Proper 24B, 2024

Text: Mark 10:23-31

Title: Possible with God

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Have you ever tried to drive a semi-truck through a garden hose?

Could it possibly work?

Maybe if you back up and then go really, really fast?

Or maybe if you take it real slow and just ease in?

Maybe you can let a little bit of air out of the tires to lower the clearance?

Or maybe you can get a friend to hold the hose as wide as it will go?

Do you think it will work?  Do you think you’ll make it?  Is there any possible way to make it happen?

You can certainly try, but I guarantee that it’s not going to work. It’s impossible. 

It would be like trying to get a camel to walk through the eye of a needle.  You can push and prod, entice or whip that camel all you want, it’s not going to happen.

Jesus says that’s what it’s like to try to get a rich man into His Kingdom. It’s just not possible.  At least on your own.

Jesus says that it’s hard to get into the Kingdom of God.  In fact, He says it twice.

If Jesus says something twice, you should probably pay close attention to what He says.

Getting into the Kingdom is difficult.  It’s not easy.  Whether you’re rich or poor, it’s still difficult.

Getting into the Kingdom is more than just saying “Yes” to a few generic beliefs about God, and then living your life the same way as everyone else (you wouldn’t want them to think you’re weird, would you?).

Getting into the Kingdom is more than just giving up an hour or two on Sunday mornings (unless you’ve got something better to do, of course, and then pretty much any excuse will do).

Getting into the Kingdom is more than just tossing a few bucks in the offering plate that you’ll never miss anyways, (after all, you’ve got bills to pay, right?).

Getting into the Kingdom requires a great sacrifice from you.  It’s not easy.  It’s difficult.  Impossibly difficult.

Last week we met the rich man.  He had so much going for Him.  He sought Jesus out.  He kneeled before Jesus.  He wants eternal life.  He’s done his best to keep the commandments for as long as he can remember.

But he’s still lacking something.  Jesus tells him to sell everything that he owns and give it to the poor, and then to come and follow Him.

Jesus knows this man’s heart. 

Jesus knows that he loves his wealth.  Jesus knows that he trusts his wealth.

And who among us doesn’t?  Could you give up everything that you own?

I doubt it.  It’s not just that you like your stuff, you depend on it.  You rely on things to make you happy, and to get you through difficult times.

Whenever bad things happen in life, your first reaction is probably, “How much is this going to cost?” and then “Can I afford this?” and finally, “What happens if I can’t afford it?”  We often turn to God only after our money fails us and we have no other options.

Getting into the Kingdom is hard for us, because it so much easier to trust in wealth, which you can see, rather than to trust in God, whom you can’t see.

At the end of the day, it’s hard to separate your wealth from yourself personally and who you are.

When you trust your wealth, you’re ultimate trusting in yourself.  When you trust your wealth, you’re ultimate trusting in yourself. 

You are the one who earned or acquired everything you have.  You are the one who decides how to spend or invest or give away your wealth. 

When you trust in your wealth, you’re saying, “No thanks, God.  I’ve got this.”

And you start revving up your engine to drive that semi through the garden hose.

Your wealth can certainly do a lot for you.  It can attract “friends.”  It can bring comfort.  It can even help to extend your life if you can afford the right doctors and medical treatment.

But when it comes to the Kingdom of God, it’s utterly useless.

It is impossible for you to get into the Kingdom of God on your own. You can’t buy your way in.  You can’t earn your way in, either.

You can’t be a good person and keep all the commandments and earn a spot in God’s Kingdom. 

The only way for you to come into the Kingdom is if God does the impossible.  It’s gotta be all His work.

God’s impossible work began when the angel Gabriel appeared to young woman named Mary in the tiny town of Nazareth, and told her that she had been chosen to be the mother of God.

God did the impossible by uniting His eternal, holy being, to human flesh, so that Jesus Christ is 100% God and 100% man at the same time. Impossible with man, possible with God.

Jesus Christ bore the sins of the whole world, counted guilty in place of all of us sinners, rich and poor alike, and still lived a sinless life.  Impossible with man, possible with God.

Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life on the cross, allowing Himself to be arrested, tried, and tortured, and killed, and He didn’t object or try to stop it.  Impossible with man, possible with God.

On the third day, Jesus Christ rose from the dead in body and soul, defeating death’s power once and for all.  Impossible with man, possible with God.

Jesus loves you, unconditionally.  He knows everything that you’ve done, but He keeps on loving and forgiving you.  Impossible with man, possible with God.

Jesus uses a splash or water and His name to unite you to Himself, to fill you with His Holy Spirit, and to grant you new birth.  Impossible with man, possible with God.

Jesus uses bread and wine to give you His body and blood, to forgive your sins, and to unite His church as one body.  Impossible with man, possible with God.

Every last bit of the Christian life is a miracle worked by God for you.  Every last step is impossible for you to do on your own, and so Jesus works in and through you.

Every prayer you pray, every hymn you sing, every good thing you do is God’s impossible work in your life

And that’s because He’s done the impossible job of changing your heart, drawing your trust away from yourself, your abilities, your possessions, your piety, and drawing your trust to Him.

In fact, you might find yourself giving away what you once held dear.  You might find yourself like Peter, leaving behind your possessions, even your family to follow Jesus.

If that’s the case, you are leaving them behind for something better.

You may feel like you are last in this life.  You may see and experience the same sort of hatred and persecution that Jesus and the disciples felt. 

But even though you may be last now, in the age to come you will be first. You will have treasures in heaven. You will have life that never ends.

And all because God has done the impossible.  Something harder than driving a semi through a garden hose. Something harder than pushing a camel through the eye of a needle.  God will have done the impossible by bringing you into His kingdom.

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