There was a rich, miserly, old man whose money was his God. He never cared about others, only himself. Every day he would check on his investments and his bank account. He would glow with joy over his wealth.
One day, while sitting in his chair, he had a heart attack. He was told that his heart had stopped beating twice but he had been resuscitated. It was then that reality gave him a wake up call. He remembered as a child going to church with his parents and being taught about God. He realized that soon he may be facing him.
He sought a local pastor for counseling. He confessed he never had any time for God. He confessed he had never given one cent of his money to God. In anguish over his final destination he was seeking a way to make restitution for his sinful ways.
The pastor set there and stared, trying to gather his thoughts on helping this wretch in his dilemma. Should he use the Roman Road to redemption? Or perhaps the bridge example?
Before he could respond the old miser leaned in and asked, “How about if I give your church every cent I’ve got? Will that do it; will that guarantee I’ll go to heaven when I die–-if I give my entire fortune to you?"
The Pastor paused a moment, then replied, "Well, it’s worth a try!"
Today we are going to venture on the road as Jesus teaches on giving and greed. Giving was one of Jesus’ favorite subjects. He constantly talked about giving to those in need and giving to God. Giving to those in need is evident. We see a need, we meet the need. But giving to God becomes an issue for some people. How do we give our finances to God?
Let’s read Malachi 3:8-10. “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!
“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’
“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!”
In these verses we see a clear directive from God that we are to bring an offering to him. In the Old Testament it was a food offering. Why would God need food? It was so that the temple priests who were not allowed to have any other jobs would have food to eat. The temple priests were starving from the lack of offerings. Because of the people’s lack of giving God said they were under a curse.
Today God still expects us to give. Instead of a temple we have the church. Instead of having a need for food we have a need to pay our bills. If people do not give the bills do not get paid. If the bills do not get paid the church will close. It is estimated that this happens to 7000 churches every year. As I have said before, God does not need your money. This church however does. And here is the scary part. If you are not giving, then you are living under a curse. Not my words. They are His.
So in Luke 12 we find Jesus speaking against the religious rulers. He warns of their hypocrisy. He warns that whatever has been said or done in the darkness would eventually be displayed in the light. He warns them that they are not to fear man but rather God.
Then He begins to reveal God’s love for them. He says that God’s love is so great that He keeps his eye on the sparrows. He tells them that God is so involved with the details of their lives that He knows how many hairs are on their head.
But they are required to acknowledge who Jesus is. And they are not to reject the coming Holy Spirit because it is the Spirit that will give them the proper words at the proper time. It’s in the midst of this teaching that Jesus gets interrupted.
The interruption Luke 12:13 “Then someone called from the crowd, ‘Teacher, please tell my brother to divide our father’s estate with me.’”
This was not an unusual event. Teachers, or Rabbis as they were called, were often called upon to settle civil court situations. They were experts in God’s law so whatever ruling they would make would be considered divine. If Jesus was to rule on this man’s behalf, then the brother would be obligated to follow through with the ruling. But Jesus could see into the man’s heart.
The reply Luke 12:14-15 “Jesus replied, ‘Friend, who made me a judge over you to decide such things as that?’ Then he said, ‘Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.’”
Jesus recognized what an unusual request this was. By law this man would have already received his portion of his estate. Undoubtedly he had spent his inheritance and now wanted a portion of his brother’s inheritance.
Jesus’ reply was to remind him that He did not come to settle civil matters. He came to settle eternal matters. Then He reprimanded him for his greed. He warned him about measuring himself based on his possessions and not his relationship with God. This led into a parable.
The parable Luke 12:16-19 “Then he told them a story: ‘A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops. He said to himself, “What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.” Then he said, “I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, ‘My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!’”
Let’s take a moment and see what this rich man had. He had a fertile farm. Luke 12:16 “Then he told them a story: ‘A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.’”
What a blessing for that time in farming. Everything was rudimentary. There are no tractors or modern farming equipment. Planting was done with a donkey and a plow. Reaping would have been done by hand. Rain came in two seasons, the early rains of October and the latter rains of Dec and Jan. During the dry season temperatures would climb above 100 degrees and that, combined with the wind, would soon dry out the soil. To have a farm this fertile under these conditions was considered a blessing from God.
He had fine crops. Luke 12:16 “Then he told them a story: ‘A rich man had a fertile farm that produced fine crops.’”
There was a lot of pestilence that farmers had to fight to get a fine crop. There was a problem of locusts at times swarming and destroying everything in their path. There were worms that would destroy the grape crop. There was a problem with mildew and mold if the rainy seasons were too abundant. There were problems with the fruit falling off the trees before they were ripe if the rainy seasons were too dry. To produce fine crops was considered a blessing from God.
He had an abundance. Luke 12:17 “He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’”
Here was a man who had plenty. His harvest was so plentiful that he had no where left to put all the produce. Perhaps those in the crowd would have remembered
Psalm 65:9-11 “You take care of the earth and water it,
making it rich and fertile.
The river of God has plenty of water;
it provides a bountiful harvest of grain,
for you have ordered it so.
You drench the plowed ground with rain,
melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers
and bless its abundant crops.
You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
To have this much abundance was considered a blessing from God.
Now he had assurance
Luke 12:18-19 “Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!’”
This guy is on a roll. He has had a bumper crop. He already has barns that are filled to capacity. He is going to have to expand in order to handle his riches. And now the time has come to enjoy all the bounty of God’s blessings. Now’s the time to kick back and party. To have this much abundance was considered a blessing from God.
But as we have already learned Jesus loves a twist to his stories. As the listeners are marveling over the blessings of God that the rich man lives under, Jesus hits them with the truth.
He actually was cursed. Luke 12:20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?’”
I can imagine the quietness of the crowd as the story came to conclusion. Everything about the story had spoke of blessings. But now he is called a fool. That was the highest insult that could be leveled against an individual. And it was coming from God. Not only that but God was taking his life from him and along with that all of his possessions. They were dumbfounded.
Jesus lets them ponder this for a moment and then reinstates what God had revealed in his parable. Luke 12:21 “Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
This was what brought about the curse. Even though it seemed that God was blessing him with possessions, God was actually exposing this man’s greed. Remember what prompted this parable was the question of shared inheritance. Jesus saw the greed in this man’s heart. And when you retrace this thought back to Malachi, the reason people do not give an offering to God is because of greed. They may seem wealthy and well off but they are under a curse that one day will be revealed to them.
Jesus continued teaching about greed and the need to have possessions. He told the listeners about the birds and how they are fed. He told them about the fields and how they are clothed. He warns them not to allow the worries of provision to choke out their relationship with God. He said leave that for the unbelievers. He even said if possessions are a stumbling block, then sell them and give them to the poor. Swap what is earthly for what is eternal.
And I will finish his teaching with this Luke 12:34 “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
Wow, the desires of your heart. I read of billionaires who have more money than they could possibly spend, more cars than they could possibly drive, and bigger houses with more rooms than they could possibly live in. All too often men called by God to minister are caught in that web of possessions, considering it a blessing of God.
Let me tell you about Francis Chan. Chan is the Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California. His congregation numbers 4000 plus. He is the author of two best selling books. In 2002 he visited Uganda where he encountered severe poverty and hopelessness. He saw kids the same age as his daughters rummaging through trash heaps looking for food. When he returned home, he was so impacted by what he saw that he sold his comfortable, two car garage, middle-class home and moved his family into a tract home, half the size, in a modest neighborhood. He did so that his finances from his book sales and pastoring could be used to meet greater needs.
People criticized him. They made statements like “It’s not fair to your kids.” “It’s not a prudent financial choice.” Even “You’re just doing it for show.”
But what had happened was his treasure had become something else. His treasure was now more service oriented than comfort orientated. Thus service became his desire.
There are times in my life when I am preparing a sermon and a light bulb comes on and I see something with such clarity that I have never seen before. This week was mind blowing for me.
As all of you are well aware that I have been involved in homeless ministries. I go into the Free Store. People want me to hug them and spend time talking with them. I have a blast every time I go. Then I see an offer to take classes to become a Disaster Relief Chaplain, which I do. First aide class is next. Then I see a need for prison ministry so I take the class to be able to do that. A Critical Incident Stress Management class is offered so I have another class under my belt. This week I contacted the local volunteer fire department to inform them that am CISM certified so I am having meeting with the chief to see how I can serve in that role for our community. I am not telling you this to brag but rather to show you how God can change your perspectives and you not even realize it.
Debbie and I were talking this week about how our attitude toward the homeless has changed. There was a time not to long ago that we would not even make eye contact with “those people.” But it seemed that our attitude changed immediately. It really wasn’t gradual. And suddenly I have this desire to be prepared to serve in my community at any level that I would be called upon.
As I was finishing this sermon I had already determined to finish with Psalm 37:4 “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.” Enjoy the presence of God and whatever your heart desires; He will give it to you. Some people will say that is a lie. They desire all kinds of things that they never get.
Okay, what that verse really means is enjoy the presence of God and whatever your heart desires, as long as it lines up with his will, He will give it to you.
It really doesn’t say though does it? Will maybe if you enjoy the presence of God then He will force you to change your hearts desires to his so He can give them to you. That didn’t sound right to me either.
Then the light bulb came on. When I enjoy the presence of God then He looks at my heart and begins to give me desires to serve. He gives to me desires in my heart to serve. Desires to serve become my hearts desire. Does this make sense?
It’s not about granting our heart’s desires. It’s about planting our hearts desires. He planted in my heart a desire to serve the homeless. I do so because that is my heart’s desire. He planted in my heart a desire to minister to the prisoner. I will do so because that is my heart’s desire. He planted in my heart a desire to be prepared to serve others in crisis. I will do so because that is my heart’s desire. These desires were given to my heart. They are my treasures.
Your hearts may not desire the same things my heart desires. I understand that now. Forgive me if I have made you feel guilty about not having the same zeal I have for the homeless. But God has a desire He wants to plant in your heart for service. He has a desire He wants to plant in your heart to treasure. Enjoy his presence and He will give your heart that desire.
