The Misfortune Of The Rich Fool

Text: Luke 12:13-21

The Misfortune Of The Rich Fool

A. People invest their money in…

a. The Stock Market

b. Stocks and Bonds

c. Retirement Funds

B. There is no greater place to invest your money

than the Kingdom of God

C. We must beware of becoming greedy with what God

has given us…

a. Greed literally signifies the hungering and

thirsting of having more earthly possessions.

b. To make earthly riches the desire of one’s

life is a fatal error that leads to eternal

loss.

c. God will provide for our needs as well as the

needs of our family, however, while we labor

for our needs we must seek first God’s Kingdom

and His righteousness.

d. Through this message each one of us should

heed Jesus’ warnings, examine, and exterminate

any greed that exists in our hearts.

The first part of this parable describes…

A. The Rich Fool’s Conflict (vv. 13-17)

a. This farmer was given an abundant harvest

i. He had so much and he could not store it

ii. He had so much and he would never spend it

iii. He had so much would he share it?

b. This farmer was given an awesome responsibility

i. Someone has well said, “To whom much is

given much is required.”

ii. Would the rich man be greedy and shelter

his wealth?

iii. Would the rich man be godly and share his

wealth?

c. This farmer had to choices to make…

i. He could choose to…

1. Help the helpless

2. Help the hurting

3. And he would be blessed eternally

ii. He could choose to…

1. Spend all his wealth on himself

2. Store all his wealth for himself

3. And not ever be blessed

d. What would this farmer choose to do with the

barns full of what God had so enrichly blessed

him with?

In the second part of this parable Jesus describes…

B. The Rich Fool’s Choice (v. 18)

a. The farmer choose to…

i. Clear away the old barns

ii. Create new barns

iii. So he could store all the harvest for

himself

b. This farmer wanted to…

i. Build bigger barns to store his seed

ii. Build better barns to shelter his seed

c. Through making this choice the farmer…

i. Decided to build barns with man’s hands,

rather than

ii. Deciding to build barns with God’s hands

d. This farmer could of…

i. Saved his money from the construction

project and

ii. Spent his money on a for more constructive

project

1. Like feeding the hungry

2. Like sheltering the homeless

3. Like helping the hurting

e. The farmer’s greedy heart drove him to have

greedy hands and keep all his money for

selfish gain.

f. The author Ambrose once said, “The bosoms of

the poor, the houses of the widows, and the

mouths of children are the barns which last

forever.”

In the third part of this parable Jesus’ describes…

C. The Rich Fool’s Confusion (v. 19)

a. This farmer assumes…

i. His life span is safe

ii. His life savings is secure

iii. His soul will be satisfied

b. This farmer is certain…

i. That life will be easy from this day

forward

ii. That life will be entertaining from

this day forward

c. This farmer doesn’t realize…

i. That this will be the day he faces

death

ii. That this will be the day he faces the

grave

iii. That this will be the day he faces

the judgment

d. This man did not attempt to…

i. Seek the eternal Savior

ii. Secure his eternal savings

iii. Satisfy his internal soul

In the forth part of this parable Jesus’ describes…

D. The Rich Fool’s Consequences (vv. 20-21)

a. This farmer losses everything on earth

i. He looses his time on earth

ii. He losses his treasure on earth

b. This farmer looses out on everything good

in eternity…

i. He receives eternal peril

ii. He receives eternal pain

iii. He receives eternal punishment

iv. If he would only have taken time to

get to know the Lord everything would

have been better, greater, and more

fulfilling.

c. This farmer realizes that cherishing your

earthly riches is not worth missing out on

God’s eternal riches.

i. We must realize this before it’s to

late

ii. We must realize this before our time

on earth is over

d. By accepting the Lord into our lives…

i. We will receive a perfect eternity

with God’s love

ii. We will receive a peaceful eternity

with God’s children

iii. We will receive a permanent eternity

with God’s protection.

Conclusion:

A. Three steps to overcoming greed…

a. Realize the sin of greed

b. Realize the forgiveness of God

c. Repent of the greed

B. Many people in our world are like the rich fool…