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; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:13-15 NIV
Pastor Rurel wraps up the sermon series called God’s Economy. Here are the links to the previous post on these messages:
As Jesus was walking through the crowd in verse above, a man said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” I can only imagine what was said to Jesus from the people following Him in the crowds. His response:
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; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” Luke 12:14-15 NIV
Jesus didn’t waste the opportunity to teach a lesson.
A bumper sticker I read the other day said, “The one who dies with the most toys… WINS!”
Whoever penned those words didn’t read the words that Jesus said so many years ago. “Watch out! Be on guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, desires. The commercials pushed to us through the TV shows that we watch, the magazines or newspapers that we read, or the radio and podcast shows that we watch are all focused on creating a desire to spend the money we earn.
God doesn’t care about what we own; He cares about our hearts. He knows that the things we own will end up owning us if we don’t put them in their proper place.
Jesus continued with this parable:
And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 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 my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain 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 whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 12:16-21 NIV
Jesus referred to the man in this parable as a “certain rich man yielded an abundant hearvest.” The reference to “harvest” would suggest that God had a tremendous hand in this man’s success. But the farmer bascing in the abundance was only thinking of himself.
“What shall I do?”
“I have no place to store my crops.”
“This is what I’ll do.”
“I will tear down…”
“I will store my surplus…”
“I will say to myself…”
A lot of “I” and “my’s” in his statement.
And the end result of what he wanted to accomplish was to “Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” (Comfort)
God had different plans for this man:
“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This is the very night your life will be demanded from you.”
And this is followed by this warning:
“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
What does being “rich toward God” mean?
Getting back to “our desires,” where does our source of unhappiness come from? I think it would be safe to say our “unhappiness” comes from a disconnect between “our desires” and the reality of what we are experiencing.
When our “desires” align with God’s desire for us, our life starts to take on a different dimension. The petty disappointments no longer have power over our feelings. We also begin to realize that God will orchestrate events in our lives to help us grow, and He will present these opportunities as “problems.”
When these “problems” arise, we no longer look for the circumstances or the people involved to change; we go to God in prayer and ask Him to help us examine our hearts and the change He wants “us” to make.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do. James 1:2-8 NIV
For this to work for us, we need to continually allow the Word of God into our minds and let it affect our hearts. We are responsible for this.
When we know “why” (God’s promise), it makes it easier to get out of our comfort zone and start to do what God is giving us the privilege to do.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:8-9 NIV
“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. Matthew 6:19-21 NIV
When we start to think about God’s grace, let’s consider what would be called “common” grace:
- A beautiful sunset and sunrise
- Flowers
- Pets
- A rainbow
This list is a small representation that He has provided to everyone that will live on this earth, independent of your belief or acceptance of Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Matthew 5:44-45 NIV
I can’t help but think about the things in the world to come and live for eternity with God and the things we’ll experience in heaven.
Keep God’s promises in your mind and meditate on those promises as often as you can.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 NIV
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Psalm 37:4-6 NIV
Heavenly Father, thank You for Your Word and Your promise. I pray that You allow Your Word to dwell richly in our minds and hearts.
I pray that You will help change our hearts to look at what You have put in our lives as resources that we will use to advance Your Kingdom.
I thank You for the pastors dedicated to preaching Your Word faithfully week in and week out.
In the name of Jesus, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
