain that there is a whole different level when it comes to really understanding the implications of God's law. [00:54:10]

There is so much more depth to God's law than just sometimes meets the eye. This young man's thinking in his head, I haven't killed anybody. I have never slept with someone that's not my spouse. I haven't taken someone else's property. I've kept all of these commandments from my youth. [00:54:49]

And it's only when we understand our spiritual condition that we begin to to understand why we so desperately need Jesus. This man didn't get it. He didn't understand fully who who Jesus is and he didn't understand the reality of his own heart. [00:56:45]

But what Jesus is very clearly, I think, saying here in verse 22 is that if we're going to follow after him, he must be first in our life. He has to be our top priority. He has to be the treasure of our heart. [01:00:17]

And if we're not willing to make him first, if we're not willing to forsake all and follow after him, then we cannot follow after him. And I think these are words that we really need to hear this morning. Because if I'm being honest, we we live in a culture where I I think that the gospel is often watered down. [01:00:58]

But our commitment, our goal, our heart's desire has to be a willingness to forsake everything and come after Jesus. And so if there's a certain sin in your life that you're saying, you know what, I Jesus, I'll give you everything but this particular sin, then you're not coming after Jesus. [01:02:32]

And so we need to ask ourselves, are we willing and have we ever really come to a place in our life where we have made the decision that we're willing to forsake everything and come after Jesus because that's the only pathway to eternal life. [01:03:27]

What if Jesus asked you this morning to sell everything that you have and give it to the poor? Or what if he asked you this morning to be willing to walk away from your career to pursue a different pathway where he was going to invest you in a different way than maybe you have imagined maybe you had planned? [01:05:50]

I think that that that's our attitude towards the Christian life sometimes. I think, you know, we're okay with following Jesus as long as he's throwing the ball where we're swinging the bat. As long as his plans match ours, as long as what he's asking us to do fits neatly in the box that we have made for our life. [01:07:51]

But then Jesus says in verse 25, "For it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Now, there have been those throughout the centuries who've tried to in a sense water down what Jesus is really saying here. [01:11:50]

What Jesus is clearly telling us here is that there's no one who is beyond his grasp. But he has to do the work. And only when he does his work in our hearts, only when he gifts us with the gifts of faith and repentance will we come to a place where we're willing to forsake all and follow after him. [01:15:31]