Preparing To Live; Ready To Die Series

Preparing to Live; Ready to Die

Luke 12:15-21

Introduction:

1. Our text today will be Luke 12:15-21. This text is one of Christ’s parables about a man described by two phrases.

• A “rich man.” vs. 16

• A “fool.” vs. 20

2. On this earth, money talks. Money can buy you power and respect from a lot of people, but not from God. God created everything; He owns it all. Therefore, God is not one bit impressed with a person’s net worth. And God will call a rich man a fool if he is one.

3. Why did God call this rich man a fool? It is because this man was truly unprepared to live life the way God intended, and he was totally unprepared to die. That’s never good nor is it wise.

4. Ironically, this man really thought he had it together. He thought he had a strategic plan for his life, but God said, “You fool.” Proverbs 14:12

5. Unlike this foolish man, Jesus provides great insight as to how you can truly live a life that counts, while being prepared if death should come.

6. How do we prepare our hearts to truly live life with no regrets?

First, invest in what really matters.

1. Reading verses 16-17, there is no apparent problem with this guy.

• There is nothing wrong with doing a good job at work and being successful. (God’s perspective: being successful does not make you a success.) vs. 16

• There is nothing wrong with reflecting on your blessings and strategizing on how to move forward in your life. He did, in fact, have more stuff than he could store. (Some of you are like, “I wish I had that problem.”). vs. 17

2. In verses 18-19, he wavers off course. He begins to veer off the road, onto the shoulder and is heading for the woods. Upon thinking and questioning, he decides to take all his blessings and use them for himself (notice how many times “I” is used).

3. The sad thing about this fictitious, yet real-life situation is, there was no thought of God and no thought of others. There were no thoughts of God’s work, only his work. This man was self-consumed. What did his plans consist of? His plans were to pull down, build greater, and lay up for the future.

4. This is called materialism, which states, “physical matter is the only reality.” It’s the belief that the highest values and objectives lie in material well-being and in the furtherance of material progress. In other words, all that matters in life are the material things that you possess for selfish purposes. So, what did Jesus say about this?

• “ …a man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things… ” vs. 15

• “The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.” vs. 23

o Boldly refuting materialism, Jesus said, “There is more to life than your stuff.”

5. In our culture, people live this way, even Christians. This makes for a miserable way to live life and an even worse way to die. Many people die with regrets, but by then it’s too late.

6. A true, meaningful life of impact comes by giving of ourselves and of our resources to others (Ephesians 4:28).

7. If his barns were too small to hold his surplus, weren’t there others he could have shared his blessings with? He had plenty! However, he kept it all for himself.

• A true life of impact comes when we are rich toward God by giving and sharing of what we have with others (vs. 21).

Second, put God at the center of all your plans.

1. This guy had big plans; ultimately, his plans were to eat, drink, and be merry

(vs. 19). But here is the question: “Where was God in his plans?” He looked at his bumper crop, and all he saw was himself. He was living life like God didn’t exist. This is why he was called a fool. Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool has said in his heart there is no God.”

• The term “fool” in the Bible speaks not of an intellectual deficiency, but a lack of spiritual discernment. This man felt no obligation to God in the use of his time or resources.

2. There are two ways to live life according to verse 21:

• Live a life for yourself (pursue personal comfort).

• Live a life toward God (pursue God).

3. The choices we make are the difference between foolishness and wisdom.

• Materialism says that you are just a material being, but this is not true.

• You are a spirit, soul, and body. Man was created to be in fellowship with God by our relationship with Him.