Every day of our lives we are being pulled in a number of different directions.
• We have family responsibilities pulling us one way; our work or study pulling us another, and we have our obligations to the church in yet another.
• We are left wondering, “What is really important in life?”
The passage that we are going to examine today in Luke forces us to make a decision about what kind of life do we want – Luke 12:13-24.
• Do we want a life dependent on the things of this world or a life, with no guarantee of any of the world’s wealth, but close to God?
• This parable is very relevant today, because the main priority of many people is to attain enough money to live the good life.
Something happened that led Jesus into telling this parable.
• He was in the middle of a sermon teaching His disciples to honour God and seek Him above all else.
• When he is suddenly interrupted by a man, who is dissatisfied over what he considers to be an unfair division of his father’s estate between himself and his brother.
• This man says (v.13): “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Down through history, we’ve seen many families destroyed over a thing as simple as the distribution of assets; family members suing one another for the share of the inheritances.
• This man really didn’t ask Jesus for a decision on what would be a fair division of the estate, he just demanded, “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!”
Jesus did not answer as he was expected to do. In verse 14 he replied, “Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?”
• Jesus refuses to be sidetracked from His mission of seeking and saving the lost.
• Instead He went on to make a moral judgement – about the condition of man’s heart, and said nothing about the inheritance.
• Jesus knew that this family quarrel was only a symptom of a greater problem - greed.
• The most important thing is not for him to solve his inheritance problem, but for his heart to be changed.
To be honest, how often have we come to God asking Him to change our situation rather than asking him to change our heart?
• Isn’t it true, that most of the problems we encounter in life are the result of the condition of our heart? We pray, “Lord, change my situation!”
• Perhaps our prayer should be, “God, here is my problem, please change my heart!”
Then in verse 15 Jesus said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (v.15)
• The area of danger for this man is greed. It is not about the fair share of inheritance.
• Greed is, “wanting more of what you already have enough of!”
Charles Swindoll pictured it this way: “It’s like a shipwrecked sailor on a life raft in the middle of the ocean. His terrible thirst tempts him to drink the water around him. It makes him thirstier. This causes him to drink even more, which makes him thirstier still. He consumes more and more of the salty water… until, paradoxically, he becomes dehydrated and dies.”
[Charles Swindoll & Ken Gire, “Living Above the Level of Mediocrity.” (Anaheim; Insight for Living, 1994). p.83]
Jesus says, “A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
• But greed tries to tell us the opposite, that life does consist of what we have, the more the better. Someone says, “The one who dies with the most toys wins.”
• Jesus says this is foolish. And so He warns us by telling us this parable.
• We need to remember God, because life is more than about you and the things you have.
Through this parable, we are reminded of a few things:
(1) Give God the Credit for the Things He Has Done
12:16 “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.” (v.16)
The ground has given him a good crop. It is more than just his efforts; it is more than just his skills. The ground has given him the good harvest.
• Jesus did not condemn this man for being rich. He is rich and we have to give him credit. He has been a good and hardworking farmer. He plans out what he needs to do.
• The sad part is that the farmer looked at his amazing harvest he did not see the hand of God. He saw only his own effort.
How often do you see the hand of God in your life? How often do you see God in your work?
• Or do you think more of yourself - your hard work and your good plans.
• Remind yourself this: “The ground produced a good crop.” It’s more than just you; it’s the blessings of God.
(2) Make Plans but Don’t Leave God Out
12:17-19 He thought to himself, `What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
18 "Then he said, `This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
Notice the words being use. He only thought to himself and says to himself.
• He is running his own show, he is doing what he thinks is good.
• There is nothing wrong with his desire to build more barns; it is both wise and prudent.
• The problem is God is nowhere in the picture. He lives as if this life, and everything in it, is his.
• Notice he how he says my crops, my barns, my grain and goods. He is confused between ownership and stewardship.
• We don’t own this life or this world. It belongs to God. We are stewards of everything God has given us.
(3) Glorify God, Do Not Think Only About Satisfying Yourself
12:19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
12:21 says he is one “who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
He is very concerned about his own life. Who doesn’t? But this is not the reason God made us. This is not the reason God puts you here on earth.
• This man thought that when he put his plan work, everything will be fine and will have plenty to live on for the years to come.
• But this is true only if he is in control of the future. James 4:13-15, “Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money." 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.”
Why do you think God bless you? Does He bless us so that you can enjoy life?
• Psalmist says in Psalm 67:1-2 “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, 2 that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.”
• It is not a “bless me so I have a comfortable life” but a “bless me so that the world will know God’s ways and His salvation”, so that the nations will praise Him, and be filled with gladness and joy.
• In the shorter catechism, the first question is: “What is the chief end of man?” The answer is, to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.
• Not to just enjoy ourselves (which is good), but enjoy God (the purpose of life).
God has a greater purpose for us, than to just make us happy and have a good life.
• Everyone else is praying for this. We are no different from the rest if the END of God’s blessing us is to be happy, rich and comfortable in life.
• God blesses us, first and foremost, so that we can bring glory to His Name, by fulfilling His work of redemption.
• We are called to use every resources God has given us towards this end.
The Bible does not discourage us from looking to the future with expectation.
• But when we make our plans, whether in business, in relationship or in our personal lives, we are to do so from the perspective that God is in charge ultimately.
• In other words, we need to seek God and plan with humility.
(4) Be Rich toward God, Don’t Store Treasures in the Wrong Places.
12:20 “But God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'”
The Lord calls him a fool. It is not a description of his mental ability but his spiritual discernment. A fool is a man who leaves God out of any consideration.
• Psalm 14:1 The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
• This man lived his life as if God did not exist. He did not recognize that his material blessings came from God, nor did he recognize any obligation to God in the use of his possessions, which are gifts from God.
• Fools leave God out of their lives. They live for this temporal world and leave without anything.
Leo Tolstoy once wrote a story about a successful peasant farmer who was not satisfied with his lot. He wanted more of everything. One day he received a novel offer. For $1000, he could buy all the land he could walk around in a day. The only catch in the deal was that he had to be back at his starting point by sundown.
Early the next morning he started out walking at a fast pace. By midday he was very tired, but he kept going, covering more and more ground. Well into the afternoon he realized that his greed had taken him far from the starting point.
He quickened his pace and as the sun began to sink low in the sky, he began to run knowing that if he did not make it back by sundown the opportunity to become a biggest landholder would be lost.
As the sun began to sink below the horizon he came within sight of the finish line. Gasping for breath, his heart pounding, he called upon every bit of strength left in his body and staggered across the line just before the sun disappeared. He immediately collapsed, blood streaming from his mouth. In a few minutes he was dead.
Afterwards, his servants dug a grave. It was not much over six feet (2m) long and three feet (1m) wide. The title of Tolstoy’s story was: How Much Land Does a Man Need?
[Bits and Pieces, November, 1991 - http://www.bible.org/illus/g/g-83.htm]
To be a fool is to have missed the point of life, the purpose of living.
• The amazing thing is this man, whom the Lord calls a fool, is what we would often call a success.
• To the world, he is successful – prosperous, has a thriving business, and a good future.
• This is what we want to become, and then Jesus says, “This very night your life will be demanded from you.”
• I hope this story ends in verse 19, but Jesus went on. We cannot ignore verse 20.
Many today tries to ignore verse 20 but it will come.
• The Greek verb translated “demanded” (apiteo) literally means “to require it back”.
• It conveys the idea of life as a loan that must be repaid to God upon demand.
Second part of 12:20 says, “Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”
Many centuries ago, King Solomon made a similar comment in Eccl 2:21-23.
21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. 22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labours under the sun? 23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
Since you cannot take it with you, there is no need to wear ourselves out accumulating it.
• Be contended with what you have. Don’t be too preoccupied about getting more.
• Everything you have will one day be left behind. It is yours now for you to use.
• One day it will be taken from you and you will stand before God and give an account of how you used it.
Riches have one major weakness; they have no purchasing power after death.
• Use them now. The “rich toward God” are those who use what God has given them to bless others.
• The way we become rich toward God is to invest in God’s Kingdom, in the work of His church, in the lives of people.
It is not that God needs your money, or that His church needs your giving to survive.
• But that your offering will add richness to your life that you would otherwise miss.
• You are most blessed when you remember God and His work on earth.
• God bless you so that you can become a blessing to others.
