“BE ON GUARD AGAINST ALL GREED” (Outline)
October 11, 2020 - Pentecost 19 - LUKE 12:15-21
INTRO.: In our text today the Lord Jesus Christ reminds us of the special relationship believers have with him. Our association with Jesus is the most important bond we have with anyone or anything. By faith we are bound to Jesus for time. For eternity. Worldly treasures perish. The love of our heavenly Father for his children is eternal. Perfect. “…I consider everything to be a loss because of what is worth far more: knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord. For his sake, I have lost all things and consider them rubbish, so that I may gain Christ” (PHILIPPIANS 3:8). “BE ON GUARD AGAINST ALL GREED.” I. Earthly treasures do not matter. II. Being rich toward God matters.
I. EARTHLY TREASURES DO NOT MATTER
A. Verse 15. Jesus warned people to “be on guard against all greed”. Possessions were unimportant.
B. Verse 16. Parable = earthly example with divine meaning. Rich man had very good harvest.
1. Verse 17. Harvested so much he did not have enough room. “What will I do”?
2. Verse 18. Problem solved: “I will do…I will pull down barns…I will store”. Selfish plans.
3. Verse 19a. “I will tell my soul, ‘Soul…’”. Enough treasures to last for years.
4. Verse 19b. Ready to “take it easy. Eat, drink, and be merry.” Unconcerned about others.
C. Verse 20. The self-centered plans of this rich man were not the plans of the Lord God of Ar-mies.
1. Fool used here as in Psalm 14: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Godlessness.
2. Now who will get all these stored up things? Wise person? Foolish person? All is vapor.
D. Do you have enough? This is an age old question. Our gracious God gives us daily bread – each and every day. Thankful. It seems that we are always still striving for just a little bit more. A little more will make us happier. Content. Godliness with contentment is great gain. It takes faith in the Lord’s loving care to be content. Earth bound attitudes will not bring contentment. “Anyone who loves money is never satisfied with money, and anyone who loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is vanishing vapor” (ECCLESIASTES 5:10). May we learn contentment with God’s gifts.
E. Let’s face it: everything we desperately desire disappears like vapor. One day earthly treasures are the desire of our hearts. The next day they may all be gone. Disappear. Think of the people in Louisiana and neighboring states. Hurricane follows hurricane. Possessions, houses, and even en-tire cities are gone. Out west the fires have been relentless. Possessions, houses, and even entire cities are gone. Such is the fleeting nature of everything earthly. "Will your eyes get a glimpse of wealth before it is gone? No, it will sprout wings for itself. Like an eagle it will fly away into the sky" (PROVERBS 23:5). Even our money today is represented by numbers in banks and on computers. We do not even have a glimpse of wealth. Guard against all greed for earthly treasures that quickly disappear.
F. Jesus warned the people of his day to guard against all greed. They had very little in comparison to the worldly stuff we possess. Greed was widespread in the wicked hearts of people. Greed still rules the hearts of many today. We fall into the trap that Satan uses to distract us in our relationship with Jesus. That love for money is tempting. In the end, no one can serve two (2) masters. “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into complete destruction and utter ruin" (1 TIMOTHY 6:6, 7). Carnegie spent great sums of money to provide libraries throughout our nation. His generosity did not soothe his conscious or his lack of relationship with the Lord. Only godliness can or will bring contentment.
“BE ON GUARD AGAINST ALL GREED”. Fleeting earthly treasures really do not matter.
II. BEING RICH TOWARD GOD MATTERS
A. At first it seemed like the rich man was an example of a success story.
1. The Lord provided him with very good crops. Needed bigger barns to store everything.
2. The rich man’s soul was seemingly satisfied. Ready to take life easy.
B. Verse 20. The rich man was a fool. Forgot about God. God’s plans. God’s times.
1. Death comes. Soul is summoned. Will not enjoy anything earthly after death.
2. The seemingly worldly success was quickly gone.
C. Verse 21. The Lord’s conclusion: Storing up wealth for oneself does not matter at all.
1. What really matters? It is not earthly treasures. Being rich toward God matters.
2. There is nothing wrong with earthly blessings. Remember that they come from the Lord.
D. We make many choices in our lives. Some are bad. Some are god. God-pleasing. We know how challenging it can be to stand toe to toe against our enemies. The devil deceives us with offers of a life of luxury. Earthly treasures. Our sinful nature wants to give up and give in to temporary treasures and pleasures. We want to be just like everyone else. The world wants us to surrender our Christian convictions and adapt to its wickedness. Abortion is okay. Same-sex relationships are normal. No and no. Christ followers are wrongly accused of being unloving. Uncaring. Judgmental. “After all, what good is it for a man to gain the whole world and yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" (MARK 8:36, 37). Being rich towards God matters the most.
E. We are well aware of the strong pull of earthly treasures. We can see, feel, and touch the things of this world. Our Triune God is real. We do not physically see or touch him. That does not make the Lord God of Armies any less real. It is by grace through faith that we know, believe, and con-fess Christ is our only true and lasting treasure. The Holy Spirit works faith in our hearts. Our lov-ing, heavenly Father provides blessing after blessing to strengthen our faith. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, became poor so that we will be rich. Forever. Perfectly. We can and do say “NO” to temptations. "The world and its desires pass away, but the one who does the will of God remains forever” (1 JOHN 2:17).
F. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Our loving, heavenly Father has graciously and abundantly provided for us in the past. The present. Certainly also in the future. This truth moves us to be rich toward God. We will want to focus our attention on the spiritual rather than earthly. The rich man was ready to take it easy. “Eat, drink, and be merry.” There is more to life than living for the things of this world. "For the kingdom of God does not consist of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…” (ROMANS 14:17). The righteousness of Jesus freely, completely covers up our unrighteousness. Our Savior gives us the peace the world does not and cannot give. Forgiveness. Faith gives us eternal joy in this sad, sad world. Righteousness and peace and joy freely given by the Lord makes us rich toward God. It is all that matters. Always.
CONC.: We admit that we are all too often a bit too preoccupied with the things of this world. Our lives. Our earthly treasures. When we are thankful for God’s gracious gifts we understand what it means to be rich toward God. Rather than looking inward we look upward. The less we concentrate on earthly treasures the more we are rich toward God. “Therefore, because you were raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things" (COLOSSIANS 3:1, 2). “BE ON GUARD AGAINST ALL GREED.” Earthly treasures do not matter. Being rich toward God matters. Amen.
Pastor Timm O. Meyer
PENTECOST 19 rdgs: EZEKIEL 18:1-4, 25-32; PHILIPPIANS 2:1-11; MATTHEW 21:28-32; (PSALM 25)
SERVICES: 8:00am @ McCook (SUN) / 10:30am @ Redeemer (SUN) BIBLE STUDIES: 11:35am @ Redeemer
redeemernorton.org & trinitymccook.com
