What are your priorities and goals at the moment?
What are your priorities and goals in life?
Some people have very intentional goals and priorities,
Others do not
But this doesn’t mean they don’t have priorities
a good way to judge what are your priorities is to consider where do you spend your money,
what consumes a lot of your time,
and what are the things you worry about?
Today’s Gospel reading from Luke chapter 12, Jesus is encouraging not just one man but a whole crowd, including us to live for the most important and best priorities
Some background
Recently Jesus has been spending time with his disciples
As we discovered last week, Jesus gave the disciples the gift of the Lord’s prayer,
and since then he has been teaching the disciples what it means to be a true follower of God
He has been warning them about following the ways of the Pharisees
and the importance of publicly acknowledging Him.
But over time a large crowd has begun following Jesus
This crowd is so large that they are trampling over each other.
And from this crowd comes a person, wanting Jesus’ help
From Luke 12:13 we hear
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
This man saw Jesus as someone with authority
Many in the crowd believed Jesus was a good teacher, some even a prophet worth following, maybe even some a Messiah
Probably thinking if I can get Jesus to answer my request in my favour the problem will be solved
So he wasn’t probably expecting the answer Jesus gives
From verses 14 and 15 Jesus says
“Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?
Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
How would you feel about that answer from Jesus?
Imagine you are this man
His brother has the whole inheritance, and all you are asking is it to be shared with you
And now Jesus says to you watch out be on guard against all types of greed
You might be thinking, hold on a moment….my brother is the one who is greedy, not me!!!
This little interaction highlights a couple of things about God and our relationship with Him.
Have you gone to God in prayer, asking for something, something you felt was right and instead of God giving you the answer you want,
He teaches you somethings about yourself and somethings about Him.
Secondly being greedy is not just about having the most things
Often we think it is others who are greedy
We think what they have and what we don’t have
Such thinking is not always helpful
It leads us away from being thankful for what we do have
It also leads us to focus more on ourselves and less on others
It also leads us to having a short term focus, rather than the long term Godly focus of wanting more…
A focus where our life becomes about having more money, more time, more power, more leisure
And to stress this point even further Jesus shares the parable of the rich fool
From verses 17 to 19 we hear
And the man thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”
Did you hear the man’s thoughts?
They were all about himself
How good he was
What he had achieved
His crops
His barns
And He had put all his security in his wealth and achievements so he could have a good life.
He was worshipping what some call the unholy trinity….me myself and I
and in our current culture are we encouraged to think and live this way
It is all about me
It is all about what I can achieve
And we are to aim for a nice comfortable life, with little thought of anyone else
The reality though this is short term living
Listen again to the end of the reading from Luke 12 verses 20 and 21
“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?’
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
When we focus on earthly things like more wealth, more time, more power so we can have a more comfortable life…
we are focussing on things that won’t last.
They are not able to sustain life.
Jesus says something similar in Matthew chapter 6 verse 19 to 21
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Story of a rugby league player expressing his faith through action….helping out people in need…riches of rugby will eventually disappear….but this is important to help people know they are loved!!!
What God offers us is something that will last forever.
From 1 Peter chapter 1 verses 3 to 4
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you.
And this is where he encourages us to have our priorities, our heart
And here is the deal
Being focussed on God’s inheritance is not about working harder, gaining more wealth, have more education, or even being a better person
Being focussed on God’s inheritance is about recognising that we need to rely on God, for both salvation and for life on this earth
That without God, we will ultimately have nothing
Because without God life on earth and in heaven is not possible….
As Psalm 24 reminds us, The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.
And as Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.
Our life and future needs God
But not only your life and future needs God
Also the life and future of others need God
And this is where Jesus begins to shape our priorities
Instead of money, time, education, promotions, power and even family being the most important things in our life
We are encouraged to see them as gifts from God
Gifts which God has given us to use to help others know Him and His love
For example listen to Paul as he teaches a young Pastor Timothy, from 1 Timothy chapter 6 verses 17 to 19
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
So something for you to think about
Think about what you have at the moment
Think about the physical assets you have
The roles you have in society
The skills and talents you have
The relationships you have
Now consider how might God be calling you to use them so others may know Him and His love
Instead of these being important in themselves
Think about
How can they be servants to the two Greats of the Christian faith
The Great Commandment and the Great Commission?
How can we use what we have
To grow in our relationship with God
To help others know God’s love
To love others
And to make disciples of everyone we interact with.
Story of someone using their house for gatherings and their business premises for monthly men’s gatherings
Story of someone showing grace and forgiveness in their workplace relationships
Remember God gives us everything we have
Not so we can say, how great we are
But we can show others how great God is…
So this week may the words from Colossians 3:1-2 to affect you greatly
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things
When we do this we are prioritising what will last and is most important.
A life with God and with others.
So may God’s priorities become your priorities.
Amen.
