In God We Trust

It started out a lazy Saturday morning.All of the boxes were unpacked, but we still had much work to do after the move into our first home.After my first cup of coffee, I decided to hang the new doors between the kitchen and the den.

We took out the sliding glass doors and were replacing them with some wooden ones.I didn't want to take the chance of one of my small boys walking through the glass and getting hurt.

We had an industrial fire extinguisher on the wall next to the doors.This was a central location in the house, and we thought it was a good idea to have the extinguisher near the kitchen.

We removed the doors, replaced the tracks and took the new doors out of the box.Now came the big moment: I was positioning the first door in its place, the whole family gathered around to see how it would look.
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I had some trouble fitting it into place.I applied pressure, and the door jumped out of the track and hit the fire extinguisher, which slipped from its holder and fell four feet onto my preschool son.Blood was everywhere.

I dropped the door, snatched up my son, and sped to the hospital emergency room.I was in such a hurry that I left my wife behind.I knew I had to take him to someone who could help him.In that moment, nothing else mattered-- not traffic laws, not money; the only thing that mattered was getting help for my son.

WHOM DO YOU TRUST?(vs 17-18)

The rich young ruler was a motivated man; he didn't wait until he bumped into Jesus, nor did he casually walk up to Him.He ran.What was his hurry?Did he need a touch from the miracle worker?Perhaps he was hungry or needed Jesus to heal a family member.

Outwardly, this man had it all.He was young, wealthy and powerful, yet he wanted more.Inwardly, something was missing.He worried about his eternal destiny.

Showing due respect, he knelt before Jesus and called Him "Good Teacher."Before the man could continue, Jesus interrupted him and asked him why he called Him "good."

Jesus wasn't being contentious; rather, He was leading the young man into spiritual introspection.Did he know Jesus was God?Is this why he called Him good, or was he just being polite?

Perhaps he was flattering Jesus because he hoped his words would improve his chances of gaining eternal life.Our flattery does not impress God, nor do we fool Him with our manners or sophistication.He knows our motives and the content or our character.Jesus saw right though this man.

No doubt he was searching for an answer.His curiosity certainly motivated him.The question Jesus asked him went straight to the reason for the motivation.Did he think Jesus was an answer, or did he know He is the answer?Did he think Jesus was good or did he know He is God?

God does not want to be one of our solutions; He wants us to trust in Him exclusively.Do you turn to God as your last resort, after you've tried everything; or is He your first option?We must place our total trust in God, not in our goodness or wealth.

OUR TRUST CANNOT BE IN RELIGION (vs 19-21)

Without a pause, Jesus quotes the last six of the ten commandments to him.These commandments are God's instructions to show us how we should treat one another.Jesus did not mention the commandments that teach us how to please God, not directly, but His next question would point to these commandments.

The man interrupted Jesus by declaring his loyalty to these commandments since his youth.Jesus did not argue with the man; he apparently was a very good, moral man.His familiarity with the commandments showed his indoctrination into the Jewish religion.Yet something was missing.He was searching for something that religion by itself could not provide.

Religion becomes dutiful and empty when our focus is on our goodness instead of the grandeur of God.Do you ever feel you are losing the joy of your salvation?Does your service to the Lord ever seem routine and forced?

Some Christians expend all their spiritual energy trying to meet other people's expectations of them.They go through the motions, but there is no real joy.

Others are so busy with work, their church activities and running the kids to soccer practice that they never really experience God.The busyness of life erodes their joy.Still other people never develop a genuine relationship with God because the trappings of religion distract them.

This was the rich young ruler's problem.His dissatisfaction resulted from leaving God out of his religion and his life.Yes, he was a good man who kept all the rules but he was not experiencing the joy of a personal relationship with God.

Jesus told the young man to divest himself of his earthly wealth before he could experience heavenly treasure.Jesus was not unwilling to become another one of the young man's possessions, nor would he agree to become a spiritual guru to depart cosmic wisdom to the wealthy seeker.

Jesus asked the young man to trust Him enough to stop trusting anything else.He couldn't trust in his religious devotion for eternal life because something completely different was necessary.

By asking him to give everything he owned to the poor, Jesus drew his attention to the first commandment:"You shall have no other gods before me." (Exodus 20:3 NIV)This man's real religion was not focused on God; it consisted of money, power and self respect.

His wealth and power defined him.If he gave everything he had he would no longer be rich.If he followed Jesus he would have to leave his powerful position.Essentially, Jesus asked this man to stop trusting in his religion, wealth or influence and to start trusting in Jesus exclusively.

Do we define ourselves by our devotion to religion or by our relationship with our loving God?Are possessions servants or masters to us?

OUR TRUST CANNOT BE IN RICHES (VS 22)

Unfortunately, this man was unwilling to place his trust in Jesus.His love of money was so great that he had no room in his heart for Jesus.

His money did not make him happy.Instead, it had a cruel death grip on him that would cause him to trade this opportunity for heavenly treasure to keep his earthly wealth.

Did this man of influence later regret his decision after he heard of Jesus' victory over death and triumph over the tomb?Within his lifetime, he would likely witness the great persecution against the church after the fall of the temple in 70 A.D.How do you think he responded when he saw Christians fed to the lions or burned at the stake for their beliefs?

Robert Hussein is a modern day equivalent of the rich young ruler.The difference between the two is that he chose to accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior.On May 29, 1996 the Kuwaiti Islamic court sentenced him to death for apostasy.

After his decision to follow Christ, he lost his family, his business, his homes and $4 million in other assets.Yet, he refuses to renounce his faith in Jesus Christ.

He left all to follow Jesus, the very thing Jesus asked the rich young ruler to do.Can we serve God and still place our trust in money?

There is nothing sinister about money or unspiritual in making money.It is a tool for us to use to conduct commerce.

The issue is trust.When we place our trust in money, we love money and use people.God's good plan for us is to love people and use money.

God does not prohibit us from having money.We can save money and still trust in God to provide our needs.Joseph used God's savings plan to meet the needs of His people.He urged Pharaoh to save during the seven fat years to provide during the seven lean years.Pharaoh saw the wisdom in his advice and put him in charge of administering the plan.

God wants us to use money to further His kingdom.We use money to help others because we love people and trust God.Trust leads us to give to God and compassion drives us to help others.

Have you ever wondered why $20.00 look so small when you shop in a grocery store and yet so large when you attend Church?If other people in the Church knew how much you gave this morning, would they say you are trusting in your money or in the Lord?

OUR TRUST MUST BE IN GOD (vs 23-27)

Take a dollar bill out of your wallet and look at the inscription on the back of the currency.It doesn't say our trust is in government, ourselves, or the economy.It says "In God we trust."Does this statement express your attitude?

After the young man walked away, Jesus turned to his disciples to teach them a spiritual lesson about the events that just unfolded before their eyes.He used humor to make his point.One source of humor in the ancient near east was exaggeration.

Jesus told His disciples it would be easier for a large beast (a camel) to walk though a small hole (the eye of a needle) than for a person with such a large view of himself that he trusts in his wealth (a rich man) to enter a place with only one means of entrance (the kingdom of heaven.)This amazed the disciples.

They thought if anyone deserved eternal life it was this well respected man.They asked Jesus who could be saved.

Jesus' response raised the issue of trust again.Salvation, he said, is only possible with God.The rich young ruler could not inherit eternal life because he trusted in notoriety, wealth, power or religion.His only hope was to abandon his misplaced self-trust and to completely trust God.

The man had just enough religion to make it to hell.His upbringing, station in life and piety inoculated him from the desire to trust in Jesus.They brought him just enough satisfaction to entice him to choose to forgo his heavenly inheritance.His religious devotion ended with treating others right, so he could not totally trust God.

Some church members ask God for their heavenly inheritance without placing their total trust in Him.They ask Him to forgive their sins but do not feel comfortable giving Him total control of their lives, careers, or finances.

They struggle with trusting God to meet their financial needs, so they do not tithe.Because they are afraid to lose their respect or power they don't live their faith at work.

Can we inherit eternal life without placing our trust in God?Will God make an exception for us?The Bible clearly states that there will be no exceptions.John 14:6 KJV Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

God loves us.He loved the rich young ruler too (vs 21).His love requires we place our trust in Him.Because He loved him, Jesus gave the rich young ruler the opportunity to inherit eternal life. Jesus love motivates Him to give you the same opportunity.

However, you will never enter heaven if you do not place your ultimate trust in Jesus Christ.You cannot take an airplane ride with one foot in the plane and the other on the boarding ramp.Neither can you truly trust in Jesus if you insist on trusting in your power, influence or wealth.Trusting in Him means you must abandon your earthly foothold.

If you've never totally trusted in Jesus, you can do so right now.Using a simple prayer, relinquish the ownership of your life and place your trust in Him by inviting Him to forgive your sins and to take control of your life.

Many of us have already made that decision, but perhaps we struggle with living each day under His control.In our quest to follow Christ we try to avoid society's influence, which places a premium upon wealth and accomplishments upon us.

Why is the question "what is she worth?" a financial question?Inside we know that we can't determine a person's real worth by her wealth, but we struggle to see that question in any other light.

Can we really explain our financial security by the contents in our safety deposit boxes or the semiannual return on our investments?Our ultimate security is in our knowledge that God will care for us.

We can do a better job earning a living and managing our money in an atmosphere of trusting God.Out of gratitude for Gods provisions to us and a spirit of obedience to His commands, we give generously to His work.

Do you feel more comfortable trusting in Gods plan or your plans?The answer to this question will determine how you treat your finances and every other part of your life.

We were doing our best to provide a safe environment for our son.We removed the glass doors and hung the fire extinguisher as safety measures.Yet our best efforts resulted in his injury.I’m grateful that God protected Stephen from our protection.

Today, Stephen is twelve years old and is just fine.However, every now and then he talks about the day Dad hit him with the fire extinguisher.He always laughs--I don't.