3-The Best of Both Worlds
2/10/13
Intro:
I.==> Mark 10:17-31
II.PASCAL’S WAGER
Body:
I.Life In Eternity
“Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” (21)
A.The investement we make in this life will reap a blessing in eternity
1)TURBOTAX GUY GIVING ME A FREE FILING TO PAD HIS RATING
2)THE PARABLE OF THE SHREWD MANAGER
3)Luke 16:9
I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
B.If all we got was eternal life, wouldn’t it all still be worth it
1)Jesus loved this man, He wasn’t trying to make it hard for Him
Jesus could see that he had invested all his security in this life
2)Luke 12:33-34
Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
3)“He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”—Jim Elliot, 1949
II.Life In the Present
At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
A.Greed offers short term gain for long term devistation
1)THE RICHEST MAN CAN ONLY USE ONE PILLOW AT A TIME
2)Luke 12:15
Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
3)CHARLES PONZI PROMISING 50% IN 45 DAYS, 1920
“Even if they never got anything for it, it was cheap at that price. Without malice aforethought I had given them the best show that was ever staged in their territory since the landing of the Pilgrims! It was easily worth fifteen million bucks to watch me put the thing over.”
B.God is not in the business of ripping people off, He brings the blessing
1)He was sad because he thought He was after his money
2)John 10:10
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”
3)ERIN BROCKOVICH—BONUS CHECK
III.Life In Perspective
“A hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life.”
A.Jesus taught us to live life to the full in both worlds
1)The man only asked about eternal life
But Jesus had a blessing for him in this life and the next
2)Philippians 1:21-25
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain . . . I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.
3)MY SPIRITUALITY DID NOT KEEP ME FROM FALLING ON THE POT
B.Every life has its problems, but Jesus shows us how to overcome them
1)Everybody has their own sack of bricks to carry
“along with persecutions”
2)John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
3)Hating the cancer that took my Dad,
But loving the Lord who gave him the peace
Other Scriptures:
1 Timothy 6:10
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.