Key Verse: Matthew 19

Ice Breaker:

Q. If you could pick an amusement park ride to describe the day you had, what would it be and why?

Really Big Things:

Woonsocket – new location

Apollo Beach – new location

Travelers Rest and Tennessee – plant Churches

North Attleboro – Christian school

We are 100% committed to building a school in NA, our children are under attack.  We will build schools and plant Churches.  Therefore, our funds cannot be solely designated to the school because there is no such thing as a proper education without the Gospel. 

Our school will be doctrinally and spiritually tied to the Gospel.

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In our key verse, an educated man has an encounter with Jesus. 

Education apart from Jesus means nothing.

Matthew 19:16-21 (ESV)

This passage appears to be about money, and it is the scariest passage in the Bible. However, it is not about money; this passage is about identity.  This man’s identity was in his money, in his possessions. 

This man came to chase Jesus.  He came running to Jesus (as stated in Mark’s Gospel).  In ancient times, men did not run.  This man was desperate and kneeled before Jesus. 

Jesus responds to this man’s question in verse 16 with a question (verse 17).  Jesus answered a question with a question because He wanted this man to see Him as more than just a good teacher.

In verse 18, the man asks which commandments should he keep.  However,  never has God said that we can skip any of the commandments.

Deuteronomy 15:5–6; Deuteronomy 28:1 (ESV)

This man should not have asked which commandments he should keep because the answer is he should keep ALL of them. 

This man was young and rich.  He was a ruler, important, and influential. 

Rich, young, and important is the unholy trinity of the American dream.  We all want money, to be important, and to be youthful.  We do everything we can to stay young, and to have health, wealth, and a strong sense of self.

This man had it all and still, it was not enough.  There are people today who have it all.  They have chased it and got it.  We, too, chase it and get it,  and it is still not enough.

This man had wealth, influence, and youth, yet he still felt something was missing. Discuss the concept of the “unholy trinity” of the American dream – money, importance, and youth.

(Leader: select one or more questions based on how the conversation is going).

A. In what ways can these pursuits distract us from our true identity in Christ?

B. How can we find contentment and fulfillment in Him alone, regardless of our circumstances?

My identity is that which I want MYSELF or OTHERS to CONSIDER me.

Our identity is that which we want.  We all have some semblance of an identity chase in our lives, whether we realize it or not.

This man believed he was blessed because he obeyed the rules. 

Matthew 19:18b-20 (ESV)

Here Jesus lists the second half of the top ten commandments.  The first four commandments are vertical – how we relate to God.  The last six are horizontal – how we relate to our neighbor.

The man thought he had kept all the commandments, but he did not realize that he left out the ones that put God first.  He did not have a relationship with God. 

We need to be careful that the blessings God gives us do not become our God.  We can make idols out of what we do, our looks, and our money, but the reality is that every other source of identity other than an identity in God fails.

1. An encounter with Jesus will CHALLENGE my self-determined IDENTITY.

We know we are having an encounter with Jesus when we want to be challenged.   We are being challenged with the very things we are trained to chase.  America is a kingdom of the world; it is not the Kingdom of Heaven.  We must ask ourselves, ‘Do we really want that because someone told us we should chase it?’

When Jesus shows up, He challenges us.

Matthew 19:21 (ESV)

This man is the only person Jesus tells to sell what he has and give it to the poor.  The reason Jesus tells him to do that is because he is consistently deconstructing the man’s self-identity.  If the man chose to follow Jesus, he would forfeit his importance.  He would become an outcast to all of his community. 

Jesus shoots down all the idols of his heart.

Discuss how encountering Jesus challenges our self-determined identity.

(Leader: select one or more questions based on how the conversation is going).

A. In what ways have you experienced such challenges in your own life or witnessed them in the lives of others?

B. How can we embrace these challenges rather than resist them to grow in our faith?

Bible Study Pro Tip #4: Take note of REPEATED or KEY PHRASES in the BOOK you’re studying.

Matthew interprets himself and uses repeated key phrases to show us his meaning.

When Jesus says: ‘You will have treasure in heaven’, He is saying that this man will have it now.

Matthew is the only book in the entire Bible that uses the phrase ‘Kingdom of Heaven.’

Matthew 13:24 (ESV); Matthew 16:19; Matthew 18:4 (ESV)

We spread the Gospel in this life. So, the Kingdom of Heaven is now.

Matthew 16:19 (ESV)

Peter gets the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven as soon as he preaches the Gospel, and 3000 people walk into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Matthew 18:4 (ESV)

The point is not that God wants us RICH or POOR.

The point is God wants our TRUST.

Infinitely more important than our identity of being men or women or of our identity in the nationality we are, is our identity in Jesus.

He wants our trust now!

God wants our trust now.

(Leader: select one or more questions based on how the conversation is going).

A. How can we practically deepen our trust in God on a daily basis?

B. Can you share specific ways you have learned to trust God more, in your life journey?

C. Additionally, how can we encourage one another in our small group to grow in trusting God amid life’s challenges and uncertainties?

2: True identity comes from what God MAKES us, not what we MAKE of ourselves.

Who He wants us to be is far more important than who we want ourselves to be.

Matthew 19:22-24 (ESV)

If rich people base their identities on their riches, they will miss the Kingdom of Heaven.  Likewise, if poor people are trusting in their good works, they too will miss the Kingdom of Heaven. 

Matthew 19:25(ESV)

We cannot obey the law perfectly.  Everyone misses the mark.

Romans 3:23 (ESV)

We are hopeless without God. 

Matthew 19:26 (ESV)

It is not our doing, it is His.

In Matthew 19:22-23, the rich young man walked away sorrowful because he had many possessions.

(Leader: select one or more questions based on how the conversation is going).

A. How can material possessions sometimes hinder our ability to fully embrace our true identity in Christ?

B. How can we cultivate a mindset of surrendering to God’s plan for our lives?

Matthew 19:27-29 (ESV)

Everyone who has left any self-defined identity will receive one-hundred-fold and inherit eternal life!

If we surrender what we have now to what God wants for us, we receive it back one hundredfold now and then he brings us home to Heaven!

We cannot out-give God.

3. When my identity is ROOTED in Christ, I can never lose ANYTHING He gives me.

God has us covered. 

An umbrella that is ripped is useless.  It cannot cover us when the rains come.  We cannot put our hope in that umbrella. We cannot put our hope in things.  But an umbrella that is not ripped and has no holes will cover us.  God has the power to cover us.

Psalm 91:1 (NIV)

Q. Jesus promises rewards to those who follow Him. How can knowing that we can never lose anything He gives us,  impact our perspectives on material possessions and our ultimate identity? How does this truth influence the way we live and give for the cause of Christ?

1. SAVE to GIVE for the cause of Christ.

2. STAND to LIVE for the sake of Christ

Q. What are some recent testimonies you can share regarding tithing and standing to live for the sake of Christ?

Challenge:

Let’s commit to practicing ‘Save to Give for the cause of Christ’.  Seek God and ask what he would put on your heart to save for Really Big Things. 

Additionally, let’s identify an area in our lives where we can take a stand for Christ and live out His values, whether it’s in our workplace, community, or personal relationships.