Russell Conwell was a pastor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He traveled America telling a story that raised the money to found Temple University.

Ali Hafed was a content and wealthy man. He lived in the Middle East near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. One day an itinerant Buddhist monk came by his house and told him a story. He said that once upon a time there was a bank of fog that stretched across the universe. God put his finger in the fog and spun it around faster and faster until a ball of fire was formed and was flung through space.
As the ball of fire sped across the universe it began to cool and to become our earth. That which cooled first was coal, then copper, then silver, and then gold and finally diamonds. He defined a diamond as a "congealed drop of sunlight." He told Ali Hafed that if he had a diamond the size of his thumb he could own the entire county. If he owned a diamond mine he could place his children on the thrones of the world.
Ali Hafed went to bed that night neither content nor wealthy. He felt poor because he didnít own diamonds. So, the next morning, he asked the monk where he could find these congealed drops of sunlight. The monk asked him why he wanted to know and Ali Hafed said that he wanted to become very rich. So the monk told him to look where clear waters run over white sands within the sight of mountains.
The next day Ali Hafed began the process of selling his home and business and making arrangements to leave his family in the care of others. Then he set out on a long journey looking for diamonds. Ali Hafed searched through the Middle East and into Palestine. He headed south into Africa, to Kenya and the Mountains of the Moonóbut he found no diamonds. Then north across Africa and into Europe. For years he searched for diamonds until one day he arrived at the Pillars of Hercules near Barcelona, Spain. He had lost all of his money, his health and his hopeóand still had no diamonds. He threw himself into the surf and took his own life.
About this time Ali Hafedís successor was watering his camel in the back yard when the animal nosed up a black stone that caught the sun light with a special glisten. He brought the stone into his house and put it on the fireplace mantleóand pretty much forgot about it. Then one day that same itinerant Buddhist monk came by again, entered the house, saw the stone on the mantle and asked, "Has Ali Hafed returned?" Ali Hafedís successor said, "No, why do you ask?" The monk explained that he saw the diamond on the mantle. Ali Hafedís successor insisted that was no diamond, just a stone from the brook in the back. The monk insisted and was right. In fact, they went and searched to find many more diamonds. It was the site of the Golconda Diamond Mine, one of the largest diamond mines ever discovered, producing the famous Hope and Regent diamonds and others later laid into the crowns of the worldís kings and queens.
Russell Conwell would finish the story explaining that "Ali Hafed searched the world for diamonds when there were acres of diamonds in his own backyard."

It was a story teaching that what we are looking for in life often can be found near rather than far. It was a story related to another story told about a man who came to Jesus in Luke 18. Luke tells us that he was a ruler. In Jesusí other biographies we are told that he was young and rich. He had it made but he was not happy.

The story starts with a conversation about being good:

A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone."

He was a seeker and that was good. Some people are self-satisfied without God. This man wanted more. He was smart enough, sensitive enough and spiritual enough to realize that money and power and youth were not enough to satisfy the soul. He knew that what he had was not enough to inherit eternal life with God.
There are lots of seekers like him today. Maybe you are one of them. You know you donít have all the answers. You know that there has to be more to life than what you have. You are open to hearing God and finding God.

He called Jesus "Good teacher" and asked him what he needed to do to inherit eternal life. Jesus answer can be misunderstood. Jesus replied, "Why do you call me good? No one is good--except God alone." Someone might think that Jesus was making a statement about whether or not he (Jesus) was God. While it is true that Jesus was and is fully God thatís really not what he was talking about. Jesus wanted to focus the manís attention on God to understand how to inherit eternal life.

Jesus used a very interesting approach. He referred to the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were understood to come in two "tables." The first table focuses on how we relate to God and the second table focuses on how we relate to our neighbors. The trouble is, how do you know if you are rightly relating to God? The answer is in the way we relate to our neighbors. In other words, the way we treat other people is a strong indication of whether or not we are truly devoted to God.
So, focusing on the second table, Jesus asked the man if he has kept the "neighbor commandments": "Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother."

He assured Jesus that he had kept all of these commandments since he was a child. "ëAll these I have kept since I was a boy,í he said. " But, he still didnít seem to have God. Something was still missing. He still didnít have eternal life.

He was good but without God. He had and still has lots of company. There are many people who really try to live life right. They try to say and do good things. But, they just havenít connected to God. Good is not good enough. Good without God is never good enough.

Something was blocking his path to God and eternal life. Like a detective or diagnostician, Jesus was searching to find out what was in the way and then tell him how to clear the path to eternal life.

Listen to Dr. Jesusí diagnosis: "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

This was a stunning prescription that continues to cause alarm 2000 years later. If Jesus is saying that we must sell everything we have in order to go to heaven, many of us would rather not go. We would choose to have a few thousand dollars now rather than the kingdom of God forever.

The usual response to this teaching of Jesus is to insist that Jesus didnít mean what he said. We try to spin Jesusí words to say something else in order to convince ourselves that we can keep our money and have God too. I think Jesus meant what he said. I think he was telling the man that he literally had to sell everything he had and give it to the poor.

The reason was simple. The man was an idolater. He said he kept the Ten Commandments but he really didnít. Money was his god. Money was #1. Money was more important than anything else in his life. If it came down to a choice between God and money, money was more important.

How does that apply to us? For some, it is the same. Money is god. Sell all you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. For others, a job is god. For others it is a relationship. The principle is simple. God must be first. Anything which is more important than God has to go.

Illustration: When Charleen and I were married my public vow to her included the words "forsaking all others, I will cling to thee and thee alone as long as we both shall live." She has been very fussy about this. She has insisted that there can be no one else ahead of her in our marriage relationship. I had to forsake all others and make her first. God is far more demanding. God insists that no person or thing can come ahead of him in life. We must forsake all others and cling to him and to him alone forever.

We should all imagine ourselves in a conversation with Jesus. He examines, diagnoses and prescribes. Is there anything he insists must be forsaken from our lives because it is more important than God? If so, it has to go.

Donít let anything ever block your path to God and eternal life. Whatever gets in the way has to go.

"When [the rich young leader] heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth." He was loaded and he didnít want to give it away. If he had no money he wouldnít have been so sad. His wealth weighed him down. He was sad because he was rich.

It is an interesting commentary on his values. The thought of giving his money to the poor saddened him. How unlike God. God loves to give to the poor. He was a very ungodlike rich man.

Do you ever give to the poor? Have you ever had poor beggars come up to you in some foreign country? What about small children with outstretched hands? Do you remember times when you saw people along the side of the highway with signs asking for moneyósaying "Iím homeless" or "Will work for food."? Is your first thought that they might rip you off if you give them ten dollars? Or is your first thought how much fun it would be to help someone who needs the cash?

If this man was as rich as he seems to have been, he could have given away lots of money to the poor without lowering his life style. So it wasnít that he would himself go hungry or homeless. It was that he wanted to keep his money. He liked having money. He loved his money. The thought of letting go of it made him sad.

Money is attractive, even lovable! It looks good. It feels good. It even smells good.

Jesus made an observation that has also troubled a lot of people since. It is one of his more memorable quotes. "Jesus looked at him and said, ëHow hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, 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."
Camels were the biggest animals in Palestine and the eyes of needles were among the smallest holes people could see. Jesus was using exaggeration to make his point. Donít get hung up on the exaggerationójust get the point. The point is that the richer a person is the easier it is to love money more than God. The richer a person is the less appealing is the kingdom of God.

In those days Jews believed that money was an evidence of Godís blessing. Thatís why "Those who heard this asked, ëWho then can be saved?í"

Jesus had some really good news for his followers. Jesus said, "What is impossible with men is possible with God." In other words, it is humanly impossible for a really rich person to love God more than money but God can make it happen. Anyone who wants to really put God first and make him #1 will get supernatural help to make it happen. Jesus can put it in a personís heart to give up wealth to follow him.

Peter was one of Jesusí most vocal followers. He had given up his fishing business and just about everything else to follow Jesus full time. He wanted to remind Jesus what he had done so he said, "We have left all we had to follow you!"

I talked to a couple this week who sounded a lot like Peter. After many years of education and what looked like a very successful professional career, they decided that to truly follow Jesus Christ meant that he had to quit his job. It was very hard. They have young children. This was done months ago. I asked them what they were doing for money and how they were going to eat. They said that it is getting hard. But, they also said they would make the same decision if they had it to do over again. They gave up a lot to follow Jesus Christ. This isnít just some ancient religious theory. This is what this couple did last November and they are still experiencing the results.

Listen carefully to what Jesus said to Peter and to this couple: "I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."
Does this mean that this couple will come out ahead financially? I think they probably will but thatís not the point. The point is that God will satisfy those who put him first. He will satisfy their souls. He will give them good. He will meet their need. They wonít be sorry.

Do you know the story of David Livingstone? He was a successful English physician who left the comforts and successes of his career to explore and open Africa for Christian missions. He never became rich. He suffered a crushed arm in a lion attack. He battled tropical diseases. He faced horrendous dangers. You probably know about the English journalist Sir Henry Stanley who tracked him down to write his story for the whole British Empire to read. When asked about his great sacrifices Livingstone answered, "Sacrifices? I never made a sacrifice in all my life." God did something supernatural in his life. God gave him something better than money. God satisfied his soul. God made him happy.
If you ever visit Westminster Abbey in London you will see the tombs of the kings and queens, poets and generals, and hundreds of other great English heroes. But the most famous tomb of all is in the most prominent placeóthe center aisle of the main nave of Westminster Abbeyóit is the tomb of David Livingstone.

God takes care of those who live for him. "I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."

This past week I met a man who described himself as the ultimate seeker. He became very successful in one of Americaís largest stock brokerage houses. His goal was to make money, be happy and join the best country club. This continued for years. He joined a church. He was elected to the church board. But something was missing. He told me that he knew he wasnít happy although he wasnít exactly unhappy.

He searched for more. He identified every Christian he could find who seemed to have what he was lacking, invited them out to lunch and asked them what he needed to know. Finally he came to pray a simple prayer of faithóin his case it wasnít to accept Jesus as Savior but to ask God to show him the way. God did and Jesus transformed his life.

When he was telling me his story we were riding in his Lexus. But it was obvious the car didnít much matter. He had found what he sought for so many years. He found a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ that made God #1 in his life.

I asked him why it took so long. He said that no one ever asked him to give his life to Jesus. He said that even during all those years in church, he was never once invited to Jesus Christ.
May that not be your story. I invite you today. Come to Jesus. Believe in him. Give him your life. Be willing to give up anything that stands in the way. Complete surrender. Tell God today.

One last thing. The man in the Lexus told me that the day he decided to fully follow Jesus Christ he was advised to be sure to tell at least one other person what he had done.

Good advice. Tell God and then tell someone that you told God.