OPENING SCRIPTURE: Matthew 19:16-22

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 said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still 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 treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:16-22 NKJ)

#1 OUR GOOD IS NEVER GOOD ENOUGH

“GOOD TEACHER, what GOOD THING shall I do that I may have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16 NKJ)

What he was asking was: Can I be good enough to be perfect for God?
Jesus corrects him. “Why do you call me good? No one is GOOD but ONE” (Matthew 19:17 NKJ)

• He was right in calling Jesus “Good Teacher”, because Good here refers to Perfect, without fault, blameless. But his problem was the question: “What GOOD THING shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

“Is there a good thing you can do to have eternal life?”

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is NOT FROM YOURSELVES, it is the gift of God – NOT BY WORKS, so that NO ONE CAN BOAST. (Ephesians 2:8-9 NIV)

• Not from yourself- 1st mistake the young man made. It was all about him.
• Not by works – 2nd mistake the young man made. It was all about what he could do.
• No one can boast – 3rd mistake the young man made. He approached Jesus with pride.

We can never be good enough to receive eternal life. Our good is never good enough!

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.’” (Matthew 19:18-19 NKJ)

• Jesus gave him the last 6 but left out the first 4 of the commandments. Why?

“All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” (Matthew 19:20 NKJ)

The young man realized that: His good, all by himself without God, can never be good enough!
Our good, all by ourselves without God, can never be good enough!
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#2 GOD HAS TO BE FIRST

Jesus knew that this young man had no personal relationship with God.

• The young man was a morally good man, but he had no personal relationship with God. God was not his number 1.
• For this young man, his riches and possessions were number 1.

Jesus said to him, “If you want to be PERFECT, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” (Matthew 19:21 NKJ)

• Jesus was not saying that the price for eternal life is your riches and possession. The price of eternal life is God first.
• Jesus was not saying that being poor is not the way to heaven, but receiving Christ as Lord and savior is!

“But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19:22 NKJ)

• God was not the owner of his possession. He was!
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#3: WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE

When His disciples heard it, 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.” (Matthew 19:25-26 NKJ)

• Salvation with is impossible for man to earn but 100% possible with God.
• Perfection is impossible for man to achieve but 100% possible with God.

CONCLUSION
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through this message?