Pentecost 23 – October 24/27, 2013
NO OBSTACLE IS IMPOSSIBLE
Hymns: 306, 305, 384.
Luke 18:18-30 A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do
to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No
one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not
commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony,
honor your father and mother.’ ” “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he
said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell
everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven. Then come, follow me.”When he heard this, he became very sad,
because he was a man of great wealth. Jesus looked at him and said, “How
hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a
camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the
kingdom of God.” Those who heard this asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus replied, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
Dear Christian Friends:
When I visit my mother in Canada, I drive east. So I drive through Indiana
and Michigan. Depending on which route I chose, I can also travel through
Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Now, when I am driving through those
states I see cars from all over the country. However, when I drive through
Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, I rarely see cars from
Wisconsin.
I have a theory about that. Yes, I know some of you die-hard
Wisconsinites will say, “Wisconsin is so great, why would anyone ever
leave?” But I think the real reason why Wisconsinites don’t drive east –I
think the reason lies just south of Wisconsin. The reason is Chicago.
And Chicago is a big obstacle for Wisconsin drivers. First, Chicago is
filled with Illinois drivers. If that weren’t bad enough, the roads are terrible.
To make matters worse, they actually charge tolls on their beat up highways.
But at least they work on the roads—ALL THE TIME! Crazy drivers, rough
roads, toll ways, and construction – all that adds up to a huge obstacle.
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Now, in reality it does not matter if a Wisconsinite ever drives east.
However, you and I need to travel. We need to travel on the road that leads
to our heavenly home. And just as there are obstacles when we drive, so also
there are obstacles on our road to heaven. Thankfully, our heavenly Father
has done everything to clear the path so that we can arrive safely in eternal
life. In his word for today Jesus tells us, NO OBSTACLE IS
IMPOSSIBLE.
Now, that sounds great, doesn’t it? Jesus sounds like a motivational
speaker. It sounds like Jesus is saying, “With God as your helper you can
overcome low self-esteem. You can beat depression and addiction. You can
live your best life now. You can develop highly effective habits and be
successful. You can do anything because everything is possible with God on
your side.”
Well, no. God is not a secret formula for success. God is not a twelve-step
program. God is not a self-help book. The example of the man in our text
shows us that outward success is not the best blessing God wants us to have.
You see, if anybody was successful by outward standards, it was this man.
Our text says, A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do
to inherit eternal life?”… Jesus answered. … You know the
commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal,
do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’ ” “All these
I have kept since I was a boy,” he said.
Now, this man was right to ask Jesus about inheriting eternal life.
However, this man thought that he could do something on his own to work
his way into heaven. And it’s easy to understand why this man would feel
this way. He was successful. He was a ruler. He had worked his way up the
ladder. He was a man in charge. Furthermore, he was a very moral person.
He was a squeaky clean, law-abiding citizen. And he was also very rich.
This man was the type of person many of us strive to be. Now maybe you
don’t want to be a boss or a chief executive officer. However, most of us
think, “I wish people would give me more respect. I wish I could act in such
a way that people would listen to what I have to say. I wish more people
would see things my way.”
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Likewise, most of us sincere, church-going people think, “I wish I could be
pure and innocent in my thoughts, words, and actions. I wish I were more
helpful, friendly, and kind. I wish I were more honest and generous. I wish I
treated my family better and showed them more patience.” Yes, we all want
to lead lives filled with holiness, goodness, and obedience to God.
And, who of us doesn’t want more money? Oh, yes, I know. You say
things like, “Money can’t make me happy.” But yet, everybody still wants a
little extra cash. Everyone wants to be a little bit richer.
So, getting respect, living a moral life, having money – isn’t this the
very definition of success? Sure it is. However, this rich ruler turned his
success into an obstacle. Our text explains. [Jesus]… said to him, “You
still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he
heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.
Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the
kingdom of God!”
This man’s success blocked his salvation. Yes, his money was definitely
a traffic jam on the road to heaven. But his money was just the outward
symptom. This man’s real problem was himself. He was so focused on
himself he couldn’t submit to Jesus. In other words, he was breaking the first
commandment. He was fearing, loving, and trusting himself and his outward
success more than he was fearing, loving, and trusting in Jesus.
That is a warning for us all. No, you might not be a ruler, boss, or chief
executive officer. You might not even be the most upright, moral, and lawabiding citizen. You might not have piles of cash and valuable investments.
But every one of you—everyone one of us—has something that is a huge
obstacle on the road to heaven. It’s the same obstacle the rich ruler had. It’s
yourself. You and I have an ego. You and I like to think, “God has to take
me as I am. I might not be perfect but I am good enough to go to heaven.
Yes, Jesus will help me get there, but I am going to heaven on my terms.”
Well, you can’t get to heaven on your terms. Nobody can. It’s impossible
for sinful humans to work their way into heaven. So like Christ’s disciples
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we have to ask, “Who then can be saved?” However, like Christ’s
disciples we also must listen to Jesus comfort us and assure us, “What is
impossible with men is possible with God.”
God has a provided a way to heaven that does not depend on our success,
on our outward goodness, or on our financial resources. God has given us
his Son, Jesus Christ to be our Savior. Now, certainly Jesus says, Follow
me. And following Jesus requires sacrifice in this life.
However, following Jesus means trusting him and him alone for entrance
into heaven. Following Jesus means saying, “All my goodness, all my
success, and all my achievements do absolutely nothing to get me into
heaven. Only Christ’s holy, precious blood paid the toll to heaven. Only his
death and rising from the grave open the door to God’s heavenly mansions.
Only Christ’s purity, only Christ’s power, and only Christ’s life can transport
this poor sinner into the Promised Land of everlasting life. Yes, Jesus is the
only way to heaven.”
Now, let’s say that one day you want to drive east to visit a friend in
Detroit or Cleveland. But you don’t want to drive through that huge obstacle
of Chicago. Well, you have an alternative. Sure, you could drive around the
north shore of Lake Michigan. But there’s a better way. It’s to take the ferry
across Lake Michigan. Now, ordinarily cars can’t cross large bodies of
water. They would sink a few feet off shore. However, when a car is on a
boat the boat can take the car over the water. The ferry makes what is
impossible for a car, namely a lake crossing – the ferry makes the
impossible, possible.
Likewise, sinners can’t travel to heaven. Our egos and our sinful pride are
impossible obstacles. But, what is impossible with [us] is possible with
God. Jesus is that boat that lets us avoid the obstacles of our sins just like
the car ferry allows Wisconsin drivers to avoid the obstacle of Chicago. So,
trust in Christ and in Christ alone. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
Jesus is your one and only way to heaven. AMEN.
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