Reading: chapter 12 verses
Ill:
This week I read a little prayer that someone prayed…
• “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray my house, my home to keep.
• I pray my stocks are on the rise, and that my analyst is wise.
• That all the wine I sip is white, and that my hot tub’s watertight.
• The steak I eat will not be tough, that all my sushi’s fresh enough.
• I pray my mobile phone still works, that my career won’t lose its perks.
• My microwave won’t radiate, my caravan won’t depreciate.
• I pray my health club doesn’t close, and that my money market grows.
• If I go broke before I wake, I pray my Volvo they won’t take.”
• This funny little tongue-in-cheek prayer:
• Represents someone’s idea of what’s important in their life.
This uncomfortable little passage from Luke’s gospel:
• Forces us to look at our lives and ask ourselves that question;
• “What is really important in life?”
Our Bible passage this morning tells the story of a man who has plenty;
• In fact more than plenty;
• Everything in his garden is rosy! He is enjoying what we call ‘the good life!’
Need to pause here:
• Because some of you are saying; ‘lucky old him”.
• You may feel that this story does not apply to you this morning.
• After all, you may have a pile of bills that need paying;
• You may have a gig mortgage & a monthly wage that is in desperate need of an increase!
That might all be true;
• But this story can very much apply to you and me because we are actually very rich.
• We live in a country, with one of the highest living standards in the entire world.
• The life we enjoy is far above and beyond most of the world can hope for;
• They can only imagine what we so often take for granted!
Quote:
(a).
• If you have had an education and know how to read,
• Then you are more blessed that over two billion people in the world;
• That cannot read anything at all.
(b).
• If you woke up this morning with more health than illness,
• You are more blessed than the million people who won’t survive the week.
(c).
• If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back,
• A roof over your head and a place to sleep,
• You are richer than 75% of this world.
(d).
• If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change lying in a dish,
• You are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.
(e).
• And if you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment,
• Arrest, torture, or death,
• You are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world.
It’s amazing how humbling this realization is;
• To know that the poorest of us in this room;
• Are richer than most of the rest of the world and yet so often we are still not content!
Quote:
• Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family wrote,
• “Though I can make no claim to wealth,
• I have tasted most of the things Americans hunger for;
• New cars, an attractive home, and gadgets and devices which promise to set us free.
• Looking at those materialistic possessions from the other side of the cash register,
• I can tell you that they don’t deliver the satisfaction they advertise!
• On the contrary, I have found great wisdom in the adage,
• ‘That which you own will eventually own you!’
• How true that is.
• So often when we surrender our hard earned pounds for a new object;
• We then become obligated to maintain and protect it;
• Instead of its contributing to my pleasure,
• I must spend my precious time, oiling it, mowing it, painting it, repairing it,
• Cleaning it, or calling up some charity to come and haul it off!
• The time I might have invested in worthwhile family activities;
• Is spent in slavery to a depreciating piece of junk.”
Ill:
Dad & coins.
• So often we sell ourselves short!
• Focus on what we assume is valuable instead of that which is truly valuable!
(1). AN INAPROPRIATE INTERUPTION (vs 13):
“Someone in the crowd said to him,
"Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
• Remember the context is Jesus teaching his disciples,
• There were many in the crowd (eavesdropping) listening in to what Jesus said.
• Suddenly Jesus is interrupted by a man;
• Who is not at all interested in learning about what Jesus was teaching,
• He had his own agenda and at the first opportunity brings it to the attention of Jesus;
• He blurts out a question:
"Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
It was not uncommon for people in Israel;
• To take their unsettled disputes to respected rabbi’s.
• And that is what this man is doing.
• It would appear that he was the younger brother;
• And by law he was due a third of the inheritance.
• But his older brother would not give it to him;
• And hence the problem!
• On first reading of the verse you can’t help but feel sorry for this fellow;
• But when you read it more carefully;
• You soon discover that the man was spiritually poor;
• As well as materially poor.
Note:
(a).
• The man was speaking when he should have been listening;
• He interrupted Jesus with a question;
• That was out of context with what Jesus had been talking about.
(b).
• His desire was more for material things;
• Rather than for spiritual things.
(c).
• He was implying the word to others (his brother);
• And not to himself.
Jesus could quite easily have settled this dispute:
• With his wisdom and skill, it was ‘a piece of cake’.
• But notice he refused to do so.
• Instead of answering the mans question;
• Jesus uses it to teach him and the crowd about another subject.
(2). An UNEXPECTED ANSWER (verse 14):
“Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?"
• When Jesus looked at the man:
• He saw behind the façade of his words;
• He saw that the problem wasn’t the fair division of the inheritance,
• But rather one of ‘greed’.
• The dispute between the brothers;
• Was only the symptom of a far greater problem – ‘greed’.
• Jesus knew that no settlement would be satisfactory,
• Until both the brothers had a change of heart.
Quote:
• J.D. Rockefeller was once asked;
• “How much money does it take to satisfy a man?”
• His wise reply was; “Just a little bit more than he has!”
Jesus knew that no settlement he gave would satisfy the brothers:
• Because Jesus saw at the heart of this man was ‘Greed”,
• And greed will always want more and more and more and more and more!
Ill:
• Imagine a shipwrecked sailor on a life raft in the middle of the ocean.
• His terrible thirst impels him to drink the salt water,
• But the salt water only 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.
• I think this is a good illustration;
• Of a greedy person.
• Never satisfied, focused on the wrong things;
• And in the end those wrong things eventually kill him spiritually.
• Verse 15: Jesus says; that a mans life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions;
• And yet Greed tries to convince us of just the opposite.
Ill:
• This is the basis of how advertising works;
• Every time we see an advertisement it is tells us what we have is not enough!
• We deserve something bigger, something better or something different.
• So that the distance between comfortable and covetous becomes smaller & smaller.
Note:
• I don’t believe for one minute that Jesus had a problem with a man having possessions;
• Or even being wealthy.
• Jesus was concerned with Man’s ATTITUDE to his money & possessions;
• Than the money & possessions; themselves!
• The Bible does not say; “Money is the root for all kinds of evil”.
• It does however say; “The LOVE of money is a root for all kinds of evil”.
• It is our attitude and stewardship of these things that is important;
• And not the objects themselves.
3 PRINCIPLES TO NOTE FROM THIS PARABLE:
(1). In planning for himself, he forgot his neighbour.
Ill:
• A well known charity called on a well known rich person;
• Who had a reputation for being a miser.
• "Sir," said the fund-raiser, "our records show that despite your wealth,
• You've never once given to our drive."
The rich miser replied:
• "Do your records show that I have an elderly mother;
• Who was left penniless when my father died?"
• "Do your records show that I have a brother;
• Who is so disabled that he is unable to work?
• Do your records show I have a widowed sister;
• With small children who can barely make ends meet?"
• The embarrassed charity volunteer replied.
• "No, no sir, our records don't show those things."
• "Well," said the miser.
• "I don't give to any of them, so why should I give anything to you?"
Notice:
• In this short parable please notice that there are 11 personal pronouns in just two verses;
• It is all “Myself”, or “My” or “Me” or “I”
17 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. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '
Ill:
Somebody said of Edith (apologies to anyone called Edith):
• Edith lived in a little world,
• Bounded on the north, south, east and west by Edith.
• This man is only interested in storing up his wealth;
• He has no desire to use it or share it.
This man has one priority:
• Himself;
• He has no thought for anyone else!
Ill:
One day a certain old, rich man of a miserable disposition visited a rabbi,
• The rabbi took the rich man by the hand and led him to a window.
• “Look out there,” he said.
• The rich man looked into the street.
• “Now what do you see?” asked the rabbi
• “I see men, women, and children,” answered the rich man.
• Again the rabbi took him by the hand and this time led him to a mirror.
• “Now what do you see?”
• “Now I see myself,” the rich man replied.
• Then the rabbi said,
• “Behold, in the window there is glass, and in the mirror there is glass.
• But the glass of the mirror is covered with a little silver,
• And no sooner is the silver added than you cease to see others,
• But you see only yourself.”
• That may not be true for many wealthy people;
• But it certainly was in this mans case!
(2). In considering his goods, he forgot the giver.
• As the farmer in the story looked at all his harvest;
• That is all he saw!
Where was God in this picture?
• After all it was God who sent the sunshine and the rain;
• It was God who had caused the seed to germinate.
• It was God that had blessed him with a good crop free of blight and disease,
• It was God who had blessed him with such an abundance that ‘his barns overflowed;
Quote:
• Someone put it this way:
• "Not only count your blessings, but consider their source as well."
Jesus shows to us a man:
• Who was ignoring the source of all his blessing;
• He was leaving God out of the picture:
• Jesus shows us a man who was saying to himself;
• “Look what I have done! Look what my fields have yielded. Look at me and my wonderful problem”.
• This foolish farmer is totally self-contained,
• He is totally independent of God:
Notice:
• What Jesus calls him (verse 20) “Fool”.
• He is the only man in the gospels that Jesus ever called a ‘Fool’.
• I wonder if Jesus had in mind Psalm 14 verse 1:
• “The fool says in his heart, no God!” (lit: “No to God!”)
• The man certainly lived on that principle;
• And therefore ‘Fool’ would be a fitting description for him.
This farmer in the parable could have been wise:
(a).
• He could have used some of his bumper harvest to help others;
• But instead he selfishly affirmed himself.
(b).
• He could have enjoyed the happiness (the blessing) of giving;
• But instead he is consumed by an attitude of conserving.
(c).
• He could have drawn closer to God through his wealth;
• But instead it actually robbed him and made him a spiritual pauper!
• He really was a fool in every sense of the word;
• Foolish in attitude, foolish in actions and he would reap a foolish end to his life.
(3). In providing for his body, he forgot his soul.
• Verses 18-20 are just sad and pathetic verses:
• Quote: The Message:
“Then he told them this story:
"The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: 'What can I do? My barn isn't big enough for this harvest.'
Then he said, 'Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll gather in all my grain and goods, and I'll say to myself, Self, you've done well! You've got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!'
20"Just then God showed up and said, 'Fool! Tonight you die. And your barn full of goods—who gets it?' “
ILL:
• He brushed his teeth twice a day and with a nationally advertised toothpaste.
• The doctors examined him twice a year.
• He wore his waterproofs when it rained.
• He slept with the windows open to get fresh air.
• He stuck to a diet with plenty of fresh vegetables and fruits.
• He gave up his tonsils and traded in several worn-out glands.
• He golfed but never more than 18 holes at a time.
• (After all he didn't want to overdo it. Moderation in all things)
• He got at least 8 hours of sleep every night.
• He never smoked, drank, nor lost his temper.
• He did his "daily dozen" daily (meaning his exercises).
• He was all set to live to be a hundred years old.
The local newspaper said:
• His funeral will be held Wednesday.
• He is survived by 18 specialists, four health institutes,
• Six gymnasiums and numerous manufacturers of health foods and antiseptics.
• He made just one mistake: HE FORGOT GOD!
That man was like so many other people in our world:
• Thought only about the body,
• Forgetting all about the fact that he had a soul & that some day he was going to die.
Quote: Death Lib: by Steve Turner.
The liberating thing about death
is in its fairness to women,
its acceptance of blacks,
its special consideration for the sick.
Have you noticed that…
Children aren't excluded,
homosexuals are welcomed,
and militants aren't banned.
The really wonderful thing about death
is that all the major religions agree on it,
all beliefs take you there,
all philosophy bows before it,
all arguments end there.
Con men can't con it
thieves can't nick it
bullies can't scare it
magicians can't trick it.
Boxers can't punch it
nor critics dismiss it
don't knows can't not know
the lazy can't miss it.
Governments can't ban it
or the army defuse it
judges can't jail it
lawyers can't sue it.
Capitalists can't bribe it
socialists can't share it
terrorists can't jump it
the third world aren't spared it.
Scientists can't quell it
nor can they disprove it
doctors can't cure it
surgeons can't move it.
Einstein can't half it
Guevara can't free it
the thing about death is
we're all going to be it.
Quote:
• George Bernard Shaw:
• "The statistics on death are quite impressive - one out of one people die".
Death is no respecter of persons:
• Whether you are fit or feeble, whether we are good or bad,
• Whether we are young or old, whether we are Rich or poor.
• It really doesn't matter, it makes no difference;
• Because death is the most democratic experience in life, for we will all participate in it.
The tragedy in the parable is not that the man died:
• Because that is going to happen to everyone at sometime or other.
• The tragedy is that the man was unprepared for death!
• The one certainty in life and he was not ready for it!
• Like so many other people he had conveniently forgot about it!”
Quote:
• “The clock of life is wound but once
And no man has the power
• To tell just when the hands will stop,
At late or early hour.
• To lose one’s wealth is sad indeed.
To lose one’s health is more.
• To lose one’s soul is such a loss
That no man can restore.”
Tough question:
• What if like this man YOUR tomorrow was cancelled?
• Are you ready?
Quote:
• Saint Augustine who was one of the most important figures;
• In the development of Western Christianity. made this statement:
• "God has promised us forgiveness for our repentance,
• But God has not promised us a tomorrow in which to repent."
• Promise is always ‘Now’ or ‘Today’:
• ‘Now is the hour of salvation, now is the accepted time!”
Quote:
• John Bacon, once a famous sculptor,
• Left this inscription on his tomb in Westminster Abbey:
“What I was as an artist seemed of some importance to me while I lived; but what I was as a believer in Jesus Christ is the only thing of importance to me now.”
And finally…..the punch-line (verse 21):
"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself
but is not rich toward God."
I started my sermon by reminding you:
• That the poorest person in this room;
• Is actually richer than the majority of people in the world!
• So each of us need to apply this application to our own lives;
• And not just apply it others!
Note:
• It is not wrong to be rich.
• The Bible does not teach that.
• Nor is it wrong to save.
• To have money in the bank, that’s wise!
• But it is wrong when we love things more than God!
• When we see our money as ‘All mine’
• When in reality we are stewards.
• Looking after it, putting it to work for God.
• Everything we have is the Lord’s;
• And we are responsible to him, as to how we have used it!
