Dashing through the snow 12/3/2005
Luke 12:16-21
We live in a fast paced world. It is not what you can do it is how fast can you do it. You have microwaves and drive thru. But you don’t even have to go through a drive thru to get your food fast.
Denny’s started this theme of if you come in and order your lunch; it will be served to you in 10 minutes or less or it will be free. Then they put the little stopwatches on the table for you to time them. Domino’s Pizza says that we will deliver your pizza in 30 minutes or it is free. The President of Domino’s states that we are not selling pizza; we are selling delivery.
And as we enter the Holidays things seem to pick up a notch. Have you noticed that every year the Christmas decorations are going up earlier? Right after Halloween you will start to see the signs of it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. It’s just starting earlier. At my house, most times we not only have our Christmas tree up in October, but we have two trees up.
This year I noticed that the earlier bird specials for Christmas shopping started in some stores even before Thanks Giving. Then on that black Friday you have stores opening up as early as 5am. They want to be the first to get your money. My wife left the house at around 4am in the morning. You have lines of people waiting in line before the stores open.
Christmas use to be a time where we would take time to slow down and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ with family and friends. Now it is a time where we go dashing through the snow trying to get everything done in time for Christmas.
They use to write songs like Silent Night, Holy Night, all is CALM. Now it is songs like grandma got ran over by a reindeer. It must have been the Domino’s pizza deliverer guy.
But let me ask you a question. How many of you can tell me what you got for Christmas three years ago? Two years ago? Last year? Now I know that there are some Christmas’s that we received some special gift and it will stand out in our mind. But for the most part we rush through the holiday season trying to make sure that everything is just right and for what? What does it really matter in the big picture? Now I’m not trying to be Scrooge and say that we shouldn’t put up a tree or buy anything for anyone on Christmas. But what we will look at this morning is what really matters in life. Not just on a special time of the year but every day.
Read Luke 12:16-21
Every day of our lives we are being pulled in a number of different directions. On one hand we have family responsibilities pulling us one way. There is so much for kids now days to get into. Then you have your obligations to the church pulling us another and friends pulling us in yet another. We are left wondering, “What is really important in life?” What kind of life do we want? Do we want a life dependant on things? Or do we want a life the centers around God and His will for our lives?
This passage is very relevant to us, especially this time of the year. Most people in America think that their main priority in life is all about them. In our text we find the word I appearing six times, showing the selfish focus.
And although we may not be farmers we still have that same focus. What is in it for me? How will it help my kids? What am I getting from it? We often try to climb that corporate ladder to attain enough money to live what we think is the good life. We want those nice houses. We want that nice car. We want our kids to have nothing but the best.
We are like the television show; we all want to be millionaires. I know for myself that I am working on my second million. I’ve lost my first one somewhere. But no matter what you have, someone else always has something bigger and better.
Now Jesus here was not condemning the fact of having things. He was condemning the focus on self. You see it’s not all about you; Your life, your family, your job. It is all about Him. And anyone who has their focus anywhere else would be considered a “fool” from the lips of Jesus.
Jesus called this man a fool.
Vs.20-21, But God said to him, “Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided. So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God”.
So for the nest few minutes I want you to think with me, what is I would die tonight, how would I spend my last few hours. Would I go out and dashing through the snow to get my last minute Christmas chores done or what would I do? So let me give you a few things to put on your to do list.
I would want to make sure that I have been saved
I would want to make sure that I am saved. That is the most important decision in your life. Not what you achieve in this world, how much money you make or what kind of car do you drive, how high you climb the corporate ladder or how many friends that you have. None of that really matters if you don’t have a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Mark 8:36 For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul.
It is not make sure that you are a good person, to make sure the good out weighs the bad. Being good doesn’t get you into Heaven. There will be a lot of good people who the Bible says will be cast into Hell.
And those who fell like that is all they have to do is be good to make it into the pearly gates are really the hardest to reach. They don’t see their need for a Savior and feel like they can get there by themselves. But Jesus tells us in John 14:6, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Not being good and not having my name on some church membership. You can come to church every time the doors are open and that will not make you any more of a Christian than standing in your garage makes you a car.
Jesus tells us in a parable of a man who shows up at a wedding unprepared.
Mathew 22:11-13 But when the king came in to see the guest, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. So he said to him, Friend how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then the king said to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This is a vivid picture of the man’s inability to participate in Christ’s kingdom. Someone claiming to belong to the wedding but the end result was they were cast into hell.
And you need to make sure that you KNOW that you are saved. Not just act like you are or think that you are or even wish that you are, but KNOW that you are saved. Know that when you leave this building today that if something would happen that you know that you would be in the presence of the Lord.
I would want to make sure that others were saved
Romans 10:13-14 For whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. How then shall they call on Him whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
Now some of you might be thinking, there you go. It says “how shall they hear without a preacher”. It is your job, not mine. This Greek word preacher means “the good news concerning the Son of God”.
When we hear the word preacher today and we think of someone who stands behind the pulpit on Sunday mornings.
But once we accept Christ as our Savior then it is our job to tell others about Christ. So when someone asks you the next time what you do, then you can tell them about both jobs, your vocational job and your Heavenly job of sharing Christ with others.
Now I wonder how many of us would change our plans if we knew that this would be the last day we have on this earth. Or maybe we knew that it would be the last day for a family member or a friend or loved one? The truth of the matter is that we don’t know that that is not true. There is no guaranty of a tomorrow for anyone.
Yet everyday we have people in our lives who are lost and unless something is done then they will die and go to spend an eternity in Hell.
So how can we a witness to others? How can we share Christ? Let me give you a few suggestions.
a. By setting the example.
Probably the one of the most frequent excuses that people give for not accepting Christ is because of all the hypocrites in the church. I always say that I would rather go to church with them for a few hours than to spend an eternity with them in hell.
But the truth of the matter is that for the most part there are times when we leave the church on Sunday that the world can’t see any difference in you than anyone else. It’s ok to drink. It’s ok to tell that off color joke. It’s ok to be like everyone else.
But just ask yourself would you pop the top on beer and hand it to Jesus and drink one with Him? Would you tell Him that joke? We act as if Jesus is only in church but He is with you everywhere. Every thing you do, ever word you say, every thought you think, He is there. And we should be setting the example to the lost by living a life that would be just as if He is right there with us because He is.
b. By telling others.
When was the last time that you actually told someone about your Lord and Savior? When was the last time you prayed and asked God to use you to witness to someone else?
1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.
Everyday, every minute, someone leaves this world and goes to meet their maker. And we need to do our part and making sure that they are ready. And that leads me to our last point.
I would want to make sure that I would be ready to meet the Lord
2 Corinthians 5:9-10 Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done whether good or bad.
Some day we ALL will stand before a righteous God. He won’t ask us what we got for Christmas. He won’t ask us what kind of bargains we found. He will not ask us what so in so did or anything else. But you will have to give an account of what you have done.
So you need to make sure that you are ready to meet the Lord. And the best way to do that is to first accept Him as your personal Savior. Then make sure you are living the life that would lead others to Christ and be pleasing to Him.
Let’s pray.
