The Rich Young Man

[background noise: religious singing] [Speaker 1] Churches and fellowships cannot be more spiritual than the individuals and families that constitute them. God greatly desires a godly home for you. These are words of restoration and instruction in righteousness from Family Tent Ministry. May you be blessed as you listen. [Speaker 2] We thank you for all who you are and for all that you are to us. We bless you for your mercies. We bless you for your goodness. We bless you for your grace. We say, Lord our God, unto you we gather this morning. We are trusting that whether we are reaching out, whether we are gathering on Mixlr, or we are listening on Telegram, or we are here physically, Lord we pray that your good hand will reach to everyone, meeting each and every person at the point of their needs in the name of Jesus Christ. Lord, our eyes are on you. Let nothing prevail against your purposes in our lives in Jesus' name. Thank you, eternal Father. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. As we gather again this morning, we want to consider a very crucial topic, particularly as it relates to our young men and women and the several things that we are facing today. It is a very familiar story that we want to consider. The story is in Matthew 19, the story of the rich young man. We just want to look at some things about this young man and try to draw lessons for our own life from the story of this young man, particularly as we also try to relate it to contemporary issues that are confronting us today. I remember a young man was speaking, and I think in a way he seems to be right, if not absolutely right, but at least relatively right. He said the generation before them idolizes marriage, while their own present generation idolizes riches. So it looks like their own generation, what is idolized is riches, while the yester generation, what was idolized was marriage, family, wanting to give value to home, wanting to raise correct children. But it seems the present generation idolizes riches. And I said, young man, you are sounding very correct. He said the effect that the older generation seems to emphasize morals, develop your child, stay with your children, run good marriage, make sure the family is fine. But our generation is how much riches do you have? It seems it is a drive towards money as against family. Now, whichever way, these are some of the contemporary things we want to consider as we look at the life of this young ruler. The story is in Matthew 19. Let's go to that story. Matthew 19, I will read from verse 16. Matthew 19 from verse 16: "Now behold, one came and said to him, 'Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?' So he said to him, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good but one, that is God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.' He said to him, 'Which ones?' Jesus said, 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness, honor your father and your mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" The young man—this is how we knew that the person speaking was a young man. The scripture says, "The young man," that is New KJV. NLT says, "The young man replied." NIV said, "The young man said." The Message said, "The young man said." King James Version said, "The young man said." Amplified said, "The young man said." So we are sure it was the case of a young man. It was the story of a young man. So it was a young man that was having a discussion with Jesus. So the scripture says the young man said, "I have observed all these from my youth. What still do I lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasures in heaven; and come, follow me." But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possession. Jesus said to his disciples, "Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, 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." When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Then Peter answered and said to him, "See, we have left all and followed you. Therefore what shall we have?" So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the generation when the Son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold and eternal life. But there are first who will be last, and last first." That is the long reading for us this morning. Matthew 19:16-30, about seventeen verses of reading. We want to consider one or two things from this incident that we have read, the discussion between Jesus and the young man, and what Jesus the response of Jesus to his disciples. It is about a young man who came to Jesus and his concern was the desire to have eternal life. And of course, Jesus began with him from what you may call the funnel method, from the general to the specific. The general thing Jesus first told him was that look, you have the laws, go and keep them. Then the young man replied, what law? Of course, the moral laws were in a way itemized by Jesus to him. Do not steal, do not murder, don't bear false witness, make sure you honor father, you honor mother, and on and on like that. And the young man replied that all of these I have kept since I was from my youth. I have kept all of these from my youth. So, which means in a way, the young man seems to have a very sound religious background. Because when Jesus told him go and keep the laws, and he said which law, and he was told honor your father, honor your mother, don't steal, don't kill, don't covet, when all those things were said, the young man replied, "I have kept all these from my youth." I have kept all of these from my youth. So, which means in a way, the young man seems to have a good moral background. He seems to be somebody who actually was interested in the kingdom of God. He seems to be somebody who has a desire to have a walk with God. The point I'm making is that we can liken this young man to somebody like Cornelius, somebody who is a devotee, somebody who have the fear of God. Because for somebody to say, "I have kept all these from my childhood," and he was speaking to Jesus, and you notice Jesus did not give an answer that presupposes that the young man was making an overstatement. Jesus only went further to what is needed beyond what had already been done. The next level, that was it. He went to the next level. The first level, the level of desiring God, the level of being devoted to God, the level of wanting to follow God, the level of being passionate about the things of God, being passionate about what God said. This young man, we can say is indeed having a very strong religious background. And honestly, when I look at a lot of young people today, while we may say that there are many young people who are see, we also know that there are many young people today who are around a lot of religious things, who are committed to different fellowships, who are committed to different units of fellowship, who are committed to different churches. Commitment here and there, I mean people who are devoted to religious activities. I can say that in this nation, we have quite an handsome number of young people that are devoted to religious activities, that are committed to it and I mean they are wholeheartedly like this young man answer. They can just answer too that yes, they are. And honestly, I want us to know that there is really nothing ordinarily bad about that, ordinarily. But it is as we begin as we look a little more into this story that we are seeing a very, very critical issue. Now, as devoted as this young man is, there is something that is idolized. That is where we are going this morning. As committed as this young man is, that was why I began with the statement of what a young man said. We were just having a discussion and he said it seems to him that the yester generation idolizes family, marriage, but their own generation idolizes riches. Now, you notice that the commitment of this young man, as committed to the moral laws, keeping all the ordinances of the moral law, there is a dimension, there was a dimension in his life. That dimension is his treasures. The matter I am referring to is in Matthew 6, and that was where Jesus took the matter with the young man. In Matthew 6, let's look at that reading again from around verse 19. Matthew 6:19: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where both moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." One thing that is very, very clear here that we must get very clear, while there is divine protection, provision, and cover for the people of God, it is important to know that as far as this life is concerned, there are certain inevitables that both believers and unbelievers are exposed to. That is what the Lord is saying here. Whether you believe or you don't believe, whether you are a follower of the Lord or not, as long as we are on this side of life, there are certain—I'm just trying to look at the word that, okay, Matthew 7 is just coming to my mind, where the Lord said, "He who hears my word and do it, I will liken him to a wise man." And you notice that for the wise man too, the flood came, the wind came, it beat against the house, it did not fall. For the person who was disobedient, the flood came, the wind came, it beat against the house, of course it fell. So the difference between godly living and ungodly living is that the righteous man may many be in his affliction, but from them all, the Lord delivers them. Life here does not immune us from some inevitables of life. That's what he's saying. That's what we must get clear. But one thing that the Lord guaranteed is that there is no storm in life that is more than the God of the believer. At the end of the day, the believer will come out strong and better because it will only work out for his good. That is it. It will work out for the believer's good. So the Lord is saying that do not lay up for yourself treasures here because of thieves and moth and all of that. Now, but the real point is in verse 21. The real point is in verse 21. He said, "For where your treasure is, that there your heart will be also." So the problem of the treasure is not about the treasure. The problem of the treasure is about the heart. You can have a lot of material riches and yet your heart is not on them, your heart is above. So the matter is a matter of the heart. The actual thing the Lord is addressing about treasure is about our life priorities. How do you prioritize things? What comes before what? How do you set your priorities? It's not so much about material wealth, about cars, but your life priorities. How do you set your priorities? He's trying to make us see that it is so crucial for us to know that when what Paul said when he said, "Let your affection be on things above, not on things below." If your affection—the matter is the matter of your affection. If your affection are on things below, your heart cannot be on things above. If your affection are on things above, your heart cannot be on things below. Now, so the direction of the heart is the matter. Now, what the Lord was addressing is that do not lay treasure, that is in the way you prioritize things, in the way you place value on things, in the way you set your priorities. Be careful not to set your priority in such a way that what your heart values most are things that are here. Be careful about your priority that what is your price? Your price must not be something physical. Your price must not be something material. Your price must be something immaterial, something that is heavenly. The price of your life, when we say what is your price I will pay, what is that thing that look, if something touches, then you are finished? That thing must not be something material. It must not be something physical. It must not be something on earth. If you make it to be anything on earth, then you are finished, because anything can touch anything on earth. Who would believe, for instance, that just to prove a point in the life of Job, God could allow as far as all his children, all his riches to go for it just for a while? Now, just imagine that the price of—look at the wife of Job. Her price, the price of the wife was in the riches, in the wealth, and in the children. And you notice the wife said, "Look, what are you still what are you still doing? Why not just curse God?" For her, everything was gone. But you notice that for Job, his price, what was the price for Job? Despite all of those things that surrounded him, you notice that when those things were touched, something significant was touched in Job. Something very significant was touched because you notice that Job himself had to put ash on his head, he wept, he cried. So something significant was touched, but the price of his life was not touched. For the wife, the price was gone. So what is the essence of God? What is the essence of God? God have no essence again. Curse this God and go. For her, her price was something around all of those things. So that's what I'm trying to say, that the matter is not about riches, about children, it's about where is your price? That's the real issue. So despite all that surrounded Job, his price was not in all of those things. And it was a point that God proved in his life. Satan said, "Look, a man for this and a man for that. Take all that he has and he will and you will see what he will do." And he went ahead in a single blow, took everything and honestly, I believe Satan himself was shocked. Because that was a devastating blow for him. I guess he never believed what he heard. "God has given, God has taken, glory be to the name of the Lord." That was something that took him off balance. And then a point was proved. And then he went again, "Okay, this time, why not touch his health? If you touch his health, you will see that he will curse you." And okay, go ahead. And he went ahead again to touch. But the point I'm trying to make is that if you begin to slash down Job, slash him down, one by one, one by one, one by one, one by one, you will see that at the end of the day, the price of Job is in God and in nothing else. That is the point that we are making. The rich young man, that's our discussion. That is what I am trying to make us see about the young man that we want to discuss. I want to take all of these examples so that we can get a background. So the rich young man demonstrate today for us many young people that have commitment to God. Many young people that are committed to God today. This rich young man is displaying for us young people who have commitment to God, who are one way or the other devoted to God, devoted in a way maybe to their churches, maybe to their fellowship. They are in the choir, they are in the technical, they are in the driving unit, they are in the ushering. Young men who you can describe as core members of different religious organizations. That is what this rich young man, that is what his life is displaying for us. It is displaying young people who are committed to God in diverse ways, in different ways, and honestly the commitment in a way is per excellence. I don't know whether this young man describes you. It describe how you are committed to God in different ways. You are committed to his laws, you are committed to the things of God, you are committed, you are regular in fellowship, you are regular in church, you are well known in the assembly, you are well known in the fellowship because you are committed. But the issue that we are considering this morning is the rich young man. We are saying the rich young man because the price of the young man was his riches. And that is what I am discussing with you today out there that is listening to me. That young man, that young woman that is listening to me. As we look at the story of this young man, you notice that the price for this young man is his treasure. What I mean by that is that for this young man, as committed as he is to God, as devoted as he is to his laws, something is keeping him from spiritual maturity. Something is not allowing him to mature. Something is not allowing him to become perfect. The perfection there is not necessarily about sinless perfection but about spiritual maturity. One thing that was keeping him from maturing in that faith was his priorities in life. As long as as much as this young man place value on God, the challenge in his life is that God is not his price. God wasn't his price. His real price, one thing that he cannot compromise, one thing that he can never, ever give away. If you are to place all that he has on a table and we are to play the card of all that this young man has, if we are to play the card, the one thing that this young man would not be able to give up when the ships are down, when everything is failing, when all things you are to choose, you are to choose one in the midst of all that you have, this young man wasn't going to choose God. This young man was going to choose his treasures. And that is the point. That is the point. The bible says that in that chapter 19, the bible says that the young man—but when the young man heard this saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possession. So there was a challenge. The challenge for this young man is that despite his serious commitment to God, God is not his price. And I want to ask you there as a young man outside there, a young woman outside there, what is your price? I am not saying you are not committed to God. I am not saying you have not demonstrated passion in different ways. But when it comes to life priorities, when it come to in the order of your priority, do you notice that when this young man came to a point in his life that it is either to part with God or to part with treasures, the young man chose his treasure? That is the issue we are discussing. The young man had been following God as long as God will not take will not come above the riches. He can follow God as long as he will not have to choose between God and his treasure. He can follow God to any extent but not to the extent of having to choose between God and his treasures. And it is what we are talking about this morning. What is it that you treasure above the Lord? That is the issue of the rich young man. Is there riches? Is there something? Is there something you consider to be richer, to be something having greater valuable than the Lord? Is there something quiet somewhere? Is there something? And my concern today is about worldly treasures. When we look at the way our young people, our young men valued worldly treasures today, riches, money, cash out, breakthrough, make it, um, what other word do they use again? I am short of all the words. Is there anyone I have not used in the word they use? Now, one very important thing is the sense of our young people today and treasures. What me I am seeing more and more is that many of our young people have not been able to rise above the level of this rich young man. Many of our young people today have not been able to rise above this. And what I want to do this morning is actually to make you see why it should not be so. I just want to point you to two things why you must be careful not to fall into the same mistake of this young man. For this young man, God is okay as long as God does not come, does not cross the line of his riches. God is wonderful, God is fantastic, let us serve the Lord, let us follow the Lord. But if we have to choose between God and treasure, no, God should know that there is something a little or more valuable than God. Such that if God have to cross that line, God will only bring sorrow into the heart and that sorrow is enough to make them not to follow the Lord. That what they will be losing is what they cannot lose. They cannot lose it for the sake of righteousness. They cannot lose it for the sake of godliness. There are things that cannot be compromised. These thing comes before God. They come before godliness, they come before righteousness. And that is the question I'm asking you as a young man. What is your own treasure? What is your own treasure? What is your treasure? What is your treasure? Is it money? Is it liquid money, naira? Is your treasure your career? Is your treasure your skill? I know a young man we were talking about a young man recently. He said, "Look, as long as nothing hinders me from following after the use of this my skill, I can serve God. My only challenge is that, you know, this thing takes a lot of my time, a lot of my time, and you know the things of God take a lot of time. So how to share that time is my challenge." Now, the challenge he had is the priority, the treasure. My question to you as a young man, as a young woman out there is what is your own treasure? The bible says, "But the young man, when he heard this saying, he went away." What is making you to go away from the Lord? What is making you to opt out of God? You are very devoted. We can see you devoted in fellowship, you are committed here and there. But quietly, secretly, if you come to some corners, if you come to some extremes, if you get to some junction, there are still one or two things in your life that you will choose than you will choose God. Is there something about your life? And that is what we are considering. Is there something about your life? And I want to make you to see two scriptures why it should not be so. I've just showed you the life of Job, how God tried to do the sieving. God knows all men. God knows all men through and through. God understand our priorities. Don't think God does not understand you. God knows if he comes first in your life. God knows if he comes second. And that is why you notice that God could stand beside a man and said, "Okay, go and take everything. I know he will not deny me." It makes you to know that God knows what comes first in each and every—for all of us, God knows what comes first in our lives. He knows. He knows. That's one thing you must understand. If you look at the book of Revelation, the first thing about all the churches is "I know your works." So there is no man that God don't know. You should get that very clear. In your heart of heart, in the secret of your heart, the Lord knows whether he is your price or he is not your price. That is one thing you must understand. And one thing you need to realize is that for any man that God is not his price, that man can go far with God. God have a way—let me tell you the truth—God have a way of sieving. He has a way of doing it. I've showed you the life of Job how God tried to do the sieving. Do you remember Abraham? You see how God tried to do the sieving. At one point, God has promised Isaac. Isaac was not forthcoming. They made an alternative to get Ishmael. At another point, Ishmael was sent away with Hagar. Then Isaac was left alone. And it was Abraham, Isaac, and Sarah. And God told Abraham again, wanting to sieve Abraham. He said, "Abraham, take Isaac, your only son, whom you love." Do you notice that God knows where we stand? God understand where our love is. He said, "Take your only son, Isaac, whom you love, go and sacrifice him." You know very well that God was not interested in the sacrifice. If you look at how the whole thing turned out. But God was interested in checking something. The bible says God searches every heart. The bible says he tries the reign. There are different way God tries us on a daily basis. That's what I want you to know. There are different ways. It comes in different ways. Let me give you something that occurred to me many, many years ago. I'm talking about even when I was rising up as a student. Can you imagine writing an exam, and suddenly you enter into the exam, you have read, and when you first read through the five questions, you are to answer three questions. You read through the five, there was none that you understood. And you are in your final year. I mean you read, you read, you read. Everything was blank. For the first ten minutes into that exam, I was not stable. I mean I was just blank. I read the first question, nothing. The second one, nothing. Third one, nothing. Fourth one, nothing. Fifth one, nothing. I was just, you know, you shiver, it's something you just your heart start panting. Ah, five questions, I mean no one that you can relate to. I just settled down, trying to look at the questions again. Ah, looking and praying, praying and looking, looking and praying. You know that kind of situation. You know as you are looking and praying, certain things will begin to go through your mind. Do I ask this person? Do I just—just an idea. Ah, how come? You know? But as that is coming, you are also saying no, all unrighteousness is a sin. All unrighteousness is a sin. I've not done this all my life. Now in my final exam, no. Ah, and then somehow, somehow, somehow, somehow, after about—I can't remember, it's quite a long something happened long ago—but I remember after some time, suddenly ideas began to flow. Ideas began to flow. That course, at the end of that course, I was the only one that had a A, the next person had a C. I remember that course very well. I was the only one with a A. The next person to me had a C. But the point I wanted to make was that do you know that at such times, God is only trying trying to sieve? It just this thing comes in different ways. Have you ever experienced being in the market and suddenly the person gave you a little extra money extra than the change? And it looks like you should go with it. Something is trying your reign. But God tests us in different ways, trying to check what is our priority. Have you ever been to the bank and by the time you get to the house, the cashier in operation gave you extra notes more than you should be given? Have you ever experienced that before? And then when you get home, you counted, you counted, you counted, and you are still seeing extra ten thousand on the money. How does it feel like? Returning or not returning? You see, the Lord, it comes in different ways, in different shapes. Have you ever had experience a situation where a promotion is coming but with a condition that you sacrifice something that you have offered to the Lord? Do you take the promotion or do you stay where you are? Have you—I'm talking about this because they come in different ways in our lives. But the point I'm making is that don't only think that the way God told Abraham, "Go and kill Isaac whom you love," the Lord knows what you love. And many times, for the Lord to bring something great out of your life, he's waiting for the day that thing you love will die. And let me show you that was what God did with Abraham. That immediately he got to that point where he was to kill the boy, and it was sure that he was going to kill that boy, if you look at Hebrews, the bible says he considered him already dead that God will raise him up. So Abraham literally killed the boy. It was when the boy died that God said, "Now Abraham, I know that you fear me. In blessing I am going to bless you. In multiply I am going to multiply you." Do you know that one thing that is keeping many of us from the true riches is that there is something richer than God? There are many things that is keeping us—he says, "In blessing I will bless you. In multiply we multiply you." There is a blessing, there is a multiplicity which source is eternal, which source cannot be explained. But do you know that one thing keeping you from that thing is the riches that are in your hand? You are resting on crutches. You are resting on certain things to stand with. You don't want to stand on the eternal God. There is something, there is something that is competing. You see, the Lord knows all of us. And that is why you notice, look at the funnel method he used with this young man. He said, "Go and keep all the laws," as if he did not know that he was keeping those laws. And the man quickly said, "Ah, me, I am devoted to you. I pay my tithe regularly, I'm committed, I'm a member of this church, I do this, I do this, I do this." Okay, okay, okay. One thing that you lack. The actual lack in his life, the real lack in his life, is that there is something placed above the Lord. And it is that thing that will not allow him to move to spiritual maturity. It is that thing that make followership to be a difficult thing. You see, it is a different thing to love the Lord. It is another thing to love his cross. Following the Lord, following the Lord is different from praise singers. It's different from general commitment. He said, "Leave all of that, sell them, follow me." Following the Lord, followership of the Lord, being able being able to stand as an individual that nothing is your price but the Lord. Whatever will not make you follow him will be set aside. Or there are things that are not allowing you to follow him. Look at scriptures. I will I will bother you again with something why it is good to resolve that. Look at the story, the story that we have in Luke 16. The story we have in Luke 16, that's another one again just pointing us to the need for us to address the matter of riches in our life, the rich young man. The need to address something, that riches, that treasure. We need to address it and be able to follow the Lord. Look at chapter 16 of Luke. It's a very familiar story. Just drawing lessons from familiar stories just to help us to draw some lessons in between the line. I read Luke chapter 16, I read from verse 19: "There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died and was carried by angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torment in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in torment in this flame.' But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.'" And besides this, the discussion went on and on. What I just want to draw your attention to is when you look at this story, you get something very clear. That what actually give people eternal value is nothing material. What gives people eternal value, what makes your life to have eternal value is nothing material. If it is material, Lazarus would not have any eternal value. That's the point I want you to see. There is nothing material that adds eternal value to our life. As much as we need these things—you know the scripture says—Jesus was speaking, he said, "All these things the Gentiles seek, and your Father knows that you have need of them." Now, the point I'm making is not as if we don't have need of these things. The Lord himself said we have need of them. He said, "All these things the Gentiles seek, and your Father knows you have need of them." So it's not as though we don't need material things. But I am saying that what gives our life real value is nothing material. That is why Jesus spoke in another scripture, he said, "A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possession." So the real value of a man's life has nothing to do with possession. When you want to know how valuable a man is, you know we have a way of rating people. Three cars, five phones, two houses, um, again you rate the car, Jeep, they even you even rate the Jeep. We have a way of rating people like that and then give them value. That is what the bible call the pride of life. That, when you rate people like that, that people's value have to do with some material things. Pride of life. Now, that is the way the world the world value people based on some material achievement. But when God want to value people, the value of people have nothing to do with what they possess. The actual value of people has nothing to do with that. If it if it had, then Lazarus should not be anywhere. And mind you, the scripture says again that the rich man died and he was buried, Lazarus died and he was carried. I like I like to put it this way. Lazarus had so much value that angels were sent to carry him. The rich man has no value that he was he was made to be buried. I'm just speaking literally. So, do you have do you have value enough that if they separate you from your riches you will still have value to be carried? Is there something about you that if they separate you from all the material things, there will still be something about you that heaven will see and heaven will send angels, "Hey, hey, go and carry him, go and carry him, that's a value, go and carry that valuable thing"? That is the point. So, which means that the actual way to use material possession is what the Lord is what the Lord was telling the rich young man. He told him, "Go and sell this thing, give to the poor so that you can have treasures in heaven." It means the way to use material things is actually to use them in a way to give you eternal value. It is the way that they are used that determines whether you are able to convert their value. And these are very, very serious matters. When you are separated from your riches, will there still be something valuable in you to be carried? Or heaven will decide that you will be buried? Once you are buried and you are not carried, then you are finished. Because that was what happened to the rich man who seems to be rich. He seems to have so much value, but at the end, we saw that there was he had no real value. The second scripture I want to show us as we close this morning is in 2 Peter. 2 Peter chapter 3—just something to make us rethink many of these things that are around us today. We have need of these things, but we should be careful not to place unnecessary value on them. We have need of these things, we have need of them, but we should be careful about our priority system, what comes before what. Let's see 2 Peter chapter 3. I want to take it from verse 4, even though we will skip a lot of verses to emphasize some other verses. "Saying, 'Where is the promise of his coming? For since the father fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.' For this they willfully forget that by the word of God the heavens of old and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that existed perished, being flooded with water." I hope you get the point that Peter is making here. That he's talking about what happened at the time of Noah. That they forgot that there was a world standing out of water by the word of God and again by that same word of God, that world was that world earth, that total existence then was flushed out. He says, from verse 7, "But the heavens and the earth which are now are preserved by the same word." So the one we have now, they are preserved by the same word. So it is important for you to know that the only thing—like I was saying yesterday in our own family devotion—God said day and night will not cease. If you look at everything that man had done to the earth, all the bombing, all the killing, everything, do you notice that day and night still continue till today? Because there is a God that is sustaining it. So the present heaven and earth is sustained by the word of God. What is sustaining this universe is nothing inside the universe but outside the universe. The bible says he sustain, he maintain, he propel the universe by the word of his power. So he's preserved by the word of God. Now, but the point I want to draw your attention to is that the bible says, "But the heavens and the earth which are now are preserved by the same word and are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." I want you to get that very clearly. "But the heavens and the earth which are now," this heaven and this earth which are now, "are preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." "And God has also commanded the heavens and the earth will be consumed by fire on the day of judgment, when ungodly people will perish." Now, the point I'm trying to make you see is this. He said God has commanded. How best do I describe this thing? Have you seen when Ministry of Works come to some building and then they will put X? And if nothing is done after some time, what happens? They demolish. Now, when the bible says this present earth is reserved by a command for fire, what is it telling us? It's marked for desolation already. In other words, what I'm trying to make you see is that this present thing that is shocking us now is actually reserved for fire. If God can help you to look at the present earth from this angle, from this eternal angle, if you are to look at it very well, if you want to buy something, you want to buy a building, and you notice that they have written—you see Federal Ministry of Urban Planning, they put X on that building. Will you still put your money into that building? No, because you know that this thing had been marked for destruction. You don't put what is valuable again into it. Now, the point I'm making is that if this one that we are in has been marked with X, reserved for fire, how should we live in this one? That is the point I'm drawing. How should we live? How should we should we be running our life? You see—it comes to me like this again—something has been marked no value. Then should I be exchanging my life for it? I can't even be exchanging my money for it. But we are exchanging eternity for it. You know, we look at the treasures of this world and sometimes we lie to get them. We we become compromise to get them. We sometimes we set aside God to get them. But imagine, you are setting aside you should not even have set aside even your money to get them. But you are even setting aside eternity to get them. You see, the point I'm making is that this whole thing that you are looking at as beautiful as it is, if you are to look at it very well, it's not really beautiful again. Because if it is really something that is really, really beautiful, it should not be reserved for fire. And one thing to give you understanding, don't you notice that the more people gather these things, it looks like the more the better. But do you notice that even to those who have gathered them so much, it is still vanity to them? Have you have you come to think about that? If actually gathering them is the all well and end well of life, let me ask you some very simple question. Why is it that it is the rich that fear and not the poor? Do you notice that when the poor build their houses, they don't bother to get security dogs, they don't put electric fence? They just sleep in their houses. Sometimes even their door they just put something behind it, they go and sleep. But go and look at men who have stored so much around themselves, who have built wonderful things. Do you notice that they will fence round, they will put this, they will do this, they will why? Do you notice that the more we seem to gather, the more it makes us restless? I'm trying to make you see the vanity that is in it. Have you have you—do you notice that when they talk so much about some kind of terminal, chronic diseases that you hear about, ordinarily you'll be feeling that those who have acquired so much shouldn't have it, that it should be a fortified wall that fortifies them from all those things. But do you notice that even those that they can even fly out for treatment still die in it? So if gathering it actually secures something like you are really thinking it secure something, if it's really secure, why is it that those who can fly in the air die in the air? Why is it that flights they just go and then the plane crash and everybody inside die? If it is those who are rich that are safer, whereas the people who walk on their foot that day, they were all alive. I'm trying to make you make a comparison and get some things clear. Don't you see that this thing had been subjected to vanity? That is, it has been subjected never to give fulfillment. Do you realize that at all? That it has been subjected—do you notice that the more you have it, the more you want to get it? The more you get it, you think you've got something, the more you want to get it again? The more you get it, the more you are not satisfied, the more you want to go again? Do you notice that it creates in man a endless striving? Or what do you say about your governors who still steal public money? If riches make people to be contented, why is it that those who are very rich are still stealing? Why are our leaders, why are they stealing the common wealth? These are people who have this, who have that, who have that, and yet they will still embezzle money, they will still guilty why? If actually having it brings some kind of fulfillment, why are they not finding fulfillment? And yet, you will find some people who don't have as much as them that will tell you that why should they steal? So I'm trying to make you see that there is so much vanity in these things. What I'm trying to make you see is that that which God have declared vain can never give fulfillment. The true the true truth about anything is to know what God said about it. The bible says in Romans 8—look at it where we close this morning. Look at Romans 8. Look at something there. The bible says this thing has been subject to vanity and so those who pursue them will continually become vain. I want to read from Romans chapter 8, I will read from verse 19. "For the earnest expectation of creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God." Even creation is waiting for everything to end. "For creation was subjected to futility." It was subject to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it in hope. Are you getting that? Because creation itself also would be delivered from the bondage of corruption. Are you seeing it here? Creation has been subject to a bondage of corruption. The more money you have doesn't mean the happier you will be. Are you understanding it? It has been subject to a bondage of corruption. It has a way of corrupting people. Do you notice how sometimes you have some money and then you start becoming arrogant? It has been subject to corruption to make people corrupt. Do you see out of happiness some young men who have just made some money, they will just drive and then they die in accident? Do you see that even riches is what is killing them? Because it has been subject to a corruption. It has a corrupting influence. It has something to make you not to be satisfied. I'm showing you that God has marked this thing X. It was God who subject it to it. If the creator has subject it to it, no creation can subject it otherwise. Please, can we have that reading in NLT? "For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay." Do you know what I'm trying to say? All these things that you are seeing, what are they subject to? Death and decay. So you are you are exchanging eternity with death and decay. Everything that you are seeing now, that is the vanity in it. Death, decay. Everything you are seeing around, all this thing that you are seeing, what are they be subject to? Death, decay. Death, decay. So the question is, if that is the mark of dissolution on it, why—I want to ask you—let's ask ourselves this very question as we close today. Does it make any sense when the summary of the totality of everything here is subject to death and decay? Does it worth placing above life that is God? God is life. This one is death and decay. Which one should you really prioritize in your life? What should come first? You can see that there is nothing, nothing, nothing at all that can come before God if you are really thinking, if you can really think deep. All of these things that you see, the end is death and decay. That is where it is taking you to. It's corrupting, it's overwhelming. By the time you get by the time you have so much of them, you start having more anxiety. Death and decay. Somebody was saying one day, he said when I did not have any car, mechanic was not my problem. He said the day I bought car, I now understand what car users normally face. Ah, is it what you are facing in Nigeria? I just laughed, I said, oh, you have joined them. So what are they trying to say? What am I trying to make you see is that every material increase have a commensurate vanity in it. Do you notice that when you don't have an Android phone you have less distraction as to having time for God? Go and check when you bought your Android phone. I want you to be taking these things small, small. You will be seeing that every material increase have a commensurate, a proportion—there is a direct proportional relationship with some measure of vanity in it. When I mean vanity, I mean death and decay, meaninglessness. Trouble comes with it. Go and remember when you were single and go and think about when you got married. Go and think about when you don't have any children and think of when the children came. You will see the joy, you will see the it is something, you see, until one day we will be free from all of this. We will weep no more, we will cry no more, we will be free—I mean there is a freedom everything, everything is waiting for. The bible says he will wipe away tears from their eyes when we will weep no more, when there will be nothing to make us cry, when there will be nothing to give us—go and check what is giving you. It has been subject to death and decay. That is the vanity that is in the earth. May we always see these things from this angle. Remember the rich young man. Please remember the rich young man. What is that thing that is not allowing you that every time heaven punch their searchlight on it, you become sorrowful? It is something that you have placed in the wrong place. Go and replace them, for the Lord said, what can a man give in exchange for his life? Let us go ahead to pray this morning wherever you are. I want you to pray. The prayer is very, very simple. As a young man, as a young woman, remember the rich young man. How do you see earthly riches? Are you seeing them as something that have been subject to death and decay? How are you seeing them? Do you see that they have marked X on them? And so it is nothing to value above the Lord? Do you see it that way? Is there something you still treasure in something material above eternity? Remember, your value can never be gotten in anything material. Your actual value, the value of your life, is not in anything material. If God want to rate the value of your life, it is not taken from anything material. It is taken from how upright your heart is and how sincere your tongue is. Godliness, righteousness, holiness. That is where we measure the value of life. Holiness, righteousness. Holiness, righteousness. As we are praying now, a scripture just came to my heart like the flash of a light. It just came. That Peter that we read, I just want to go there quickly, he bypass my heart in that Peter. And I want to go to that place very quickly. I will read it as we are praying. Please make sure you are praying, asking yourself, "Am I like this rich young man?" I want to go to that scripture. Okay, that is 2 Peter, it is the verse 11. It is the verse 11. I will read verse 10 and 11. It says, "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heaven will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of person ought we to be in holy conduct and godliness?" I would like to take that something—I would like to take it in the Message translation. It brings it very clear. It actually came to my mind the Message translation. It says, "But when the day of God's judgment does come, it will be unannounced like a thief. The sky will collapse with a thunderous bang, everything disintegrating into a huge conflagration; earth and all its works exposed to the scrutiny of judgment. Since everything here today might well be gone tomorrow, do you see how essential it is to live a holy life?" Since everything you are looking at, the value of your life is in holy living. Do you see how essential it is? Do you see how essential? He said since everything will be gone by fire, everything is marked for death and decay. Do you see how essential—the essential thing to do is to live a holy life. Can you pray to the Lord this morning that as a young person, Lord help me to prioritize holiness above all other things. Help me to prioritize it above money, above riches, above—these things we need, but they are not they are not they don't have more value than holiness. Holiness has more value than money. Holiness has more value than wealth. Holiness has more value than cars. Holiness has more value than marriage. Holiness has more value than career. Holiness has more value. Holiness is a value. These other things, they are subject to decay and death. The more you have it, they come with their troubles, they come with their sign, they come with their sorrow, they come. All of them, none of them is permanent. They are today and tomorrow they are no more. You can have them today and tomorrow they are no more. But holiness is something that remains with you. You came naked, you will go back naked. But there is something that remains the value of your life—holiness. How essential it is to live a holy life. Wherever you are, you are connecting with us, please talk to the Lord. Rearrange the way you see things. That's the essence of today's discussion. As a young man, as a young woman, rearrange the way you see things. Rearrange them. It will show in your passion. How passionate are you about money compared to how passionate about holiness? About the things that make you to live holy, that make you to live godly. How passionate are you about you and these things and the so-called "making it" in life? That so-called "I want to make it." What does it mean to make it in life? The first thing to be made in this life is to be holy. Anybody who is not holy is not made in this life. That is the truth. Anybody who is not holy, who is not living a godly life, is not made. You have not been made when you are not godly. You have not made you have not made yourself. The "making it" is what we are defining this morning. The making it. Thank you, Father. Thank you, Holy Spirit. [Speaker 3] In Jesus' name we have prayed. Amen. Awesome God, we are thankful, very grateful to you for your word this morning. Thank you, Lord, for the lessons in the life of the rich young ruler. So subtle but yet so potent, so specific to us at this time. Awesome God, help our generation. Help us, Oh God, to realize that this earth is marked for death and decay, and to remove our hearts from dwelling on treasures that are ephemeral. Help us, Lord, to fix our eyes on eternal things. Deliver us from the bondage of vanity in the name of Jesus. Father, we ask this of you today that you will deliver our hearts. Deliver us from the bondage of materialism, from the bondage to worldliness, from the bondage to riches and wealth, from the bondage to acquiring all of these things. It's a bondage at this time, Oh God. We ask that you will set us free in your mercy in the name of Jesus. Help us, Lord, to know their value. Father, help us to know their value. Let the value or rather the valuelessness of all of these things, let it dawn on our hearts. That from our inner man, Lord, these things will be put in their rightful place in the name of Jesus. That Lord, the value of eternal things will be so alive to us, Lord, that these things will no longer be able to keep us in bondage. Your word says we will know the truth and the truth will set us free. Lord, the truth has come this morning. May it cause freedom to your children today in the name of Jesus. May this truth bring freedom to as many as will yet hear it in the name of Jesus. That Lord will be free to live for you, will be free to make decisions that are eternal, that have eternal values, having been set free from the bondage of materialism. Thank you, Jesus. Help us to be able to do all the things we need to do, give all the things we need to give so that we can truly follow Jesus. Thank you, awesome God. We bless your son whom you have used to bring your word this morning. We pray that Lord indeed he will continue to wax strong, and the light of God will always flow from him in the name of Jesus. Thank you, Father. For in Jesus' name we have prayed. Amen. [Speaker 4] This message is coming to you from Family Tent Ministry, a Christian ministry involved in enriching the lives of singles and married through preaching and teaching of God's Word, discipleship, family life enrichment, social and community development, and mission aid. Our regular activities are discipleship class every Monday, 5:00 PM; Adolescents and Singles Club, every first Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; Marriage Forum, second Saturday of every month at 10:00 AM; family life seminars, regular school outreaches, and everyday counseling. For further counseling, you can reach us at our location: Life Camp by the First Bridge, Ilere Community, opposite Very Joy filling station along Igbatoro Road, Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. You can also reach us through our social media handles: familytent@yahoo.co.uk, familytentministry01@gmail.com, www.familytentministry.org. Our phone numbers are 080-3386-1136, 070-3361-3848. God bless you all.