Speaker 1: 0:00

Well welcome to Madison Church. I'm Stephen Feith, lead pastor. I'm glad that you're joining us online, but want to invite you to join us in person sometime soon. I was thinking this week about how each and every one of us, we all, measure our personal worth by something, even if it's different. It might be different for you, but I think the common thing for all of us is we're kind of always in a comparison mode. Some of us will look to achievements, we'll compare our achievements to others, and if I have more achievements than you, I feel better than you. Others place their trust in financial security, believing that stability and comfort will define my success, and still others chase after status or influence. If I just get enough recognition, that will prove I have value. Right, I mean, that's what they said, that I have value.

Speaker 1: 0:52

Cs Lewis puts it this way pride gets no pleasure out of having something, only out of having more of it than the next man. Most of us aren't just satisfied with success. We might have gotten the degree, we got the promotion, but we still aren't satisfied. We want to be better than someone else, anyone else. But when we define our worth by what we've done, what we've accomplished, what we possess. We are measuring our lives by the wrong standard. We've been in this series A Life that Matters, in which we're kind of trying to really break away from these ideas. That that's where A Life that Matters is found. It's not found in how much money we have, how popular we are, how many achievements that we've gathered throughout our lives, but rather it's about following Jesus.

Speaker 1: 1:45

And in today's passage we're going to Luke 18,. Jesus challenges how we define not just success but righteousness and security, and through three different encounters he reverses the expectations. You see, it was the Pharisee, was the one who was thought to be justified, but he is not justified. The children are seen as insignificant, but Jesus says no, they're actually a model of faith. And the rich, who in that era were assumed to be blessed, are at risk of losing eternal life. But these stories aren't just about them, not just about someone else somewhere else 2000 years ago. They're about us today. Just about someone else somewhere else 2,000 years ago, they're about us today.

Speaker 1: 2:29

So I would ask you to think as we dive into today's verses what do you put your trust in? Where do you find your security? What makes you feel safe? What keeps you from fully embracing God's kingdom or God's will in your life. You see, the question before us today is not just about wealth, humility or faith. It's about the posture of our hearts before God. Will we cling to what we think makes us worthy, or will we let go and trust the one who truly gives us life? This is where a life that matters is found, and so, as we move through today's passage, let's be open to Jesus's invitation to loosen our grip on whatever we're clinging to so often, what the world tells us we should cling to and embrace the upside down way of the kingdom of God.

Speaker 1: 3:20

One way that we measure our worth, as I said, is about comparison, and actually it may not even be so much as like I'm great because they're good and I'm better than them. It might just be I'm acceptable because they're awful and I'm better than them. At least I'm not as bad as Judd right, for example. Just kidding, we assume that if we follow the rules, we are on the right track with God. I did all the things I should do. I didn't do all the things I shouldn't do. I've been walking the straight and narrow and therefore I'm good. But Jesus tells a parable that says no, that is faulty thinking.

Speaker 1: 3:58

So, beginning in verse 10 here, chapter 18, two men went to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and he prayed. I thank you, god, that I'm not like other people cheaters, sinners, adulterers certainly not like that tax collector over there. I fast twice a week and I give you a tenth of my income, but the tax collector stood at a distance. Jesus goes on, he says I tell you the sinner the sinner, not the Pharisee returned home, justified before God, for those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted. You'll have to remember we do.

Speaker 1: 4:57

We pick on the Pharisees a lot. We live 2,000 years after them. A lot of messages have been spoken about them, but the Pharisees really did in that era, represent spiritual success. They were well-educated, they were obedient, they were respected religious leaders and they followed that law with great precision. Now, contrast that with the tax collector. On the other hand, they were despised traitors known for corruption, extortion. You could kind of compare them to like a modern day criminal politician or like a drug cartel leader.

Speaker 1: 5:32

Nobody would expect the tax collector to be the one in right standing with God. And yet the Pharisees' prayer, if you kind of picked up on it, it was all about him, not God. He trusts his own morality, his own achievements. It's all about him and me, and thank you, god, that I am so awesome. Whereas the tax collector has nothing, and he knows he has nothing. As a matter of fact, you get the sense that he doesn't even think he's anything. He makes no excuses, he just pleads for mercy. God, have mercy on me. I'm right here, and Jesus's conclusion shocks the one who looks righteous, the one you'd point to and say that person's holy, he's got the job, he knows the stuff, that person is not justified, whereas that other person, the one who seems unworthy, that was the person who was accepted by God.

Speaker 1: 6:27

Now, I know we don't have Pharisees and tax collectors today, but the heart issues really do remain the same. Many of us, even those with good intentions, we wrestle with comparison, we struggle with self-righteousness and we constantly misplace our trust. So a modern Pharisee might be the Christian who follows all of the right religious practices, often the ones that everyone else can see, but inwardly they look down on people who don't measure up to whatever standard they deem is the standard. It could be the socially successful person who equates status with worth, while the overlooked, those struggling to get through every day, those who are unseen, those who are unpolished, get dismissed. It could be the self-sufficient individual who believes that being a good person I'm good enough is enough, while the spiritually dependent person recognizes their need for grace. Jesus' reversal remains the same God justifies the humble, not the self-reliant. So the question is if we're being honest with ourselves today, who do we resemble? Do we try really hard to follow the rules that people can see to make sure I look a certain way on the outside? Or do we approach God in humility and brokenness and say I know I'm not good enough and I know I'll never be good enough, but God have mercy.

Speaker 1: 7:59

Now. If the Pharisee's problem was entrusting himself, this next passage pushes the question further. What does true faith then look like? Jesus switches from religious pride to humility of children. If justification comes not from self-righteousness what I do, how I think, what I believe but from a humble heart, who can better model that for us than children? Jesus calls the children and he says to the disciples let the children come to me, Don't stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth anyone who doesn't receive the kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.

Speaker 1: 8:38

Now, not a lot's changed in this sense. In 2000 years, jewish children, the Jewish world children, were cherished by families. In today's society, we cherish children, but let's also be real. They are weak, they are dependent, they are annoying and they are powerless. And that was how it was. 2,000 years ago also, the disciples, reflecting their culture, tried to turn kids away. They're kids and they're trying to get to Jesus, so they're too insignificant.

Speaker 1: 9:03

Don't you know who this guy is? He walks on water and he heals people, and he's the Messiah. He doesn't got time for you, you have no knowledge, you have no achievements, you have no influence. But Jesus flips their expectation. He says no, no, no, I'm not too busy for them, I'm not too big for them, I'm not too important for them. He says bring them here, let me be with them. He welcomes them and he actually goes a step further. He doesn't just say no, I can clear a little time out of my schedule for them. He says this is who the kingdom of God belongs to, not the Pharisee waving his arms at the temple, tithing, fasting, not him, but these little kids. And if you've ever met a little kid like these guys are selfish and inconsiderate, right. I've got three of them living at my house right now for at least a few more years. Jesus makes it anyone. He makes it stronger. He says anyone who does not receive the kingdom like this will not enter it.

Speaker 1: 10:01

Now let's be clear. Jesus isn't celebrating like immaturity or anything. He isn't saying that we must be childish. He is saying we must be childlike, completely dependent on God, fully trusting in God, eager to receive grace, not earn it. And in our world, which values self-sufficiency and expertise, jesus calls us to embrace rather the opposite of those things a childlike faith, one that trusts, one that's dependent, one that's receptive.

Speaker 1: 10:36

I think in our modern society, the skeptical intellectual who struggles to accept faith without having all of the answers, resisting the simplicity of trusting in God. I think of the self-made individual who takes pride in their independence but finds it difficult to surrender control to God's provision. And even the perfectionist believer is out here, trying to earn God's love through performance rather than just accepting his grace freely. Jesus's words will challenge each of us, I believe. Are we willing to let go of our pride, self-reliance to embrace humility and the trust of a child. And I think for a lot of us, if we are being honest, the initial reaction is no. Why would I give those things up? I've worked so hard for my independence, for my self-sufficiency, why would I turn those things away? Well, jesus is going to address kind of that thinking as well.

Speaker 1: 11:37

Once a religious leader asked Jesus this question good teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life? Now Jesus says why do you call me good? Only God is truly good. But to answer your question, you know the commandments you must not commit adultery, you must not murder, you must not steal, you must not testify falsely, honor your father and mother. Now the man replied I've obeyed all these commands since I was young. And when Jesus heard his answer he said when the rich man heard this, he became very sad, for he was very rich. When Jesus saw this, he said how hard is it? It is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. In fact it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. So we've got a guy here. He approaches Jesus, he kind of tries to butter him up, which is why Jesus responds the way that he does.

Speaker 1: 12:39

Jesus isn't trying to deny his deity when he says only God is good. He's actually saying stop sucking up Like I'm just going to cut you off right there. What is it you want? And he said how do I inherit eternal life? And Jesus does something that they would have known. This is the law. Don't do this, don't do this, don't do this. He says, well, wouldn't you know? I haven't done those things. Or I'm a good person. And Jesus says, yes, he doesn't dispute it. Yes, you're correct, but you know, there's still one thing you haven't done and you got all of this wealth. I want you to actually just give that all away. Now let's explain this for a second, because I think this is one of those passages in our time that gets misquoted or ripped out of context.

Speaker 1: 13:19

The first thing is that in Jewish thought, wealth was seen as a sign of God's blessing, so the fact that he was wealthy would have indicated he was a good person in their thinking. Are you following? So when he says, no, I haven't committed adultery, I haven't murdered, I haven't stolen, the natural conclusion was yeah, of course not. I mean, obviously you're rich, god is blessing you because you're a good person. That's what they meant. Financial success was divine favor.

Speaker 1: 13:50

So when Jesus says how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God, this wasn't like necessarily shade at a rich person. Understand how scary it would be if you were a poor person, if you were Peter listening in and you didn't have anything and you're like I've been told, if you're a good person you get money. And now Jesus just said a good person who has a lot of money, it's hard for him to get it. So Peter's thinking what have I done the last three years Following this guy around? I have no chance. Because there's no chance. A camel can get through an eye of a needle. And if that's the good example, where am I at in this equation? I mean there's no. I don't think it's an over-exaggeration to say that this was probably one of the most traumatizing teachings these guys had heard lately. Jesus is essentially saying like you ain't got a chance if it's up to you. But what Jesus was trying to do was turn their ideas and their understanding of success upside down.

Speaker 1: 14:46

Jesus' challenge wasn't about money alone. It wasn't about money alone. This passage is about allegiance. The ruler wasn't asked. He said don't just be generous, but let go of what you trust in the most. His wealth wasn't just his possession, it was his identity and security. So much so that when Luke goes back in the past and right, luke's the historian, he's the investigator, he's looking back, he's like and now, what happened here? Now, what happened here? All we know, we don't know this guy's name, all we know is he's rich. It was his identity that when Luke is asking questions like, oh yeah, that guy I don't really remember his name, but man, he was loaded. And this is how that conversation went. His wealth wasn't just a possession, this is what he found his security in.

Speaker 1: 15:32

And Jesus saw that he wasn't saying having the money was wrong. He was talking to this specific person and said you don't trust me, you're not going to follow me, you're not going to inherit the kingdom of heaven, because that's not what you trust in, that's not what you believe in, that's not what you want the most. And many today, you and me we place our trust in wealth or success or control rather than in God. I think about the career-driven achiever who finds their identity in the promotions and statuses, making it hard to surrender ambition for the sake of faith. That would definitely have described me before doing this work full-time. Loved getting the promotions and the pats on the back and breaking sales records and cutting costs and being recognized for that. But it was like can I give that up? Can I surrender my ambition for what God has for me? Instead, you might be a comfort seeker, clinging to financial security or a predictable life and you resist Jesus's call to radical generosity and trust. Well, if I give this away, that means I don't have it anymore. That's the dilemma of the rich ruler. Right, I don't have it anymore. That's the dilemma of the rich ruler. Right, I won't have it anymore. And Jesus says yep, what are you going to do?

Speaker 1: 16:46

The control-dependent person, the planner, who struggles to follow God. When following God leads to an uncertain place, you prefer stability rather than surrender. And God's not exactly telling you where the destination is or how the journey is going to be. He just sometimes points and says this way, I can't be right, jesus' challenge remains the same for us. What are we holding on to? That's been the question of the day. What are we holding on to that keeps us from fully trusting Jesus, and I hope that what we see is that for all of us. It's something. I'm not trying to pick on you, I'm not trying to pick on myself. It's an easy message to think that this is pointed at you or man. It's guilty. It's not that. All of us in the room, we're human, and whether it's control or stability, or we find stuff in wealth or success, we all struggle with trusting something that we can get our hands on rather than trusting the intangible Spirit of God. Throughout these passages, jesus overturns expectations and he's redefining righteousness, worth and the kingdom of God.

Speaker 1: 17:55

In this story that we read today, the Pharisee is rejected and it's a tax collector who is justified. Children are models of faith, and a wealthy, moral man walks away from eternal life. Though our cultural context has changed, the heart issues remain the same. Today, we may not assume wealth is proof of God's blessing. I think we don't think that at all anymore, but we still wrestle with materialism and security. We don't despise tax collectors, but we do look down on certain people, people who don't look like us, or people who aren't like us, or people who do things that we don't understand or are from somewhere else or something else. We value children and yet we resist depending on God like children.

Speaker 1: 18:45

At the core of this passage. It challenges our heart. Posture before God, the Pharisee trusted in his merit, the rich ruler in his wealth, and even the disciples struggled to grasp the radical nature of God's kingdom. It was the tax collector, the children and those willing to surrender who were the ones who received God's kingdom. And so, as we've done throughout this whole series, here are some things for us to consider as we think about the challenges of what Jesus is saying.

Speaker 1: 19:15

And how can I put this into practice in my own life? And the first thing is to practice humility. Can you just stop measuring your worth against others? And how can I put this into practice in my own life? And the first thing is to practice humility. Can you just stop measuring your worth against others? True righteousness is not about being better than anyone, but recognizing our need for grace, embracing a childlike faith. Can we trust in God rather than our achievements? Can we surrender daily in prayer, approach scripture with an open heart and know that our value comes from God and who he says I am, not from my performance, and who my coworkers or my boss says that I am? Can we release what competes for our trust?

Speaker 1: 19:55

The rich ruler's issue wasn't money alone. It was what held his heart. What holds your heart this morning? Is it ambition, control, reputation, security? We need to live generously. If wealth and success grips our heart, the solution, the antidote, is to give freely and to invest in God's kingdom and not into things that fade is to give freely and to invest in God's kingdom and not into things that fade. We redefine success. We stop chasing worldly achievements. Instead, we ask the question God, what is your will for my life? What do you want me to do? Jesus forces us to confront to what we cling to the most. It might be our money, but for a lot of us, it's not that we cling to the most. It might be our money, but for a lot of us, it's not that, it's self-sufficiency, it's pride, it's comparison. And here's the paradox of the kingdom.

Speaker 1: 20:56

Letting go does not leave you empty. Okay, letting go doesn't leave you empty. Well, if I give up my control and I give up my ambition and I give up my wealth or I give up my status, what am I left with? Freedom? Honestly freedom, when you stop striving to prove yourself. When I stop striving to prove myself. I find peace. When we loosen our grip on material things, we experience contentment. When we trust like children, we gain security that circumstances just can't shake, no matter what's happening, we still trust in our Father God. This is what Jesus means when he says whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. Jesus offers us more, not less Freedom from having to prove yourself, rest from chasing what will never satisfy you anyway, and joy from living for something eternal. The only question is let's go back to it. Will we let go and will we trust God?

Speaker 1: 21:56

Jesus' teaching in Luke 18 is not an isolated lesson. It runs through the entire New Testament. The principle we've seen here is very clear Salvation doesn't come from status, morality or possessions, but humble dependence on God. This is echoed by Paul in Ephesians 2, for it is by grace. You have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves. It is a gift from God, not by works, so that no one can boast. Like the tax collector, we cannot justify ourselves, and like the children, we must come with nothing to offer. And like the rich ruler, we must ask where does our trust reside? Paul, who was a Pharisee at some point in his life. He understands this great reversal and in Philippians he confesses Whatever were gains to me now, I consider a loss. For the sake of Christ, His religious achievements meant nothing in comparison to knowing and walking with Jesus. This is the same lesson Jesus is teaching us today.

Speaker 1: 23:06

He says things like in Matthew 5, 3, blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Speaker 1: 23:12

This is the posture of the tax collector, the children and those in the room today are watching or listening online who are surrendered. He says in Mark 10, 45, the son of man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom. For many, this is the ultimate picture of the upside-down kingdom and the invitation for us today is clear that the way up is down. The true life is found in surrender, not status. And as we continue through this season of Lent and we consider maybe not giving up the chocolate or the meat or social media, but as we consider removing things from our lives that are really keeping us from having a life that matters, that is only found in Jesus, we ask what are we holding on to that keeps us from fully embracing God's kingdom? Are we clinging to success, comparison, self-reliance, or will we let go and trust the one who gave everything for us? Jesus invites us into a life of true freedom and abundance, one that is not defined by wealth or status, but only faith in him.