No one ever left the
presence of Jesus feeling sad.
00:00:29.91\00:00:34.03
Now they went away feeling
a variety of other things,
00:00:34.96\00:00:38.38
for example, some
people left feeling ecstatic,
00:00:38.41\00:00:40.84
they'd just been healed, other
people left feeling peaceful,
00:00:40.88\00:00:44.60
they had just been forgiven.
00:00:44.77\00:00:46.41
Some left Jesus' presence
feeling challenged, they said:
00:00:46.45\00:00:50.04
"Never a man
spoke like this man. "
00:00:50.32\00:00:52.83
Other people left feeling
angry, they hated his influence
00:00:53.03\00:00:56.30
on the people.
Some even felt murderous
00:00:56.33\00:01:00.19
and they plotted his death.
00:01:00.22\00:01:01.41
But no one ever left feeling
sad, no one except a certain
00:01:01.45\00:01:07.59
young man we call
the rich young ruler.
00:01:07.62\00:01:11.38
Why was he sad? Very
simply because his best
00:01:12.74\00:01:17.76
was not good enough. Now
this was not some low life
00:01:17.80\00:01:22.26
trash on the
street kind of sinner.
00:01:22.50\00:01:26.03
This was not
someone who had rebelliously
00:01:26.07\00:01:29.73
lived a life of
debauchery and sin,
00:01:30.50\00:01:33.78
this was a person who
did his best his entire life;
00:01:33.82\00:01:37.30
from the time he was a little
child he learned the scriptures.
00:01:37.34\00:01:40.44
The Rabbinical schools had
given him a wonderful education,
00:01:40.87\00:01:45.50
he had risen through the ranks.
00:01:45.53\00:01:46.59
He was now a leader in
the synagogue, he was wealthy,
00:01:46.63\00:01:49.86
which is why we know
him as the rich young ruler.
00:01:50.33\00:01:53.40
So why was he sad? Why was his
best not good enough for Jesus?
00:01:55.25\00:02:01.06
Perhaps you remember the
old Greek myth about Sisyphus.
00:02:01.50\00:02:05.28
Remember Sisyphus?
Sisyphus made the gods angry
00:02:05.31\00:02:09.62
according to this ancient myth,
and because he made the gods
00:02:09.66\00:02:13.02
angry, we won't go into all the
details about that, it's much
00:02:13.06\00:02:16.39
too complicated, but he
was, according to the myth,
00:02:16.42\00:02:20.31
doomed or sentenced to spend
all the rest of eternity doing
00:02:20.35\00:02:24.71
a rather strange thing:
he had to take a very large
00:02:24.74\00:02:28.50
boulder, so big that he couldn't
possibly pick it up, but he had
00:02:28.54\00:02:34.07
to roll it up to the top
of a mountain and just before
00:02:34.10\00:02:39.35
he reached the top of
the mountain the boulder
00:02:39.38\00:02:42.24
would suddenly lurch and roll
all the way down to the bottom,
00:02:42.28\00:02:45.90
and he had to keep repeating
that over and over again.
00:02:46.16\00:02:50.05
Every time, just before
he would get that boulder
00:02:50.36\00:02:53.35
up to the top of the mountain
00:02:53.38\00:02:55.24
it would roll all the
way to the bottom again.
00:02:55.44\00:02:57.91
My friends, you may
feel like that today,
00:02:59.51\00:03:02.62
you may have felt
like that your whole life
00:03:02.89\00:03:05.01
when it came to
Christian perfection.
00:03:05.04\00:03:07.45
You may have felt like the
harder you tried and the closer
00:03:07.49\00:03:12.69
you felt like you
were coming to the goal,
00:03:12.72\00:03:15.09
the more you kept rolling
back down to the bottom again.
00:03:16.04\00:03:19.54
Well, if you feel that way
00:03:20.48\00:03:22.88
there's good news
in our message today.
00:03:23.39\00:03:25.71
There's good news in this
story of the rich young ruler,
00:03:25.75\00:03:28.46
because you see, the rich
young ruler gave his best,
00:03:28.50\00:03:31.18
and yet it was not
good enough for Jesus.
00:03:32.67\00:03:35.93
We need to turn to Matthew
19 to discuss this story.
00:03:35.97\00:03:40.44
According to the Bible the
rich young ruler came to Jesus
00:03:40.64\00:03:43.74
and said: "What good thing must
I do to attain eternal life?"
00:03:43.80\00:03:49.80
Jesus looked at the rich young
ruler, according to Mark it says
00:03:50.87\00:03:54.54
He looked at him and loved him.
00:03:54.57\00:03:56.85
He looked at the
rich young ruler and said:
00:03:57.82\00:04:00.19
"Well, have you
kept the commandments?"
00:04:00.48\00:04:03.39
and Jesus listed off a
number of the 10 commandments.
00:04:03.43\00:04:06.93
The rich young ruler started
feeling all good about himself
00:04:07.54\00:04:10.95
and smiling, he looked
back at Jesus and said:
00:04:10.98\00:04:13.80
"Why, I've kept those
ever since I was a youth. "
00:04:13.84\00:04:16.63
"Well," Jesus said "if
you want to be perfect"
00:04:17.54\00:04:21.22
"then go sell all
of your possessions,"
00:04:22.06\00:04:25.27
"give them to the poor
and then come and follow Me. "
00:04:25.31\00:04:29.44
And that's when the Bible
says that the rich young ruler
00:04:30.75\00:04:33.56
turned away and went away
sad because he had great wealth.
00:04:34.02\00:04:40.28
In every Biblical
passage, especially those
00:04:42.54\00:04:45.44
that might be a
little bit hard to understand
00:04:45.47\00:04:48.27
there's a technique to
understanding the passage
00:04:48.31\00:04:51.08
and that is: if
there's a statement or story,
00:04:51.42\00:04:54.47
or something acted out,
00:04:54.50\00:04:56.60
as in this story of
the rich young ruler,
00:04:57.26\00:04:59.44
one of the clues we can get
to the meaning of the story with
00:04:59.85\00:05:02.09
is to look at the
reaction of the people
00:05:02.12\00:05:04.43
who were the onlookers,
00:05:04.46\00:05:05.64
especially the
disciples in this case.
00:05:05.68\00:05:08.23
If we go to Matthew
19:25,26, we find out
00:05:08.56\00:05:12.48
what their reaction
was: [text on screen]
00:05:12.51\00:05:16.40
The disciples had just
seen one of their young heroes,
00:05:35.71\00:05:39.94
it would be like watching
a heavy weight boxing match
00:05:42.19\00:05:46.83
and your hero, whoever
it might be, had just lost,
00:05:47.11\00:05:54.00
and then have
someone turn to you and say:
00:05:54.41\00:05:56.68
"Okay, he just lost, now
why don't you get in the ring"
00:05:56.72\00:05:59.96
"and see if you can
fight the champion?"
00:05:59.99\00:06:02.49
And you would say the
same thing the disciples said
00:06:02.93\00:06:05.17
as they watched
this rich young ruler.
00:06:05.20\00:06:07.06
"If he can't make it, then what
hope do the rest of us have?"
00:06:07.10\00:06:11.16
"Who else can be
saved?" said the disciples.
00:06:11.19\00:06:14.14
What we have here is
a clash of realities.
00:06:15.77\00:06:20.06
We could it call a
clash of paradigms.
00:06:20.24\00:06:23.19
Back in the 70's a
very interesting book
00:06:24.05\00:06:27.76
was published called
00:06:27.79\00:06:28.76
"The History of
Scientific Revelations" by Kuhn.
00:06:28.79\00:06:32.10
What the author
basically defined was
00:06:32.98\00:06:36.81
the role of paradigms
00:06:36.84\00:06:39.00
in the way thought changes,
00:06:39.10\00:06:41.38
especially in
scientific circles.
00:06:41.42\00:06:43.21
For example: Newtonian
Physics described reality
00:06:43.41\00:06:47.86
in a certain way, but once
Einstein's theory of relativity
00:06:47.90\00:06:51.73
came along and became
well known and accepted,
00:06:51.76\00:06:55.15
that paradigm
completely replaced
00:06:55.18\00:06:58.04
the old Newtonian paradigm.
00:06:58.23\00:07:00.94
The idea of
paradigm has been picked up
00:07:01.98\00:07:03.45
by various other disciplines,
such as psychology, education
00:07:03.49\00:07:07.23
and even in the corporate world.
00:07:07.26\00:07:09.25
People who suddenly shift
to a new paradigm see reality
00:07:09.76\00:07:13.86
in an entirely different
way. Well, I'd like to suggest
00:07:13.89\00:07:17.96
that what we have going on here
00:07:17.99\00:07:20.32
is the rich
young ruler's paradigm
00:07:20.36\00:07:22.66
was being challenged
by the paradigm of grace.
00:07:22.96\00:07:27.51
The rich young
ruler had operated
00:07:27.54\00:07:29.34
under the paradigm
of merit, and Jesus
00:07:29.38\00:07:32.05
was challenging
him with the paradigm
00:07:32.09\00:07:34.69
of the kingdom, which
was not a paradigm of merit,
00:07:34.73\00:07:38.19
but a paradigm of grace.
00:07:38.22\00:07:40.65
You see, when Jesus
confronted the rich young ruler,
00:07:40.69\00:07:43.92
He was confronting a
person who had his act together.
00:07:45.19\00:07:49.48
I mean, he had
lived the commandments
00:07:49.51\00:07:51.58
ever since he was a youth.
And you might expect Jesus
00:07:51.62\00:07:54.84
to praise him for this,
you might expect Jesus to say:
00:07:54.87\00:07:58.06
"Why you good boy you!"
00:07:58.38\00:08:00.73
"You're a wonderful rich
young ruler. Enter my kingdom,"
00:08:00.77\00:08:04.13
"I wish I had
more people like you. "
00:08:04.16\00:08:06.13
But instead, Jesus challenged
him using his own paradigm.
00:08:06.17\00:08:11.84
In fact, He required something
so great and so impossible
00:08:11.87\00:08:17.51
that the rich
young ruler had to admit
00:08:17.66\00:08:19.88
that his best
was not good enough.
00:08:20.39\00:08:24.14
What did He ask him to do?
00:08:25.08\00:08:27.20
Basically, what He told
the rich young ruler to do
00:08:27.56\00:08:31.22
was to take the
results of his life's work,
00:08:31.57\00:08:35.07
all of that merit he had
as illustrated by the wealth,
00:08:35.41\00:08:40.20
take everything that he had
earned and give it to people
00:08:40.91\00:08:45.19
who hadn't earned it.
00:08:45.22\00:08:47.17
Ouch, no wonder he
left feeling sorrowful.
00:08:49.00\00:08:52.01
The poor guy had just
been knocked off his pedestal.
00:08:52.05\00:08:54.62
Everything he'd
worked for his entire life
00:08:54.65\00:08:57.14
had just been
blown away by Jesus.
00:08:57.17\00:08:59.43
And he couldn't
handle the shift in paradigm,
00:08:59.92\00:09:03.66
that's why he left feeling sad.
00:09:04.01\00:09:06.09
Now some explain
this passage by saying:
00:09:07.52\00:09:09.93
"Well, what Jesus really
meant was not necessarily"
00:09:09.97\00:09:13.47
"give away your money. "
00:09:13.50\00:09:15.33
"What Jesus meant was to
get rid of whatever comes"
00:09:15.37\00:09:18.08
"between you and
God, whatever that is,"
00:09:18.11\00:09:20.13
"it might be different
for you than it is for me. "
00:09:20.17\00:09:22.06
"It might be money
for you, but it might be
00:09:22.09\00:09:24.20
"something else for
me. " Well, that is true,
00:09:24.23\00:09:26.31
that is absolutely true,
we should get rid of whatever
00:09:26.88\00:09:30.90
comes between us and God,
but that's not the whole truth.
00:09:30.94\00:09:34.93
You see, wealth and
position and owning good things
00:09:35.51\00:09:39.83
are not bad in themselves.
00:09:40.23\00:09:43.07
You see, if Jesus had
asked the rich young ruler
00:09:43.27\00:09:45.87
to give up smoking,
gambling illicit sex, drugs,
00:09:45.90\00:09:48.24
rock and roll, why, the
rich young ruler would have
00:09:48.27\00:09:50.54
given it up in a heartbeat; and
added a few more merit badges
00:09:50.58\00:09:55.67
and trophies to his trophy case.
You see, the rich young ruler
00:09:55.71\00:10:00.77
came to Jesus with his
collection of merit badges,
00:10:02.11\00:10:06.32
with his trophy
case full of trophies
00:10:06.35\00:10:08.24
of all of his wonderful works
00:10:08.27\00:10:10.36
that he had
done his entire life.
00:10:10.40\00:10:12.46
Hoping to receive some
commendation from Jesus,
00:10:13.45\00:10:19.80
that he was, after
all, ahead of the game.
00:10:19.83\00:10:22.64
The disciples certainly
looked at him that way.
00:10:23.19\00:10:25.18
They saw the rich young ruler
as the rising star among them.
00:10:25.22\00:10:31.17
But the rich young ruler
had to give up everything
00:10:33.12\00:10:35.93
he had earned;
everything that was a sign
00:10:35.96\00:10:38.45
of his goodness and worthiness.
You see, in those days,
00:10:38.49\00:10:42.50
physical wealth was a
sign of spiritual wealth.
00:10:42.54\00:10:46.55
Now this notion of being perfect
00:10:48.61\00:10:51.62
is something that Jesus
had already talked about.
00:10:51.95\00:10:54.53
We need to turn
back to Matthew 5,
00:10:54.89\00:10:57.04
back to Jesus'
sermon on the mount,
00:10:57.34\00:10:59.71
where He talked
about perfection.
00:11:00.10\00:11:02.15
In Matthew 5, Jesus gives
many wonderful statements.
00:11:02.97\00:11:09.15
In the midst of chapter 5,
00:11:10.71\00:11:12.86
in the midst of this sermon on
the mount, He gives his famous
00:11:12.90\00:11:16.76
"You have heard, but
I tell you" statements.
00:11:16.88\00:11:20.13
"You have heard not to
murder, commit adultery"
00:11:20.65\00:11:25.13
"divorce, taking oaths, revenge
and hating your enemies. "
00:11:25.41\00:11:28.25
And for each one
of those categories,
00:11:28.28\00:11:30.35
Jesus had a higher
standard for righteousness,
00:11:30.39\00:11:36.48
for what that really meant.
00:11:36.51\00:11:38.16
Finally Jesus comes down to
the conclusion where He says:
00:11:38.78\00:11:43.33
"You should love your enemies. "
00:11:43.36\00:11:46.72
As an example of how you
should love your enemies,
00:11:48.58\00:11:51.41
He sights God's practice of
00:11:51.63\00:11:54.84
causing His sun to rise
on the evil and the good,
00:11:54.88\00:11:58.04
and sending rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous.
00:11:58.08\00:12:01.53
In other words,
God loves his enemies.
00:12:01.56\00:12:05.67
In other words, God
is not just good to those
00:12:05.71\00:12:08.35
who are good to Him,
God is good to everybody.
00:12:08.39\00:12:11.00
In other words, God's idea
of perfection is to be merciful.
00:12:11.55\00:12:18.35
To not just love
those who love you,
00:12:18.55\00:12:21.01
but love those hate you
too. God's idea of perfection
00:12:21.11\00:12:25.75
is not just to be merciful to
those who, we say, deserve it,
00:12:25.79\00:12:30.03
but to be merciful to
those who don't deserve it.
00:12:30.06\00:12:32.95
And then He makes his famous
statement in Matthew 5:46-48
00:12:32.99\00:12:40.63
[text on screen]
00:12:40.66\00:12:42.25
What is perfection
according to Jesus?
00:13:06.61\00:13:09.42
Is perfection a
lifetime of obeying
00:13:09.68\00:13:13.16
the commandments perfectly?
Well, that's a good thing.
00:13:13.20\00:13:17.36
Jesus said He did not
come to do away with the law,
00:13:17.40\00:13:21.53
He fulfilled the law rather,
but His idea of perfection went
00:13:21.68\00:13:26.63
far beyond that. His
perfection had to do with mercy
00:13:26.66\00:13:30.89
and patience and
love to those who were
00:13:30.92\00:13:34.90
not fulfilling the commandments
as perfectly as they might.
00:13:34.94\00:13:39.42
He was telling
the rich young ruler:
00:13:40.66\00:13:42.25
"You have heard that
having all the advantages"
00:13:42.29\00:13:44.51
"of a good upbringing, having a
thorough education in the law,"
00:13:44.55\00:13:47.95
"and having faithfully kept each
commandment from your youth up"
00:13:47.98\00:13:51.35
"gives you a
spiritual advantage. "
00:13:51.38\00:13:53.42
"You have heard that
receiving the blessings of God"
00:13:54.58\00:13:56.62
"in both spiritual
and material things"
00:13:56.65\00:13:59.60
"makes you superior to others. "
00:13:59.70\00:14:02.26
"And that using your
God given opportunities"
00:14:02.30\00:14:04.78
"to better yourself has
made you almost perfect. "
00:14:04.88\00:14:08.47
"But I tell you, perfection
does not have to do with"
00:14:08.97\00:14:13.58
"what you deserve, it has
to do with love and mercy;"
00:14:13.62\00:14:18.20
"giving people what
they don't deserve. "
00:14:18.66\00:14:22.48
"That's why you
need to drop everything"
00:14:22.76\00:14:24.74
"and follow Me. "
00:14:24.77\00:14:26.25
"You do not yet
lack just one thing,"
00:14:26.29\00:14:29.23
"you lack
everything. " said Jesus.
00:14:29.27\00:14:32.14
"You have heard that
having material riches"
00:14:32.18\00:14:34.11
"is the same as
having spiritual riches. "
00:14:34.14\00:14:36.00
"But I tell you, those
who are poor and follow Me"
00:14:36.04\00:14:39.65
are rich in what really counts."
00:14:40.24\00:14:43.86
We still have a hard time today
00:14:45.99\00:14:47.66
understanding what Jesus
meant to the rich young ruler.
00:14:48.99\00:14:52.44
And I think it's
basically because we
00:14:52.94\00:14:55.19
in our natural human
inclinations are stuck
00:14:56.11\00:14:59.38
in the old paradigm,
the paradigm of merit.
00:14:59.41\00:15:02.65
How many of us would
rather earn something
00:15:03.05\00:15:06.83
than have something given to us?
Have you ever that old phrase
00:15:06.87\00:15:11.03
"I don't want any charity"?
00:15:11.06\00:15:13.10
That's because our natural
human instinct is to make
00:15:13.43\00:15:17.82
ourselves superior, or at least
think of ourselves as such.
00:15:17.86\00:15:21.90
We want to get
something because we deserve it,
00:15:21.93\00:15:25.31
we want to get
something because we earned it,
00:15:25.35\00:15:28.19
and that carries over
into our spiritual life
00:15:28.22\00:15:31.03
in a very damaging way.
00:15:31.06\00:15:32.47
So we come to Jesus just
like the rich young ruler,
00:15:32.51\00:15:35.55
with our collection of merit
badges, and our trophy case
00:15:35.59\00:15:38.19
full of trophies of all
the battles that we've won,
00:15:38.22\00:15:40.64
of all the
commandments that we've kept
00:15:40.67\00:15:42.40
and all the progress we've made
in developing our characters.
00:15:42.44\00:15:45.91
We say to Jesus "Certainly,
doesn't this get us something?"
00:15:45.94\00:15:49.38
and when Jesus tells us
to give it all away to those
00:15:50.00\00:15:52.45
who haven't earned
a thing we're tempted
00:15:52.48\00:15:55.85
to walk away sorrowfully,
just like that rich young ruler.
00:15:55.89\00:15:59.83
Not only that, it not only
affects the way we relate to God
00:16:00.91\00:16:05.57
but it affects the way we relate
to other people, other sinners.
00:16:05.84\00:16:11.29
Let me tell you
the story of Luke,
00:16:11.66\00:16:13.24
and this is not
Luke in the Bible,
00:16:13.28\00:16:15.85
this is Luke
from Bozeman, Montana.
00:16:15.89\00:16:18.43
Luke had a rough
life, in fact, he was born
00:16:19.29\00:16:23.40
to a single
mother, an alcoholic,
00:16:24.94\00:16:28.69
who passed on to him
00:16:29.29\00:16:31.12
fetal alcohol syndrome.
00:16:31.52\00:16:33.22
So he had a rough upbringing.
In school he was disruptive,
00:16:33.28\00:16:38.29
he was disobedient, he couldn't
pay attention to his studies.
00:16:38.33\00:16:43.31
Generally, the only
way he got through school
00:16:43.70\00:16:46.90
with any kind of
success was through athletics.
00:16:46.93\00:16:50.10
Once he
graduated from high school
00:16:50.55\00:16:52.75
Luke basically lived for sex and
drugs, and that was about all.
00:16:54.16\00:16:59.60
By the time his pastor got to
know him, he was just a drifter.
00:17:01.44\00:17:08.58
Oh, he was in love with
a certain woman in town,
00:17:08.80\00:17:12.93
but his personality
and his habits were such
00:17:12.96\00:17:17.02
that he had a hard time
maintaining a relationship,
00:17:17.06\00:17:20.75
or commitment of any kind.
His pastor only noticed him
00:17:20.78\00:17:24.44
because he was the guy
with the long blond hair
00:17:24.47\00:17:27.79
parted down the middle that
sat in the back of the church
00:17:27.83\00:17:30.98
with his feet propped up
and how much he paid attention
00:17:31.02\00:17:34.14
to what happened in the
church was anybody's guess.
00:17:34.17\00:17:37.75
Well, Luke kept coming to
church however sporadically,
00:17:39.09\00:17:43.95
and in spite of the fact that
the pastor and many other people
00:17:44.98\00:17:49.71
just couldn't
understand why Luke
00:17:50.53\00:17:52.51
wouldn't get his act together.
00:17:52.65\00:17:54.68
Luke kept coming to the pastor,
00:17:55.53\00:17:58.69
even on one to one type of
consultations to try to find
00:17:58.73\00:18:04.18
some kind of resolution
to his feelings of emptiness.
00:18:04.21\00:18:09.63
He would tell his pastor:
00:18:09.66\00:18:10.87
"Look, all I want
is to settle down"
00:18:10.91\00:18:13.45
"and to have a
normal family and to feel"
00:18:13.48\00:18:16.13
"like I'm right with God. "
00:18:16.16\00:18:18.35
And then he would
go out then next day
00:18:18.91\00:18:21.07
and go to bars and pick
up girls and shoot drugs
00:18:21.11\00:18:24.15
and generally live a lifestyle
that was totally against
00:18:24.19\00:18:28.67
the Christian lifestyle.
His pastor felt, many times,
00:18:29.78\00:18:36.11
like he should walk in and
00:18:36.14\00:18:38.43
deliver some kind of
ultimatum kind of speech:
00:18:38.54\00:18:40.98
"Luke, if you don't
get your act together"
00:18:41.02\00:18:43.43
"then don't try to talk to
me about how you want peace"
00:18:43.46\00:18:48.29
"with God and a normal family. "
00:18:48.32\00:18:49.73
"You're doing
everything to undermine it. "
00:18:49.77\00:18:51.87
"So, don't even come talk to
me if you're not going to get"
00:18:51.93\00:18:54.86
"your act together. " The
pastor said later, fortunately
00:18:54.90\00:18:57.80
he never delivered
any of those speeches.
00:18:58.05\00:19:00.27
Finally, one day,
Luke called his pastor.
00:19:01.55\00:19:05.22
His pastor could tell
there was something different
00:19:05.57\00:19:07.89
just in the sound of his voice.
00:19:07.92\00:19:10.11
When he came into his
office he said, simply:
00:19:10.97\00:19:13.93
"I have AIDS." He
had gone to another city
00:19:14.50\00:19:18.55
and shared needles and
girls and came down with AIDS.
00:19:18.59\00:19:24.00
He was devastated.
00:19:27.26\00:19:29.47
His pastor, of course,
promised to be with him
00:19:29.74\00:19:31.96
through his
illness; to pray for him.
00:19:31.99\00:19:34.64
But Luke wanted God to heal him.
00:19:34.67\00:19:36.49
"Why couldn't God
heal him?" he said.
00:19:36.97\00:19:39.58
Well, Luke kind of drifted
in and out of the church life,
00:19:41.26\00:19:46.19
and in and out of
the pastor's awareness.
00:19:46.22\00:19:49.07
He moved in with a
family out on a ranch
00:19:49.87\00:19:54.82
and did odd jobs for them.
On Sundays they would feed him,
00:19:54.86\00:19:59.02
in the afternoon
they would spend hours
00:19:59.27\00:20:01.53
counseling with him.
00:20:01.77\00:20:03.81
No one, not the pastor,
00:20:04.57\00:20:06.69
not this couple who hired him,
00:20:07.05\00:20:08.71
no one could see any
progress in Luke's life.
00:20:08.75\00:20:12.85
He was still the same
slave to his old lifestyle
00:20:12.88\00:20:16.95
as he always was.
00:20:16.98\00:20:18.65
Even while he was
going around the country
00:20:18.69\00:20:21.17
as part of an
AIDS awareness program,
00:20:21.27\00:20:23.77
telling people how
to protect themselves,
00:20:23.81\00:20:26.36
he was still
living his old lifestyle.
00:20:26.39\00:20:28.91
But still he would
come back to the pastor
00:20:29.48\00:20:31.53
and want some
kind of resolution,
00:20:31.56\00:20:33.28
some kind of peace with God,
00:20:33.31\00:20:35.33
some kind of peace
that he couldn't have.
00:20:36.51\00:20:39.82
And then one day the pastor
got a call from the hospital.
00:20:43.11\00:20:48.86
It was actually Luke
calling from a hospital room.
00:20:49.40\00:20:53.54
And he went in to see him.
00:20:54.21\00:20:56.30
He discovered that Luke
was now in the later stages
00:20:57.60\00:21:01.20
of his disease.
00:21:01.40\00:21:03.34
Once again, Luke wanted to find
00:21:05.04\00:21:07.73
some kind of resolution,
some kind of closure,
00:21:07.77\00:21:10.93
some kind of peace, to
know that he was right with God.
00:21:11.32\00:21:15.96
The conversation
was still as frustrating
00:21:18.40\00:21:21.90
as all of those other
conversations that the pastor
00:21:21.94\00:21:24.47
had had with Luke.
00:21:24.50\00:21:26.18
Luke would ask those
tough questions, like:
00:21:26.64\00:21:29.18
"Why can't I change my life?"
00:21:29.21\00:21:31.93
"Why can't I
have a normal life?"
00:21:31.97\00:21:34.74
"Why can't I do
this? Why can't I do that?"
00:21:34.78\00:21:37.58
"And why can't I
find peace with God?"
00:21:37.61\00:21:39.53
"Why can't I just have a normal
relationship with a woman?"
00:21:39.57\00:21:42.51
"Why can't I just
settle down and have a family?"
00:21:42.54\00:21:45.02
All those tough questions
that went straight to the heart
00:21:45.63\00:21:49.71
of his broken human condition
00:21:49.74\00:21:52.21
that he had lived
with his whole life.
00:21:52.25\00:21:55.04
The pastor would fumble around
for answers as best he could
00:21:56.21\00:21:59.78
then he would leave,
both of them being frustrated.
00:22:00.69\00:22:03.98
Luke would be angry and the
pastor would be disappointed
00:22:04.37\00:22:07.02
in himself for not
having better answers.
00:22:07.05\00:22:10.04
It was Christmas Day.
00:22:11.55\00:22:13.64
The pastor decided he
needed to go in and see Luke.
00:22:14.70\00:22:19.86
So on Christmas Day he
went into the hospital room
00:22:20.66\00:22:22.93
and there was
Luke lying in the bed.
00:22:22.96\00:22:25.29
Luke hardly even
paid attention to him,
00:22:25.32\00:22:27.58
he was watching his
Lakers play on television.
00:22:27.62\00:22:30.41
And so the pastor
stayed and watched the game
00:22:31.00\00:22:34.51
for a little while and
then just silently left
00:22:34.55\00:22:38.03
without saying goodbye.
00:22:38.06\00:22:40.39
A few days later
00:22:41.11\00:22:43.06
Luke called
00:22:43.95\00:22:45.73
The pastor went in, probably
neither one of them knew
00:22:45.93\00:22:52.12
that this was the last time
00:22:52.94\00:22:56.37
Luke would ever
enter the hospital.
00:22:56.82\00:22:59.72
It would be one
of the last times
00:23:00.21\00:23:01.89
that he would ever
talk to the pastor.
00:23:01.93\00:23:04.45
Lying there in the bed
Luke looked up to the pastor
00:23:05.92\00:23:09.83
and there was
new look on his face.
00:23:10.54\00:23:12.94
He said: "Pastor,"
00:23:13.80\00:23:17.41
"I'm ready now. "
00:23:19.00\00:23:21.03
Pastor said: "What do you mean?"
00:23:21.77\00:23:23.48
"What do you mean you're
ready?" He said: "I'm ready"
00:23:23.52\00:23:26.10
"to give my whole self to God. "
00:23:28.95\00:23:32.55
"I get it now. " he said.
00:23:32.75\00:23:36.17
Not really knowing what to
expect, but rejoicing silently,
00:23:38.47\00:23:43.47
the pastor had a very special
prayer with Luke at that moment.
00:23:43.50\00:23:48.47
He prayed with
Luke and he invited Luke
00:23:48.87\00:23:51.33
to give his heart to God,
to confess his sins completely,
00:23:51.37\00:23:55.85
to forsake his sins and to
accept the complete forgiveness
00:23:55.88\00:24:00.36
and acceptance from God,
knowing that from that moment
00:24:00.39\00:24:04.99
he was completely free of
sin and completely accepted
00:24:05.02\00:24:09.59
and forgiven and loved by God.
00:24:09.67\00:24:13.03
When the pastor opened his eyes,
00:24:13.97\00:24:15.98
he saw Luke lying very still
00:24:16.01\00:24:18.35
and after a few
moments Luke opened his eyes
00:24:19.72\00:24:22.53
and it was over.
00:24:23.62\00:24:25.86
His struggle
against himself was over.
00:24:27.63\00:24:31.49
You see, his whole life he had
been trying hard to do things,
00:24:31.84\00:24:36.39
whether it was illicit sex,
or drugs or whatever it was,
00:24:37.84\00:24:42.75
he was trying to do things
to make himself feel accepted.
00:24:42.79\00:24:47.67
He was trying to do things
to make himself feel better
00:24:48.22\00:24:50.85
about himself.
00:24:51.14\00:24:52.79
And now, finally, on his
death bed he had accepted
00:24:53.47\00:24:56.96
what he had been trying to
do all along in different ways.
00:24:57.83\00:25:02.61
Let's turn to Isaiah 55:8,9.
00:25:07.18\00:25:12.98
God has been talking here
00:25:15.83\00:25:17.61
through the prophet
Isaiah about how He is merciful
00:25:17.65\00:25:22.42
not just to his
own people, Israel,
00:25:22.45\00:25:25.02
but to nations that
didn't even know his name.
00:25:25.30\00:25:28.49
God has been
talking in this chapter,
00:25:28.99\00:25:30.94
about He will summon
nations that He knows not.
00:25:30.98\00:25:35.03
He's been talking here, about
00:25:35.06\00:25:36.84
how the wicked are
free to forsake their way
00:25:36.88\00:25:40.23
and come to the
Lord at any time,
00:25:40.26\00:25:42.17
and that God will accept them.
00:25:42.20\00:25:44.04
And then He says in
Isaiah 55:8,9. [text on screen]
00:25:44.08\00:25:48.75
You know, we sometimes use this
text to show how high God is,
00:26:03.06\00:26:08.24
how much superior He is to us,
00:26:08.27\00:26:11.46
and how much perfection we have
to learn to get up to His level.
00:26:11.50\00:26:15.40
Actually, what this
text is talking about
00:26:16.50\00:26:19.26
is how merciful God is.
00:26:19.41\00:26:21.52
How our human inclination
is not to forgive people.
00:26:21.56\00:26:24.57
If they're not
part of our group,
00:26:24.60\00:26:26.09
if they're not part of
the people who are learning
00:26:26.13\00:26:28.62
the same things we
are, and experiencing
00:26:28.65\00:26:30.51
the same things we are, we don't
have too much mercy for them.
00:26:30.55\00:26:34.18
But God says: "My thoughts
are not your thoughts. "
00:26:34.21\00:26:36.16
"I have mercy on
everyone. I forgive them. "
00:26:36.19\00:26:38.76
And just like it was illustrated
in the story of Luke,
00:26:39.99\00:26:42.71
God has far more
patience, far more love,
00:26:43.09\00:26:46.82
far more mercy,
than we every have.
00:26:46.85\00:26:49.90
And that's why we need to
be perfect as God is perfect.
00:26:50.30\00:26:54.38
We need to have
mercy as He has mercy.
00:26:54.48\00:26:57.86
Instead of asking ourselves
00:26:57.89\00:26:59.98
and others
around us to come to God
00:27:00.02\00:27:01.78
with all of our trophy
cases full of trophies,
00:27:01.82\00:27:04.17
and our merit badges of good
works in order to be accepted,
00:27:04.21\00:27:07.26
we need to come as we are, and
we need to teach other people
00:27:07.50\00:27:10.81
to come as they are.
00:27:10.84\00:27:12.81
Most of us are somewhere between
Luke and the rich young ruler.
00:27:13.73\00:27:16.33
We struggle with
our past, our habits,
00:27:16.36\00:27:18.68
but we also have the
advantages of a good church
00:27:18.78\00:27:21.22
and we make progress in
keeping the commandments.
00:27:21.26\00:27:23.67
But in reality, we're
no better than either Luke,
00:27:24.71\00:27:28.17
or the rich young ruler.
00:27:28.49\00:27:30.99
But we don't know
that until our hard effort
00:27:31.48\00:27:33.52
is ready to kill us.
00:27:33.55\00:27:35.27
It's not that what we're
doing is the wrong thing,
00:27:35.31\00:27:37.37
it's why we're doing
it that makes it wrong.
00:27:37.40\00:27:40.18
And when the
effort almost kills us
00:27:40.53\00:27:42.03
we cry out: "My best
will never be good enough. "
00:27:42.07\00:27:45.61
And at that moment
we are closer to heaven
00:27:45.64\00:27:48.69
than we've ever
been in our lives.
00:27:48.72\00:27:51.52
When we realize, as
the rich young ruler did,
00:27:52.06\00:27:54.19
that the one thing
we lack is everything,
00:27:54.23\00:27:56.29
we can find with great
joy that Jesus is everything.
00:27:56.33\00:28:01.06
[Music for credits]
00:28:01.09\00:28:02.06