Amen! God's presence is so sweet in our midst. God's love is obviously in this place, He has just surrounded us with His goodness. Let me just open it up and just bless His name - Lord, I thank you so much God for who you are. Lord, you do not abandon your people, you are not separate from your people. God you went up into heaven but you did not leave us Father - you have left us with your Holy Spirit. God we know that you are with us right now, we know that you surround us and you inhabit the praises of your people. God I bless your holy, holy, holy, name because God you have been so good to us God. You have been so good to us Lord - so Father, I pray that our hearts would open up - as the song said “may our hearts burn with passion for your name God.” May your Word just alight our hearts Lord, may this be a day that your Word comes alive in our hearts. We thank you and we bless you - in your mighty name we pray. Amen.

As I was preparing this week I got thinking about vacation, I think it's because it's getting colder out, right? I’m not a big fan of the cold - so I started to think about a vacation. I haven't been on vacation in a long time but I always remember that the vacations are great, but I always hated everything getting up to the vacation. All the lines in the airports, and you're getting everything ready - I’m not a planner at all, my wife is, I'm not, so for me like that is the most difficult time. The part that is the worst for me is packing. I just can't do it - I don't know how people do it, my wife’s great. You probably think between me and my wife that she is the one with a hundred bags bringing on vacation, that's actually me, I gotta admit - I’m much worse, I just can't do it. My wife has everything planned out; Monday outfit, Tuesday outfit, Wednesday...me, I open up my suitcase and just stuff as much stuff as I can in there. I can barely plan a doctors appointment, so planning what I’m gonna wear next week is just not gonna happen for me. Every vacation’s the same thing; I stuff as much stuff as I can in there in that bag, fill it up to the brim because I don't know what I’m gonna wear until that morning, and then what happens? After you wear it, it seems to grow and you try to stuff it back in the bag and nothing ever fits, right? Nothing you ever get on vacation can fit, you can't add anything else to the bag because that bag is stuffed and there is no room for anything else. The worst thing is we know that when we do that we run into problems over and over again.

I was thinking about that as I was reading my Bible this week and I just came across a verse - I know it's one in Luke 18 that we read a lot, but for me it really hit my heart. I see it so often in today's church, it still happens every single day. I have my little visual aid - I promise this is what happens so often, especially in the American church; people walk up to Jesus, they walk into church and their bags are stuffed. There's no room left in them - they’re stuffed with all the things that they love about themselves, all the things that they covet; their pride, their popularity, and their wealth, and they’re reasoning, and all the things that they covet about themselves that makes me, me. The bag is stuffed - and they walk up to Jesus and say, “Hey Jesus this salvation, it sounds great. I’d like to take some of that and I'd like to add it to my bag” - and Jesus looks and says “What is this” and you’re like, “Well look, this is my stuff. This is everything about me; these are all the things that make me great, this is everything I love about myself that I've worked year after year to cultivate in my life, that now I white knuckle hold on to” and Jesus looks and says, “There's no room, your bag is stuffed. There’s no room in there for salvation, there is no room for anything else.”

You see time after time again we see people who want to go to Jesus and receive salvation and then add it to their already vast wealth and their vast riches of this world. But I tell you that's not how salvation works. God calls for His people to be poor in spirit - to go up to Him with their hearts empty and say - “God, here I am! God Here I am! I come to your throne this day Lord. I come to your throne - everything I've done thus far has been for me, but God I want your kingdom to reign in my heart. I want your kingdom to be alive inside of me. So God, here I am. I am an empty vessel, God come in and fill me with your kingdom.” Amen.

So today as I said, we’re going to be reading from Luke 18:18 - on. This is a story I know so many of us have heard about the rich young ruler. I want us to look at the story and see some things that we can learn about this young ruler.

Number one; we can see that the rulers bags were already full. Reading from verse 18 - “A certain ruler asked him, saying ‘Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good, no one is good but one - that is God. You know the commandments: do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not bear false witness’, honor your mother and your father.”’He said, ‘All these things I have kept since my youth.’“ I’m gonna stop right there for a second. Just looking into the history of what this verse is. The word ruler there - in Hebrew it’s archon, it means ‘someone who's very influential, someone who was very wealthy.’ He was in charge of people, he was a boss in the neighborhood. Everybody knew who this guy was and if you look into the nuances of the Hebrew, you can kind of ascertain that he was young, that he was probably in his late 30s and he was very wealthy. Back then, in some places it’s still the same today, where how much wealth you had really determined - people looked at that and said how much blessing of God that you had. I use this bag as kind of like an illustration, but what am I really talking about? I'm talking about the heart. I’m talking really about the inside the heart that is filled with all these different things. The Jews believe that the heart is really what dictates what the body does. The mind - there is some reasoning, some thinking, but it's the heart that really shapes your actions and what you do. I can't tell you, I can’t stress - how much that is true. Because it’s all the things about us, all the things that our heart is filled with that really determine who we are, how we act, how we reason, how we think, how we react, and all the things in our day-to-day lives - our heart is which shapes so much of that.

And this ruler's heart, it was filled. It was filled with all of his accomplishments, not just his wealth, his influence, his image, and how he was seen. Everything he had worked so hard to achieve at such a young age, it was a pride of this façade that he had put up to the world and his heart was filled to the brim with all the wealth and riches of this world that he had accumulated. I’m not just talking about monetary - you see, it was his whole image. He was young, He was a ruler - if you think of him being like a Mark Zuckerberg - very young, very influential. He had made things happen for himself and it was very unusual to see somebody so young in charge of so much.

I ask you today, church, are our bags filled with anything outside of God? We have to look inside of our hearts and say - “Is my bag, is my heart filled with the riches of this world? Is it filled with my pride, is it filled with arrogance, is it filled with my reasoning, is it filled with my image and how I see myself, is it filled with fear of the world? What is my heart filled with? Because I tell you the verse goes on to say that ‘it is so hard for the rich to inherit the kingdom of God.’ It’s not just talking about monetary, it’s talking about the image that we have put up - the things that we hold onto, white knuckle about ourselves and say, ‘No I can't let them go, this is what makes me, me.’ It could be that we’re financially comfortable, it could be that we’re good looking, most popular, most influential, filled with pride, consumed by our image, or you may be so insured of your way of thinking.

But let me tell you, Jesus says it is so hard for the rich to inherit the kingdom of God because people's bags are filled and there's no more room for the salvation of God. Salvation is meant to save us. Salvation is meant to save us from ourselves, from our flesh, from this dying nature that is leading us away from God and to hell - but Jesus Christ came that you might be saved. Amen.

If we are comfortable with what's inside, if we are already satisfied in what we covet - then our hearts are not empty vessels waiting to be filled. See, the rich man, he came up looking to add on to what he already had. He had this vast wealth, this vast riches, this image that everyone knew, this thing that he had built up and worked so hard for. He goes and he says ‘Jesus, how do I acquire what you have? How do I get it and add it into my bag that is already stuffed - I think I can find another corner in there to fit a little bit more in.’ The young ruler did not realize that Jesus Christ was not looking to build up his kingdom. We have to remember this so often - I see this so often in the church, God is not about our kingdom. He’s not about blessing you so you're the most influential, He’s not about making you great and you awesome and your kingdom bigger and you look better. That's not how God works. God works with the person who was empty who comes before Him and says, “God let your kingdom manifest in my heart. When I come forward, God may you receive the glory. May you receive the honor, may you receive all the recognition, God.”

Christ is about building up His kingdom in us and transforming us into powerful vessels for His glory - for His glory. You see, I’m not saying God doesn't bless you, God doesn’t rise you up, God doesn't do something amazing, God doesn't give you the job, God doesn’t make you the best in the interview - but what I am saying is, it’s not for your glory, it's for God. It’s for God’s glory that He might be exalted. God cannot fill a vase that is already filled with wine. I love in this verse where He says Jesus gives them a list of commandments to follow: do not commit adultery, don’t steel, don’t bear a false witness, honor your mother and father, don't murder - and this guys looks at him and says, “Jesus, I already got those in the bag, I’ve been doing that since I was a kid - check, done. I'm ready, what's next?” Like he had his arrogance and this haughtiness to say, “Jesus, I'm good.” We can see that he really had no need for a savior. He wanted salvation, he wanted the thing to look good, he wanted to tell everybody he was saved, he wanted to go out and say, “Yeah, I found Jesus and he said I was saved.” He wanted the title, but he wasn't ready to be saved. He didn't need a savior to save him from himself, he didn’t need a savior to save him from his ways and his flesh and the ways that are leading to hell. He said, “God, I just need - I want to add it to the bag. I want it to be another great thing about me.” We can see it even in his approach, how he went up and he said, “Good teacher…” - that’s like a non-divine greeting. If you look in the Hebrew - it would be like if you went up to the Sanhedrin and he was like, “Hello good man” - like we’re equals, right? “How you doing? Shake my hand. From one influential guy to another, ‘How you doing?’” And that's why Jesus looks at him and says; “Why are you saying I'm good - only God is good.” Don't you see that you're below God? Don't you see that you're not coming to me one-on-one, that only God and His ways are good? He says, “How do I inherit” - and when you look at that word inherit there it means “acquire, obtain, or possess.”

You see, the one who had obtained, who possesses all things - he comes to add another thing to his collection. He wasn't ready, he wasn't crying out for the cross, he wasn't giving it all up for the sake of God. No, he came to him and said, “God, I just want to add another thing.” You see, we have to realize - and this is hard for so many to realize - that our ways are nothing compared to God's purity. When we compare our best efforts - your best effort at love or obedience or sacrifice or whatever it might be, or charity - those are filthy rags. When you compare it to the purity of the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. People look and say “Oh I got a lot of good things to offer.” No, the greatest thing - and that's why Jesus said “why do you call me good” - the greatest thing you can realize is ‘God, everything I am, everything I've done, everything I have been, God, they are filthy rags - but they’re all I have and here it is Lord. I put it at the foot of your cross. God come in and fill me. God come in and do a new work with me. God I sacrifice my kingdom, that your kingdom might reign.’

You know, I’m not saying that He didn’t go up with some respect - he said “hey good teacher.” Have you guys ever seen, especially in Europe, they have so many beautiful cathedrals and shrines and you see people just flocking to them and they walk in and they're like looking around and they’re in awe - they don't talk, they’re real quiet, there's like a respect there. But how many people are truly under the rulership, the Lordship, and the kingship of Jesus Christ? Not many. See, that's the ruler. He walked in and there was a respect to say “hey good teacher, how do I get this? I know you know the way” - but He wasn't under the kingship of the Lord Jesus Christ. Because we come from such a rich and entitled nation, it’s still the same today. Where people walk up to Jesus and say “Hey good teacher, how you doing? I'd like to add on to the salvation. I'd like to add on to this - just another cherry on top to be about me” when God is saying “No.” The opposite is what God is looking for. He's looking for an empty vessel and let me tell you the greatest thing in the world is when a man comes before God broken as I did - I just remember it so clearly going and saying “God I am lost. I don't know what to do. God I've worked so hard and I'm a mess. Lord I am gone, what do I do Jesus?” And He came and said, “Oh Kris, finally you realize. Finally you see that you have nothing to offer.” God lay it down to me and I will fill you and I will do something new and I will bring you into my kingdom. Amen.

You know, we look at the beatitudes in the Bible - what does it say; “blessed are those who are poor in spirit, who mourn, the meek, the hunger, and thirsty, the merciful, the persecuted - for they will inherit the kingdom of God.” When I look at that, they are not attributes of someone who is rich inside of their hearts, those are attributes of someone who is empty and ready to be filled by the Holy Spirit of God. Amen.

You know if you look at this ruler you might say “he's trying” - right? Like it seems everything about it seems like he's trying - in the other gospel books if you look at the same story it says that he actually came before Jesus and knelt down and said to him “how do I inherit eternal life?” You look at this guy, everything on the outside looks like he's doing it right. He seems blessed, he's a ruler, he's influential - God obviously must be blessing him if he’s so rich, right? He comes and he comes to Jesus and he goes on one knee and he says, “Jesus, how do I inherit eternal life?” He's asking God - everything on the outside, if you were there and didn't have the benefit of the Word today and you are present, you would say this guy is good, he's doing it right. He’s going to Jesus, everything looks good. Yet still in the midst of all that trying, Jesus still looks at him and calls him and says ‘Look, you're spiritually bankrupt. You’re far from me. You're not there.’ To me that should instill such a fear of the Lord as Pastor Jeff explained last week. Because how many people look good on the outside, and look like they're doing everything right, and go before Jesus, and they look like they have it all together on the outside, and maybe they go to church, and maybe they know where to go - but how many of them are laying it all down on the cross and how many of them does Jesus look at and say ‘No, you don't understand. You might look good on the outside but the heart is still not there.’ I've learned the danger of the word “trying,” so often I used to go to Pastor Janeth, “Don't you see that I'm trying, don't you see I’m trying to do what you say. Don’t you see that I’m trying up to follow the Word, don't you see I’m trying really hard” And I know I’ve used this example before but it’s like - if you have your bags filled and Jesus is over there and this is too heavy and your stretching and your like ‘Jesus don’t you see I'm trying?’ And Jesus is like “Yea, no ones saying you're not trying, but what I'm saying is that as long as you're holding on, as long as this is weighing you down - until you release your ways and the ways that you came from, you will never find me.’ Amen.

So we see that the ruler's bags were filled and secondly, the ruler refused to leave his bags behind.

Let's continue on the verse. “When Jesus heard this, he said to them, ‘You still lacked one thing. Sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me.’ When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said,” ‘How hard is it for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for someone who is rich to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Jesus is very smart, right? You see him. He's not just going after the wealth - He sees that this man's wealth, this man's influence, everything of who this guy was, was all tied up in his wealth. So what did He say to do? He said “go sell everything.” It wasn't just about the wealth, it was about the full identity that this person had. This identity with his wealth and his bags and his money and his influence and he comes and Jesus says; ‘go get rid of it all, then you will have treasure in heaven and then then you can come and follow me.’ I think about that - I think about this guy who just seems like he had it all right. He seemed like he had it all together and Jesus looks and He turns and Jesus said; ‘How hard is it for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God because they are unwilling to release theirself, release everything they have built up and instead follow the Lord Jesus Christ.’

The Bible says you cannot serve two masters. You can't follow Him and still follow yourself. You can’t take a little bit of Jesus and a little bit of you and take it as Lucas says, right - the Burger King way, right? Have it your way - that's not how it works. Jesus Christ is for those who come seeking salvation to be saved - to be saved from themselves, to be saved from their ways, to be saved from their past, to be saved from their carnality, to be saved from their flesh, and to be saved from all the ways of this world that lead to destruction. If you are trusting in your own abilities today then I tell you there is no room for Jesus Christ. If your heart leaps at how many likes you get on social media, then it will not leap for the things of God. If you refuse to back down from your pride, then a day will come where you will find yourself exalted and God nonexistent in your life. What is it in our hearts that we’re rich in, that keeps us from inheriting the kingdom of God? What things are still inside of us - we have to examine our hearts church of God. We have to look and say ‘what parts of me am I holding onto white knuckled that I refuse to drop the bag on, that I refuse to let go of, that are keeping me from the kingdom of God?’ Are we willing to leave it all behind? Are we willing to present it before the feet of the cross and say ‘God, here it is. Here it is Lord. It's all I have, they’re filthy rags before you, but God, I leave them at your feet. Lord the only thing I have to offer is my life.’

You must be willing to make God the Lord of your life. Everybody says that right? Everybody says the prayer, ‘God I pray that you would accept your sacrifice. May you be the Lord over my life.’ But how many truly understand what being the Lord over your life means? It means He's king! It means you’re no longer in your own kingdom, but you're in God's kingdom where He rules and His way goes. It means that whatever it is, whatever part of our life, He gets the ultimate say. It means: are we willing to not be at the bar like everyone else, are we willing to be accountable to God for what we listen and what we watch, are willing to no longer have a say over our finances but give God an account for every part of our lives? Are we willing to be wronged for the sake of God, are we willing to humble ourselves in the midst of strife? Because that's what it means when God is King.

Jesus looked to this man and He said “Go and sell everything that you have.” He didn’t say go support the poor. He didn’t say go give the extra house. He didn’t say go give half of everything - He said, ‘No, go and sell everything” because wealth was that man's idle. Wealth was that man's God and He said ‘Go get rid of everything!’ We have to look and say ‘God is telling us to get rid of it all. To get rid of the idols, to get rid of the old gods, to get rid of the flesh - go and sell it all because none of it can remain. Then and only then Jesus said, “You can follow me and have treasure in heaven.” We have to look at our lives and see every idol that we hold in high regard and say - ‘God you are telling me to get rid of it all. You are telling me to sell, burn it, throw it out, whatever it might be, throw it out the window. God whatever it might be, there can be none of it left.’ That we might inherit the kingdom of God.

You know it really comes down to where our treasure is stored. Where is your treasure stored? Is your treasure stored here on earth? Are you building up things for yourself? Are you like a squirrel putting it away for the winter inside of your bag and building up more and more great things about you - or are you going before God and saying, ‘God my treasures are not here, but my treasures are built up in heaven.’ Someone whose treasure is in this world is someone who takes every hour of overtime yet leaves their families to be raised by the world. Someone who honors God works twice as hard to ensure that their house remains righteous. Someone who is in this world is someone who spends hours in front of the mirror, but not a minute in the Word of God. Someone who honors God is looking at the state of their heart every minute of the day before God. Someone in this world is someone who trains their bodies in a sport, but has not trained their minds to know the difference between right and wrong. Someone who honors God is someone whose hands are trained for battle in the kingdom of God. I tell you, somebody who stores their treasures in heaven, they’re a different breed, right? Like the ways, the things that they do don't necessarily make sense to the rest of the world, but in the end - the result is undeniable.

I was listening to the “Moms Podcast” - which I just want to preface it by saying it shouldn’t be called the moms podcast, it should be called the parents podcast because I get a lot out of it too and I listen to every single one of them - I find them very good, right. I listen to all the moms, they have great advice. So I was listening to my wife's podcast, her most recent one, and she talked about the importance of teaching our son to obey. Right we call it “listen and obey” we say it all time. Are you listening and obeying? No - okay. You know like we say “listen and obey, listen and obey” right? She talked about how it's so important - the greatest gift that we can give to our son is to teach him obedience. Because why? We’re teaching them how to obey, we’re setting him up for success, we’re setting him up to inherit the kingdom of God, we’re setting him up that one day when he leaves our house he wouldn't be one that is rebellious and he would be one saying ‘I don't want to listen to the rules’ but he had been so used to obeying that when it comes to God, when he gets to an age where he has to come into that relationship on his own with God - that he will be ready to obey because he had been taught it since birth. You see, that is setting up your treasure in heaven. For my treasure - guess what, he might not have a 401(k) when I die, I don't know what’s gonna happen, but I can tell you that my treasure in heaven is the fact that one day when I'm old and I close my eyes and I die, I'll wake up and know my family is going to be next to me, that my son is gonna be next to me, amen.

It doesn't make sense to the world, it doesn't make sense to the world - where are your treasures being stored up? Where have I been storing my treasures? God’s saying, ‘if it's been in this world, it's time to unpack the bags.’ It's time to dump everything out and start to follow God and start to store up your treasures in heaven. And it comes down, to so many, an identity crisis. Are you a Christian first or are you a mother, a father, a businessman, the most popular kid, the funny kid, whatever it is - are you those things before a Christian? Because that's where your treasures are gonna be. Whatever you identify it as is where your treasures are going to lie.

I had a call this week (I shared this with a few people ) were I went to a first aid call - and I go to million of them a week, and I went to this one guys house and the ambulance was taking a long time - so I saw birdwatching stuff everywhere at this guys house so I began to talk to him I said “Oh you like birdwatching” and he said “yeah” and he started to just go into all this stuff about birds, right. So as I'm talking to him I’m like “Oh do you have somebody that can pick you up from the hospital” and he says “Look honestly, I don't think I’m ever going to see this house again.” He said “I have stage IV leukemia, it's super aggressive, it came out of nowhere, I think when I leave today this is the last time I’m ever going to see my house” and I said “wow that's crazy, I’m so sorry.” I said “Look I’m not only a police officer, I’m a Pastor, did you ever think about what's coming next?” And he kind of looked and said, “Honestly no. I’m really not religious.” And then he started to go into everything about birdwatching again and I left there and I said ‘God, it's so crazy because people hold so tightly to the identities that they have taken in this world.’ And I thought, ‘wow God, the truth is what we hold onto - our identity and what we are wrapped into, that's where we are gonna store up our treasures.’

My question today is; are you a Christian before anything else? Is the sacrifice and salvation of God - did He rescue you, did He come in and pull you out of the grave, did He take you by the hand and pull you out and set you on His feet and set you in His kingdom and give you a place at His table? Is that first and foremost - the thing inside of your heart that you live with because I tell you if it is, that you will be storing up your treasures and eternity with God. Not so much this world. I’m not saying God won't bless you, I’m not saying that God won’t take care of you - but what I'm saying is that my treasures: the things I look forward to, the things that I covet, they’re in heaven with my God, amen!

I know Pastor Janeth has talked so often about verse 25, right? It says “ Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Pastor Janeth has gone over that so I’m not gonna hit it too hard ,but just the fact that the eye of the needle was in the gate at the city in Jerusalem - it was more like a doorway and a camel couldn't fit through it with all it’s treasures on its back. It’s the same message, that all the treasures have to come off. All the treasures of this world have to come off - you have to become unladen with the things of this world, with your flesh and your carnality and all the things you hold in high regard to yourself because I tell you if you're rich in the ways of this world you will find that there's no more room in your bag for Jesus Christ, amen.

Finally we’ll continue on with the verse and it says - the last point is the ruler missed out on what was to come. Let’s continue to read from verse 26, “Those who heard this asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus replied, ‘What is impossible with man is possible with God.’” That might sound familiar, Pastor Jerry stole it this morning. “Peter said to him, ‘We have left all we had to follow you God!’ ‘Truly I tell you,’ Jesus said to them, ‘no one who has left home or wife or brothers or sisters or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and in the age to come eternal life.’”

The disciples that were following Jesus see this guy - he has it all together, he looks right, he looks blessed, he comes to God, he kneels down, he asks for eternal life, everything looks right - yet he turns away. Yet in the end, he turns his back on the salvation and the treasure that the Lord Jesus Christ was offering him - and these disciples are freaking out saying, ‘who can be saved? this is crazy - who can be saved then?’ Peter looks at him and says, ‘Jesus we've always done everything - I've given up everything to follow you’ and what does He say, ”You will not fail to receive many times as much for everything that you have given.” I tell you, Christianity isn't always the easiest road to walk. Right, you can look in the Bible and read about the disciples lives and some of the hardships that they went through. You can talk to my family who has stories and stories, we were talking about them this morning, of the hardships that really many of this world will never understand. You can read all throughout of just different Christians who have faced persecution after persecution - in fact when you read this verse, the same verse in other books, it says on verse 30 “who shall not receive 100 fold now in this time: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children went with persecution and in the age to come, eternal life. So Jesus is even saying, ‘look I'm not saying everything is gonna be great,’ but if you talk to my family or any Christian they will all tell you the same thing - it is all worth it. When your treasures are stored up in heaven, when Jesus Christ is your treasure, when He is the one you look to, when the ways of this world dim and become all of a sudden uninteresting, when the ways of this world are revealed to be what they really are - it’s temporary and fleeting and leading to destruction. When Jesus Christ becomes your treasure I tell you, every minute of it is worth it because God sees you through, He blesses you, He is with you, He sees you through the valley and puts you on the mountain. Everything is in your hands, with the world everything is impossible - but with God nothing is impossible for God is with us and He blesses us.

Maybe you're asking the same question today, who then can be saved? This message seems so difficult, I worked so hard my entire life to be comfortable or I've been on my own year after year. I've been broken and I've learned to survive based on how I think and how I reason and what I do, and I do it when I want - how could I give that up? And I'll answer you the same way Jesus did; you’re right, in the flesh we can't let go of it. In the flesh, with man, we can't do it, but with God all things are possible, amen.

God can transform the hearts - God can transform the hearts to no longer be looking at the things of this world with such lust and such gleam in our eyes, to say ‘oh it’s so great’ but that God comes in and begins to reveal where this world is leading and that's away from Him and to destruction. God is saying - ‘Open up your eyes this day, see into my kingdom for a minute. Open up your eyes, let the scales fall away so that you might see what I'm offering my people.” This world is fleeting, it is going away, it leads to destruction - but God's ways are eternal, but God's ways are good, God's ways are perfect, and God loves us and is looking to give you hope and a future, amen.

It's time that we look to let go of all the riches. You know why does the world seek after riches? They seek after it for happiness and security, but with God He gives us a joy that never fades and eternal security. They value their image and how they are seen - but God, His eyes are always on you and He calls you righteous and God continually raises His children into positions of authority and influence - not because they covet those positions, but because they honor God with their lives. God makes His children the most influential, the most blessed -that He might make a distinction between this world and God's people. That between His kingdom and the world’s kingdom that all might see, that through your life, all might see that there is a God in heaven who is alive and active - and for one who goes down to the cross of God, for one who lays at the cross and says ‘God here I am I have everything that I have to offer I lay at your feet’ - for those God blesses and raises up and they will always be the head and never the tail.

You see, that is how God makes a distinction in this world. My prayer today is God would be known through your lives. My prayer today is that all would see who God is based off of your lives. That God would see your submission, that God would see you giving it up, that God would see you laying it all down at the cross. That God would see you doing things that don't make sense, but laying up your treasures in heaven and all might see who God is. This salvation is not only for the afterlife, but it is for today. As this world continues to sink deeper and deeper, God will continue to lift us up to the heights. My prayer today is that we would inherit salvation. In that first verse the ruler used the word ‘inherit,’ right? I'm not talking about inherit like a possession, I’m not talking about inherit like he was - where I’m saying get it. I'm saying that you might inherit it from the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. You know, inherit - when I think of inherit, I think about being written into a will. You see when we lay ourselves down, when we make Jesus Christ the Lord over our lives, when we lay it all down before Him and say ‘God, here I am. God, here I am - I accept the gift that you're giving me. May you be the Lord, the King over my life.’ You see, you’re written into His will and the moment that He died on the cross, we inherit eternal life because of what He did on the cross, not because what we did, not because of how great we are, not because of how much we deserve it, not because we've earned it, but because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.

I think of Jesus as He gave Peter that encouragement that says look; you’ll receive many times as much in this life and the next. Think about Jesus at that moment - He knew what was coming. Jesus Christ knew that He was about to go and give it all up, He knew what He was about to face. He’s telling Peter ‘don’t worry you’re going to receive many times as much’, but that many times as much was about to come from His blood. Jesus goes and give them encouragement and He goes and says ‘It’s gonna be okay’ but He knew at that moment He was gonna face persecution and He was gonna give up His dignity and His rights and His Godhood and His right to say ‘no’ and His right to make it stop right and to be hung on the cross when He didn't do anything. He was about to give up everything that He had, everything that made Jesus, Jesus - He gave it all up on the cross and received a crown of thorns for His trouble. I think about Jesus Christ who gave it all up so that we might inherit salvation. So that as He gave it up, today that God would fill you - that you would be an empty vessel ready to be filled by the Holy Spirit of God, ready to be filled by His kingdom. No longer our kingdom, but by God's kingdom. I pray to the One who gave it all up on the cross, who gave up every right and everything He had and His right to His Father when His Father turned away from him - He gave it all up, that we might inherit salvation based off of the work of God.

That is the salvation that Jesus preaches. It’s for the ones who are empty, for the ones who are ready to let go of their bags, for the ones whose heart is not filled with the riches of this world, but are ready to say, “God, you're the only treasure that matters. You are my treasure, you are the apple of my eye, you are the thing that makes my heart leap. God it's all about you.” And I tell you when your treasure becomes Jesus Christ you will find that nothing this world has to offer could ever knock you off from the joy of God, because He lavishes himself upon His people. No trial, no persecution, no thing can stand in the way of the love of God - for a people who just want to know Him and want to have His presence. That's why I'm so excited about this Sunday, that's why I'm so excited when I walk in those doors in the morning and I feel God's presence in this place. I'm so excited because I know that God gave up His life that His people might inherit salvation, that He might become the apple of their eye. I promise you, you walk in this room you almost feel God being excited. God being excited to meet with His people because He knows on the other side of those doors when they're walking in, are a people that want to meet with Him, amen.

So God, I just bless your Holy Name, God. I thank you, Lord, for a people who want to drop their bags, who want to empty their hearts, who want to let go of the riches and the carnality and everything of this world that the world holds so tightly to. God you are the only treasure in this world. You are the riches, you are the silver, you are the gold, God. Hallelujah to your holy name. Oh Lord, we want to know you, we want to see you, we want to receive you this day. You are the treasure, God. What does this world have to offer God? You are the treasure!