From the Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster we present Let the Bible Speak. It's good to have you join us today as we spend time around the Word of God, preaching Christ in all His fullness to men and women in all their need. His wondrous grace has rescued me. Once I was blind, but now I see. I've run from worry, He rescued me. He rescued me, His own to me. Oh, how I praise Him, through eternity, and ran from the burning, He rescued me. On this night of winter, and on this day, Oh ♪ A crown from the burning He has given me ♪ ♪ Unseen, unending, the night of pain ♪ ♪ His wondrous grace has rescued me ♪ ♪ Broken prayer, my sins I've changed ♪ ♪ A crown from the burning He set me free ♪ He rescued me, His own to me. I ran from the burning, He set me free. Oh, I've risen through eternity. I ran from the burning, He rescued me. A warm welcome to each of you that have joined with us for this Let the Bible Speak service. It's great to see you along, and I certainly pray the Lord will bless you and speak to your hearts through God's precious truth. We're going to pray just now and seek God together at the throne of grace. Our Father in heaven, we approach thyself and we come before thee with confidence because of thy Son Christ. We think of His great love towards us. We bless Thee, Father, for Thy love and kindness, which is always extended and shown towards us. And we bless Thee that God's people can call Thee Father in heaven. And in this very moment, we take time to pause our hearts again to rejoice in Thy great salvation. We are thankful for Scripture, for the Bible, for truth. And how we pray our hearts and our thoughts and our whole person will be engaged in this word, that we will give ourselves to these things. Bless your servant that will speak to us and show us wonderful things out of thy truth. And hear our cry, we pray, in the Savior's precious name. Amen. We're going to read together from the Scriptures, and our Bible reading is found in Mark's Gospel, and it's chapter 10, and I'm going to commence the reading at verse 17. And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running and kneeled to him and asked him, good master, what should I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God. Thou knowest the commandments, do not commit adultery, do not kill, do not steal, do not bear false witness, defraud not, honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him and said unto him, One thing thou lackest, go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. And come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved, for he had great possessions. Jesus looked round about and saith unto his disciples, how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. And the disciples were astonished at his works. But Jesus answereth again and saith unto them, children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God? It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. And they were astonished out of measure, saying among themselves, who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon them saith, with men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible. We'll finish at verse 27, the Lord Himself will add His own blessing to the reading of His precious truth. Now we're going to sing together the words of 332 from my hymn books, what a wonderful change. A wonderful change in my life has been brought, since Jesus came into my heart. I have lied in my soul, and so long I have sought, since Jesus came into my heart. I is a Since Jesus came into my heart, Since Jesus came into my heart, Comes a joy of my soul, Like the sea billows roll. Since Jesus came into my heart, a a a a a a I want to turn your attention to the words that are found in Mark's Gospel, chapter 10. And in that verse 26, the disciples ask a question. Who then can be saved? It's a very powerful question, but the answer to that question by the Lord Jesus Christ is even more powerful. Who then can be saved? To understand that question, you have to look at the context and what has just taken place. You have in this passage a man known to us as the rich young ruler. He comes to the Lord Jesus Christ with a very important question as well. What must I do to have eternal life? That of course is a tremendous question. To want to know that your soul is right with God To be ready for heaven, to be ready for eternity, is a very, very important matter. The greatest issue that faces each individual is not what we have in this life. It is what lies beyond. Where will we spend eternity? And here's this young man, and he has a concern over his soul. Sadly, however, he came to a very bad conclusion. When the Lord Jesus Christ put it to him, what was entailed in following him, the Lord was not saying to him, if you give up everything, that will bring you eternal life. He was saying more like this, you come and follow me, there's a consequence. In your case, you've all this wealth, you've all this riches. But I'm saying to you, you need to give it up. Because we find in the heart of this man a love of wealth, a love of riches. And so that's why I say, sadly, he came to a very bad conclusion. The Bible tells us that he went away sorrowful. He had great possessions. He didn't want to do what the Lord Jesus Christ was now asking of him. And it's in consequence of that scene, the Lord Jesus Christ has something to say, particularly something to say about those who have wealth and those who have riches. How hardly, verse 23, shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. The disciples were astounded. In verse 24 we read, they were astonished at his words. The Lord emphasized again that they that trust in their riches, it would be so hard for them to enter into the kingdom of God. Quoting those words in verse 25, It is easier, the Savior said, for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. Verse 26, again, the disciples are astonished by what the Lord Jesus Christ has just said, out of measure this time. And then comes this very powerful question, who then can be saved." The reaction of the disciples here is worth considering. We should be asking, why did they say that? Here were men, relatively poor, who had followed the Lord Jesus Christ. would have been of no real consequence, you might have thought, to them, what the Lord Jesus Christ had said, given that this was a rich man. But you do have to understand something of the mindset of the disciples. They were men who knew something of the Word of God, knew something of the promises of the Word of God. And the Word of God does give to us a general sense that there are practical promises that those who follow Christ do enjoy. We think of the great Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Yes, we're speaking about spiritual blessings, but we're also speaking about practical things the young lions do lack. The psalmist said in Psalm 34, they suffer hunger, but those who are the people of God The psalmist reminded, they would have their needs met. That's the important thing, by the way. The Bible tells us that the Lord will take care of his people. He will providentially look after them. The great prayer of Jabez was, oh, that thou wouldst enlarge my course. And you'll find many examples of this, that God's people were looking to the Lord to provide for their many practical needs. And so there were material blessings that would come to the people of God. And therefore, this appears to be what has caught the attention of the disciples when they hear what the Lord Jesus Christ says, how hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. As they thought about this and thought about those words in verse 25, the camel going through the eye of the needle. It seemed to them that what the Lord Jesus Christ was presenting was an impossibility. And therefore what the disciples are now contemplating is this. If riches, if wealth is a block, is a hindrance, can any be saved at all? If the very things that God gives by way of material blessings become such a barrier, how can anyone come to know eternal life? So that's the background of this question. Who then can be saved? So we now must consider the barrier that this question poses. And there is a barrier. Because we see this individual, this young man, he's faced with the prospect of having to give up all his wealth if he is to follow the Lord Jesus Christ, and he simply cannot do it. The Bible tells us that he went away grieved at what the Lord had told him, because he had great possessions. And so when the disciples here say, who then can be saved? They're thinking, if someone has wealth at all, and if it is so hard for them as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, then it seemed to present such a barrier, such a hindrance, Could any be saved at all? Interesting to look at what the Lord Jesus Christ had already said back in verse 24. He said, children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God? And there's the point. The Savior is talking about riches becoming an anchor of belief, a trust. something to rest in. The problem is not what God gives to man. The problem is what man does with what God gives. Let me turn you back to the book of Deuteronomy. And in the book of Deuteronomy, and we're looking there at chapter 8, the Lord is speaking about the children of Israel, about that occasion when they would enter into the land of promise, and then they were to consider what they now had. And in verse 17, the temptation. would be to say this, and thou say in thine heart, my power and the might of mine hand have gotten me this wealth. There's the heart of man. But what God is saying here in verse 18 to the children of Israel, when they enter into the land of promise, thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth. that he may establish his covenant which he swear unto thy fathers as it is this day. The Lord here is showing us something about the heart. The heart of man is such that it takes the daily benefits that God gives. and turns them in such a way that that person is able to say, well, these are my things. These are the things that I have gotten by the power of my hand. And suddenly, everything is changed. It happened here with this young man. He had a concern over his soul, didn't he? He was thinking about eternal life. But when his mind reflected upon his wealth, Suddenly what's exposed is he's trusting in his riches. He looks to his wealth as something with great power. I can get along without eternal life if I have my riches and if I have my wealth. The question then would come to us in the modern day that we live in. Where is your trust? What are you resting in? Have the material things of this world taken hold of your soul to such degree that you look upon the matter of the gospel, the appeals of Jesus Christ to come to know Him, the appeal of the Word of God to get right with God, to come to know Jesus Christ? It's all considered as an irrelevance because you look at what you have. And you say, well, I can get along without eternal life. I can get along without the spiritual blessings that are talked about in the Word of God, because I have all these things. The Word of God is showing you something here. It's showing the great problem of the heart. And this question really exposes The problem in the heart of man, in the heart of woman. Are there those listening this evening? And as you think about your needs, you only look at the material because your trust is in the wealth of this world. Your trust is in what you see. Think of what the Savior here said. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. That is somebody who takes their trust, their faith, and rests it in what they think they have achieved by way of wealth and riches. Such a soul will never enter into heaven. because of the corruption of the heart. We're often asked about the soul. Why do we say and continually teach, it is corrupt, it is sinful? Well, here's an example. It takes those good things that God gives, the material things even of this world that are legitimate and right, and are God's gifts to us, and it turns them into God's. things that we put our faith and trust in. That's the corruption of the soul. The Lord Jesus Christ here is exposing this. Then we think of the question here, and we think of it in terms of the answer that the Lord Jesus Christ gives. Because In verse 27, when the disciples asked, who then can be saved? Remember what they've been thinking. If wealth of any kind and riches of any kind have such a power and such an influence, who can be saved? Who can ever have eternal life? The Lord Jesus Christ said in verse 27, with men, it is impossible, but not with God. For with God all things are possible." And here is a wonderful thought. No matter how much grasp the world and the wealth has upon the heart and upon the soul, by the power of God, the soul may be delivered out of that bondage. That's such an encouragement for those who pray for souls that seem so hard, that seem to be gripped by the love of the world. Think of this word. This is a word in the context of salvation, remember. The Lord says here, with men it is impossible, but not with God. Perhaps as a child of God, you've thought, of a loved one, and you think they're so gripped by the world, they can never be saved. Well, if they continue as they are, they won't. But here the Lord Jesus Christ says, we have a powerful God, and a God who can work in the heart and work in the soul to such an extent that it may be delivered, literally. The camel may go through the eye of a needle if we take this picture that the Lord Jesus Christ is drawing. Think of what the Lord said concerning the gospel. Tremendous word is found over in 2 Corinthians chapter 10 speaks there of the gospel, and in chapter 10 in verse 4, it speaks about the power of the God to pull down strongholds, casting down imaginations, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. The Savior here is referring to the power of the gospel and what the gospel can do. Is there a rich man in the Bible? who came to know Jesus Christ, who left all and identified with the Savior. Have you heard of Joseph of Arimathea? The rich man who, when the Lord Jesus Christ had died on the cross, came and begged the body of Jesus. Do you know that he's mentioned in every one of the Gospels? The Lord worked in his heart, in his life. Have you heard of men like Paul the Apostle? First called Saul, a persecutor of the church, but the mighty power of God worked in his life and brought him to saving faith in Christ. Praise God today, the gospel we preach, through the power of Christ's blood can cleanse the vilest sinner, bring that person to himself. And we ask the question, Concerning salvation, are there any that can be saved? Yes. The power of the gospel is such it is able to bring any soul to Jesus Christ. However much in bondage to sin they may be, if you're not saved, you get to Jesus Christ, and you get to him now. Let's bow together in prayer. Our eternal God, we thank you for your word. We pray that you'll bless it to hearts and bring souls to Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you for spending some time with us today around the Word of God. For further information visit our website at ltbs.tv. We look forward to joining with you next time as we seek to let the Bible speak once again.