The Rich Young Ruler

I have come to learn something in the kingdom of God; everything we are or ever will become is a direct result of how we responded to the Lord in some area of our life. Consider with me Hosea 6:3 "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." In another translation is reads something like this: "then shall we know if we respond unto the Lord…"

The Rich Young Ruler

Read with me to the account of the rich young ruler; consider for a moment that this young man seemed in earnest about the Savior, see him as one who was a follower of the Lamb but we will ultimately learn who he really was by how he responds to the Master. Mark 10:17 "And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions."

This Follower of Jesus Receives a Strong Word

Let me describe this young man for you; this young man was one who was an earnest seeker of Jesus; he was so earnest he came running and kneeled before Him, this was certainly an act of worship. He is a type of someone who is very devout and enthusiastic. However, things will change dramatically for this young ruler when the Master speaks into his life in a most personal and profound way. The Master will speak directly into his life the thing he needs to hear more than anything else in the whole world and the end result is he turns his back on the Lord then walks slowly and sorrowfully away. What a tragedy, what a loss, if this young ruler had understood the full impact of this response to the Lord, if he had only embraced the word of the Lord he could have been transformed and brought into a greater light and glorious liberty.

One Who Does Not Make the Grade

What could have been the reason for this young mans turn about; what could have possibly stopped this young man from following hard after the Lord? Make no mistake about it, this was no casual serendipitous inconsequential meeting with the Lord, this was going to be an encounter that would forever change this man, and not for the good. He became the recipient of that word which is sharper than any two edged sword as we read in Hebrews 4:12-13 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." I have found that the Lord can speak what we really need to hear; it can be very challenging, yet He can drop a word into our spirit that has the power to transform us, if we let it. In a word, the problem here is this meeting with the Savior turned out to be an entreaty for this young man to forsake what proved to be the idol of his heart. The scripture clearly tells us that where our heart is there is our treasure also. This man obviously chose the security of money, wealth and goods over the Savior. It was more important to Him to have the security of wealth than performing the will of God; therefore wealth was his idol.

We Need to Search Our Own Souls

However, before we quickly condemn this man for his foolish choice we need to ask ourselves the following question: "If the Lord was speaking to me that day in the dusty road as I was kneeling, what would He say? Would that word which is sharper than any two-edged sword be able to separate me from the things I hold most dear? What would He ask of me, and perhaps more importantly, would I be able to give it?" In my time in the kingdom and in the ministry I have seen many a dear saint walk wholeheartedly for the Lord, witness; give their testimony; pray for others; minister charitably to others in money, goods and time. And yet when they have this same type of encounter where the Lord speaks to them with that two-edged sword concerning the one thing they really need to hear more than anything else, so many times, (too many times) the reaction is much the same as this young man, they are unwilling to embrace the one thing they need to hear more than anything else. I am sure for most of us we yield by the grace of God to the will of God in loving obedience. We must commit ourselves to the Word of the Lord; make it a life policy to always favor the Word of the Lord and commit to it.

What Can Happen When the Savior Come to Us?

I would like us to consider some of the things that can happen when the Lord comes to us to deal with some difficult issue in us. He can ask us to lay a relationship on the altar, He can ask us like this young man to give sacrificially, He can ask us take the road less popular, He can ask us to surrender any one of a thousand things most dear to us. The important thing isn't what He asks us to give, the important question is will we be willing to give it? What is the key here, what posture do we need to be in to do the right thing when He comes to us? How do we put ourselves in the posture of being obedient to the word of the Lord? It is really quite simple; "He that is faithful in the least will be faithful in much." The principle here is this: if we learn to be obedient to the Lord in the every day simple affairs of life we will most likely make the right choices in the big things too. A person who is accustomed to not complying in the small affairs of life really does not stand much of a chance in the large issues, like the young man in our story. Obedience is an everyday issue, choosing to do what is right choosing to be obedient to the scriptures and the Word of the Lord. For this saint obedience becomes a way of life, they do not balk or draw back when the Lord comes to them to deal with issues in their lives.

Conclusion

This story is truly tragic; it is the story of a man who was knocked off course by the word of the Lord. Not because of the devil, not because of the world, not because of others but perhaps because he had not been accustomed to responding obediently to the Word of the Lord. He was able to keep the letter of the law, however he had never learned the beautiful art of responding to the Lord. Let me finish with the verse we started with: Hosea 6:3 "Then shall we know, if we [respond to the Lord] follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." My dear friends let me exhort you today, it is not only important to hear the Word of the Lord; it is paramount that we respond to it.

God Bless You,
Reverend Frank R Anderson