ADVENTURES IN LIFE MANAGEMENT (stewardship)
John L King, Taconic Christian Church, Shrub Oak, New York
Introduction (sarcasm)
•Jesus told a parable about A Rich Man in Luke 12 This guy was Rich and famous. (Tell parable in own words)
•This rich man had evidently been very successful and there was just jealousy of his success don’t you think? Happens all the time.
•Today we understand that when you have excessive success you have to make more room for the extra crops or the extra stuff you buy. You buy a larger warehouse or a build a bigger house for all your stuff. It just stands to reason. That’s what anyone would do, right?
•People should have been grateful that this rich man was successful enough that he was creating more jobs for people in his community.
•The rich man’s success was giving a lift to the whole economy in Judea.
•Not only that but his success was creating increased consumer optimism and increased consumer consumption which helps everyone up and down the scale.
•With the rich man’s success he no doubt was also increasing the foreign trade and erasing deficits that had accumulated in the past.
•This rich guy was no doubt a leader in his community. He probably built luxury condo’s for wealthy people in small towns right next to the freeway. You know. Stuff like that.
•BUT HE GOT A REALLY BAD RAP IN THIS PARABLE.
ALL AROUND THIS RICH MAN WAS A REALLY COOL GUY. DON’T YOU AGREE??
WELL YOU SHOULDN’T !! I JUST FED YOU A LINE OF BALONEY THAT IS VERY SIMILAR TO WHAT WE MIGHT HEAR EXPRESSED AROUND US DAILY. BUT JESUS HAD A DIFFERENT COMMENTARY ON THIS RICH MAN. LET’S READ THE WHOLE STORY.
Scripture: Luke 12:13 - 21
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
“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. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ’
“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 anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
THESE ARE STRONG WORDS, JESUS, AIMED AT A GUY WHO JUST WANTS TO BE SUCCESSFUL. LET’S SEE WHAT JESUS WAS REALLY LOOKING AT and how it effects YOUR LIFE MANAGEMENT
I.JESUS WANTS YOU TO GIVE YOUR TALENT - TALENT IS GIVEN US BY GOD TO SERVE HIM AND OTHERS JUST NOT OURSELVES
A.And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
B.It looks like the rich man used his talents and skills to get rich. Farmland that has been farmed over and over for centuries doesn’t become productive overnight - without a lot of skill and hard work. This guy was working the farm with all his abilities. He used his gifts, and talents to become rich.
C.In Eph 4:12 – Our spiritual gifts are given “so that the Body of Christ may be built up…”
1.We can fall into the same trap as the rich man in America today. The word for this is GREED. God frowned on this guy for his Greedy attitude towards life. Not because he was productive and wealthy but because he was all about self.
2.Solomon says: “Money never satisfies.” Eccless 5:10
3.He directed his skills towards the accumulation of wealth. He used his talents to become rich.
4.WHERE ARE YOU DIRECTING YOUR SKILLS AND TALENTS? ARE YOU USING THEM JUST TO GET AHEAD OR TO SERVE THE LORD?
MONEY TRICK
D.We all get bombarded by ads, email or snail-mail inviting us to get rich quick
1.(see ad on powerpoint) Rich Dad Education – Learn how to be rich! THANK YOU
2.Mark Morford (columnist at San Francisco Chronicle):” There remains this enormous and wicked socio-cultural myth. It is this:
Hard work is all there is.
a)Work hard and the world respects you.
b)Work hard and you can have anything you want.
c)Work really extra super hard and do nothing else but work and ignore your family
d)spend 14 hours a day at the office
e)make 300 grand a year that you never have time to spend,
f)sublimate your soul to the corporate machine
g)enjoy a profound drinking problem
h)Own a nice 8 BR mini-mansion you never spend any time in.
i)You and your shiny BMW 740i will get into heaven.
E.What are you using your talents and skills to accomplish? To get rich or to serve God and others.
Personal Priority Inventory (from sermon: The Foolish Rich Person, Sermon Central)
1. There is a time in my life when I made a decision to give up the things of this
world to follow Christ. ___yes ___no
2. If confronted with that choice today I would follow Christ even if I had to give up all possessions. ___yes ___no
3. My life style indicates that I have made such a decision to follow Christ rather
than material pursuits. ___yes ___no
4. I believe it is necessary to make such a choice in our day. ___yes ___no
5. It is difficult for me to determine the difference between materialism and normal provision for life’s needs. ___yes ___no
II.JESUS WANTS YOU TO GIVE YOUR TIME - TIME & PERSPECTIVE ARE GIVEN US BY GOD TO SERVE HIM AND OTHERS AND NOT JUST OURSELVES.
A.We don’t have to wonder how he spent his time or what was his angle on life. Just read between the lines of the parable:
IS IT JUST ME, OR ARE WE SEEING A PATTERN HERE?
THIS GUY WAS DEVOTED TO SELF AND SELF-INTERESTS.
THIS GUY HAD MAJOR LIFE PRIORITY PROBLEMS IN HIS LIFE:
A CLOSER LOOK (Look at frequency of “I” and “my”)
1. ‘What shall I do? (WHAT TO PUT FIRST)
2. I have no place to store.. (GREED)
3. This is what I’ll do. (LEAVING GOD OUT)
4. I will tear down…
5. and there I will store… (HOARDING WEALTH)
6. And I’ll say…
7. to myself, “You have plenty…(SELFISHNESS)
8. Take life easy - eat, drink and be merry. (HEDONISM)
Eph 5:16 – Advises us to “…be careful how you live…make the most of the every opportunity…”that is to say, Use your time wisely. IT’S IN SHORT SUPPLY. IF WE USE OUR TIME TO CONCENTRATE ON SELF AND MATERIALSM THERE’S NO TIME LEFT FOR GOD. THE RICH FOOL HAD SQUEEZED GOD OUT OF HIS LIFE FORMULA.
B.How you spend your time and develop your perspective on life depends on what or whom you idolize.
1.According to Foursquare Gospel Church website Americans idolize:
•Individualism,
•Power,
•Materialism
•Sex
2.We all get caught up in this malaise of twisted values. You struggle with it daily.
3.How do we avoid it. We can’t.
4.How do we deal with it. Develop Godly attitudes that will allow you to function in God’s realm while living in the middle of Hedonism.
5.How? Keep your nose in the Word and put it to use to gain experience in Christian living.
III.JESUS WANTS YOU TO GIVE YOUR TREASURE – “GOD IS ABLE TO MAKE ALL GRACE ABOUND TO YOU, SO THAT IN ALL THINGS AT ALL TIMES, HAVING ALL THAT YOU NEED, YOU WILL ABOUND IN EVERY GOOD WORK.” 2 COR 9:8
TREASURE IS GIVEN YOU BY GOD TO SERVE GOD AND OTHERS AND NOT JUST YOURSELF.
It seems the Rich Man’s EFFORTS were directed towards how to become productive and wealthy and not much else.
A.THIS GUY HAD MAJOR OWNERSHIP PROBLEMS: Let’s look at the ”my” list again.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE LIST
1. “my crops”
2. “my barns”
3. “my grain”
4. “my goods
CHECK YOUR OWN WORDS AND SEE HOW MANY TIMES YOU USE THE SAME KIND OF TERMINOLOGY.
•My car
•My house
•My money
•My stuff
B.THIS GUY HAD AN OWNERSHIP PROBLEM. HE THOUGHT HE OWNED THE THINGS HE WAS MANAGING – THE THINGS GOD HAD ONLY ENTRUSTED TO HIM.
1.“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?’ Luke 12:20
a.YOU are simply a manager of God’s resources he has entrusted to you. Not an owner. When you die someone else will manager all you thought you owned.
HAVE YOU EVEN SEEN A HEARSH PULLING A UHAUL?? YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU. IF WE GIVE OURSELVES TO ACCUMULATING THINGS – WE LOSE!!!
b.LISTEN TO JAMES: “Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil. Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.” James 4:13
C.According to verse 21, what is the ultimate tragedy of a life given to materialism?
1.To be rich in the things of this word but poor in the things of God.
2.“If you are not rich toward God, you are not rich at all. So how do we attain this status?”
a)“First, join God’s family.”
b)“Second, live for God.”
c)“Third, lead your family to trust God with their resources and ambitions.”
D.THE MAJOR TRADGEDY FOR THE RICH MANS’ LIFE WAS THAT HE FAILED TO SHARE PART OF HIS SUCCESS WITH GOD – THE REAL OWNER OF IT ALL.
1.It’s a big step to decide to share with God from our material wealth.
2.God seems to do pretty well without my few dollars, you can always reason.
3.But God reserves blessings for those who share with God ACCORDING TO THEIR MEANS with tithes and offerings.
4.PERSONAL TESTIMONY - I NEVER CEASE TO BE AMAZED AT HOW GOD GIVES BACK WHEN WE REGULARLY GIVE TO HIM.
a)FIRST INCLUDE GOD IN YOUR PLANS (YOUR TIME). SECOND ALWAYS GIVE HIM YOUR BEST OFFERINGS. TITHING IS A GOOD PLACE TO START.
b)WHENEVER BURNELLE AND I PLAN TO DO SOMETHING I always say “Lord Willing.”
c)My wife CAN TELL YOU WHAT I USUALLY SAY: LORD WILLING. WHAT’S POINT? THE POINT IS AN ATTITUDE THAT GOD MAY HAVE SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN MIND.
d)Recently we went on one of those LORD WILLING trips to visit our daughters and granddaughters. I felt the Lord was in such a trip because we were not going on a cruise, Nor going to Disney but spending special time with our grandkids. GOD GAVE US THESE CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN AND WE DON’T SPEND NEARLY ENOUGH TIME WITH THEM. BUT I AM SURE THAT GOD IS IN SUCH A PLAN. WOULDN’T YOU SAY SO?? LORD WILLING. REMEMBER JAMES.
e)I SCANNED THE INTERNET FOR MONTHS TRYING TO FIND CHEAP AIRLINE TICKETS. DIDN’T HAVE MUCH SUCCESS BUT BOUGHT TWO TICKETS ANYWAY FOR OVER $400 ROUNDTRIP FOR TWO THRU EXPEDIA.
f)BUT….WHEN BEN DROPPED US AT THE AIRPORT WE SAID THANKS AND GOODBYE CONFIDENTLY. BUT VERY SOON WE FOUND OUT THAT EVEN THOUGH I HAD A TICKET BURNELLE HAD NONE. EXPEDIA EVEN HAD A SEAT FOR HER BUT NO TICKET. I WAS NO LONGER SURE OF THE “LORD WILLING” PART. I WAS READY TO GO BACK HOME OR DRIVE ALL THE WAY. BUT WE ONLY HAD 7 DAYS FOR THE TRIP.
g)UNBEKNOWST TO ME, MY WIFE, DAUGHTERS AND SISTERS WERE PLANNING A SURPRISE 60th BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR ME. MY WIFE WAS PRAYING!!!
h)EXPEDIA TOLD ME – AFTER AN HOUR ON MY CELL PHONE – GO BUY A TICKET FOR YOUR WIFE AND WE WILL REIMBURSE YOU UP TO $226. (YEAH RAH)
i)MORE THAN HOUR HAD PASSED AND WE WERE IN DANGER OF MISSING OUR FLIGHT. SO I QUICKLY BOUGHT A TICKET FOR BURNELLE. $450 TO ST. LOUIS. WHAT I FAILED TO DO - IN HASTE - WAS TO BUY A ROUND TRIP TICKET. SO WHEN WE FLEW BACK I HAD TO BUY ANOTHER TICKET - $240 – AT ST LOUIS. IN ALL WE SPENT AROUND $1100 FOR WHAT WAS TO BE A $400 TRIP.
j)THERE’S NO WAY TO RECOVER SUCH AN EXPENSE. I DON’T EXPECT MUCH OF ANYTHING BACK FROM EXPEDIA. PART OF IT WAS MY OWN FAULT, BESIDES.
k)BUT GOD HAD THINGS UNDER CONTROL. I SURE DIDN’T. WHEN WE GOT HOME THE NEXT DAY THERE WAS A CHECK IN THE MAIL FROM MY HOME CHURCH FOR $200. NOT ONLY THAT BUT THERE WAS A NOTE THAT ASKED ABOUT A LOST CHECK THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN SENT TO ME DEC. 2005. DID I RECEIVE IT? WE SEARCHED OUR FILES AND JULIA SEARCHED HER’S – IT WAS A SUPPORT CHECK – AND IT HAD NEVER BEEN RECEIVED.
l)THE REST OF THE NOTE SAID THEY WOULD REPLACE THE LOST CHECK.
m)DO THE MATH. $200 + $459 = $659. THAT’S VERY CLOSE TO THE EXTRA AMOUNT WE SPENT ON THOSE AIRLINE TICKETS. GOD DIDN’T PAY TAX SO IT WAS A LITTLE SHORT.
n)WE ARE NOT UNUSUAL. ASK ANYONE WHO GIVES REGULARLY - A TITHE – OR ACC TO THEIR MEANS - AND YOU WILL HEAR THE SAME KIND OF STORIES.
o)TRUST GOD FOR YOUR PLANS AND YOUR INCOME AND GIVE TO HIM AS YOU BELIEVE HE WANTS YOU TO DO. AND GOD WILL BLESS YOUR SOCKS OFF. HE WILL TAKE YOUR BREATH AWAY. HE WILL AMAZE YOU IN WAYS YOU NEVER DREAMED OF.
p)GOD JUST CAN’T HELP HIMSELF!! HE GETS ALL EXCITED WHEN YOU GIVE TO HIM. THE BIBLE SAYS GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER. THE REAL WORD FOR CHEERFUL IS “HALARIOUS.” GOD LOVES AN HALARIOUS GIVER. 2 COR 9:7
God’s denouncement on the rich man was this: BOTTOM LINE
“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 anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”
BOTTOM LINE – YOU DIE AND YOU LOSE IT ALL ! IF YOU ARE NOT RICH TOWARD GOD.
