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I'm going to invite you to grab your Bibles and turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. I'm going to be in verse 13 through 21, Luke chapter 12:13 through 21. All right, while you're turning there, I need us to do something real quick. I know it's hard because you got your Bible so I'm gonna teach you how to do it because I got my Bible in my hand as well. So it's gonna be like Bible clapping. I know some of y'all like I don't like clapping with my Bible. I it's cool. We have to give the Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks this morning for Zach 10 haken. And the way that he got everything shut down this morning. I didn't think we were going to have sound at all. He wired some crazy stuff. I don't know how he does it. He's like a magician of electrician. And so, but God has blessed us with some people who are just gifted uniquely in the body. But this is a brother who serves without asking for absolutely Anything so can we just praise King Jesus was acting Hey, I just the work you put in and Thank you brother so much man. Your work does not go insane brother we like we truly Thank you man for from the bottom of our heart. Alright, Luke chapter 12 verse 13, through 21 Luke chapter 12, verse 13, through 21. We're going to read out loud on the count of three, starting at verse 13. Read as loudly as you possibly can, using your outside voice so that our neighbors can hear us 123 Someone in the crowd said to him, teacher, my tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, man who made me a judge or arbitrator over you, and he said to them, take care and be on your guard against all covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions and it's hold'em a parable saying the land of a rich man produce plentifully. And he thought to himself, what shall I do for I have nowhere to store my crops. And he said, I will do this, I will tear down my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years, relax, eat, drink, be married. But God said to him, fool, this night Your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays of treasure for himself, and is not rich towards God. I want to title this message, possessions ain't the point. I want inside of this message. possessions ain't the point. Let's go before the Lord. Father, thank you so much for your word again. God, we're just so thankful and grateful that we have been called your children. Laura, we are broken, especially especially especially in the area of greed. I'm the first to confess. I like stuff so, so often more than I love relationships, and God I'm I'm sorry this morning. So Father, I just pray that you will come and convict our hearts but also encourage us. I'm thankful for the generosity of this church. And so God just do your work by your spirit. Lord, I am a broken and feeble man. But you have said that in my weakness, you are made strong. So God, be strong. Be strong in this place. It is through just seeing a broken and feeble person, that God you are all the more glorified. So be strong in this place. Save somebody this morning. save someone, Lord, by your grace, save somebody and sanctify all of us. In the matchless Name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen. Amen. You could take your seats, you can take a seat possessions ain't the point. possessions ain't the point. It was in 2002 that these famous words were said, you play to win the game. You play to win the game. Now, not too recently it was actually a Saturday my son had a basketball game and I told him as he was getting out of the car. Hey Aaron, why do you play and I know the new age you know word or phrase that you will say is to have fun. Well, it was when I got to high school now recognize that it always seemed as though there was a correlation between winning and having fun. I never saw the losing team like really happy in a static and I never saw the winning team down. For some reason. It just seems that there's a correlation between winning and having fun.
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So I just sent out as my goal when I went out on a basketball court I want to win. And it was Herm Edwards who in 2002, just kind of confirm why I played the game you play to win the game. He was a little frustrated in this time in 2002, the New York Jets were trying to fight to get into the playoffs and they were losing some games that were easy. He just got frustrated by one of the reporters questions. And so he wanted to remind not only his team, not only the media, but in the entire nation of why you play in the NFL, especially on the professional level, the whole point of playing is you play to win the game. So many people play the game for various reasons. Some of them play the path they stats, some of them played it just network with a whole bunch of people. Some of them play for the money, but he wanted to remind them of the purpose of the game. Why? Because when you forget your purpose, you will inevitably be distracted by trivial pursuits. So many of us come into this life, and we need to be reminded of what the whole point of living this life is is for the glory of the God who made us. But when you forget your purpose, you will inevitably be distracted by trivial pursuits. And so the goal of life ain't possessions, the goal of life ain't what you can get out of this life. The goal of life is the glory of King Jesus Christ. Now, as I look at that, and everybody says, a man, I am very concerned, look out at the nation. And I was just reading Actually, this past week, I was reading a book by a lady by the name of Rebecca mcglothlin. And she writes this incredible book called confronting Christianity. And I'm just telling you, I've read Tim Keller's, reasons for God, have read Mere Christianity by CS Lewis, this is right on par with that. And so it's a wonderful book, but she opens up and she begins to talk about how for some reason we haven't quite grasped the reality. That money does not bring happiness. She actually says that 82.3% of all people are actually saying now that their whole goal in life, one of the most essential components of life is being financially well off at 2.3%. She says that's a 10% incline over the last decade, and it has actually overtaken listen to this, raising a family as an essential goal in life. Now, if that wasn't like bad enough, this is also very interesting. Since 1972, the income per capita has more than doubled. But when you ask people how happy they are, that has actually declined. Think about that. We've gotten double Richard, we've gotten less happy. And yet and still, all of us in some way, shape or form are going after more and more finances because we inherently though we might not admit it, believe that more more happiness comes with more and more money, but possessions eight the point so as we get to this text I want you to hear it not from me not from me, but from the Lord Jesus Christ. The first point he makes in the text is that luxury ain't the point. First point he makes it a text is that luxury ain't the point. Look at verse 13. It says this Someone in the crowd said to him teacher, tell my brother to defy the inheritance with me. You can almost see him like a little kid going his parents. But he said to him, man, like that, like the say that nice like, come on, man. Not like, Man, you got here like that man who made me a judge and arbitrator over you. And he said to them, take care, and be on your guard against Listen to this. All covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Luxury at the point. Now, the whole story starts off with a dude coming to Jesus. And you can almost assume most commentators would agree that this is the younger brother going to Jesus. Because in that day and age, what would happen oftentimes is that the father would give the inheritance either to both children, or he would just simply give most of the inheritance to the older brother and have him divided out as he wishes. So it seems as though this is what has happened. He's given most of the inheritance to the older brother, and the older brother has decided to hog most of it for himself. So the younger brother comes to Jesus and he says, yo, Jesus, tell my older brother, stop being such a ball hog. Pass the ball, give me an inheritance. I want some of what he has, please tell him to do what is right. Now, before we even move on into the text, what you see in this text is the antithesis of Psalm 133 one that says how good it is when brothers dwell together in unity. And the reason And why they are not dwelling together in unity is because of money. Brothers bickering over money. So we always talk about how Blood is thicker than water. And that's just a good way to say that Yo, my brother, my family is always going to be, you know, have a closer bond with me than my friends. But check it as close and as thick as that bond is. There is one solvent that can dissolve that bond and that is finances. See, have you seen so many people go into like business partnerships with one another as best friends and leave out and aren't even partners? How often have we seen marriages dissolve over finances, best friends over finances, brothers, like fighting at people's funerals at their father's funeral over who's going to get the most money out of the will. And we see this over and over again. But finances is the one solvent that can dissolve even the tightest Boss, and even your relationship with Jesus is tested in the experimentation room of financial difficulty. How much you love Jesus is found right there. Can you love him even when you're poor? See finances finances will cause great division. And here's what makes it worse. There's no getting around it. There's no getting around it. As some people say, money make the world go around. Now we already know Jesus really make the world go around. But sometimes it feels that way, doesn't it? Money is extremely important, especially in our nation. It's hard to get by without it. And so if you know that you can't get around it. What you need is a heart change towards it. Brothers bickering over money and they come to Jesus. And he tells them Yo, Jesus, tell the older brother, give me my inheritance. Jesus asked the question and there's a question of beneath the question, who made me a judge over you? This is not Jesus backing up from being the ultimate judge, but it's asking him the question, do you really want me to judge this situation? Or do you just want me to confirm your preconceived notions of what you already believe should happen? So he's asking the question, do you want me to just join you? Or do you want me to actually judge you? Do you want me to take your side? Or do you want me to make a call? Because if I'm making a call, if I'm calling the shots, I'm going to get as something deeper than simply an inheritance. I almost like got a little irritated by reading some commentators and he said like Jesus didn't really deal with the situation. No, he did. He absolutely dealt with the situation. The problem is, is that we think in our minds that dealing with the situation would be telling the older brother to give the inheritance to the younger brother or saying that the older brother needs to keep it. But Jesus says that there's a greater problem going on here that needs to be addressed. Greed, greed, and I love this in the text. He says this to the man, take care and be on your guard against all covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. He said guard against greed, guard against greed. Watch out this word for Take care. I feel like that's, that's a little too passive. Because when I say take care of the SEO, take care Have a good one. You know, be easy is how you say it. But this isn't be easy to say. Go ahead, be cool. This is Watch out. Look out Be alert. Be on guard, for there is an imminent threat to your heart. See this. This is a this was interesting when I moved from Philly to Iowa. I never forgot got picked up from the airport. First time I came to I was just a visit got picked up from the airport by a dude named Troy who is actually the leader of the salt network. So Troy Nesbitt pastor at Cornerstone, he picks me up in his truck and so we go to the truck. And lo and behold, he just starts the car now I never saw him pull out the keys to the car. I said, What just happened? Where'd you get the keys from? He said, I just leave it in my ignition. Wait, wait, wait, wait, come again. So how many times has your car got robbed? Just like the fifth truck you bought? That I've never nothing's ever happened. I just leave the keys ignition. It's just easier that way. Man, I've seen people I've seen people get their car stolen for putting it in their trunk. The keys in a truck, let alone in the ignition. But here's the difference. When you live in a place like Philadelphia, you live in a place like Ames, there's just a different threat level. So what the text is actually teaching us is Yo, don't look at covetousness like you're living in Ames. Look at it like you're living in Philly, guard your heart A kiss greed. Protect yourself against it, because it's out to kill you. Now, he tells you why this is important to do. And this is what we need to sit on for a while. He says because life does not consist in the abundance of possessions. Do you believe him?
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Do you believe what he's actually saying? The life really ain't about what you have. JOHN 17 three tells you what life is actually about. Because of life is not about what you have is life is not about what you have. But you have to ask the question, then what is life about? JOHN 17 three, Jesus makes it clear what life is all about to know the only true God and Jesus Christ who he has sent. That is the essence of life. So therefore life ain't about what you have life. Listen, life, listen, it's about who you know. Life is about who you know.
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My wife oftentimes loves to make me breakfast. And I love more than anything when she makes me omelets. It's the best because my wife don't just make like a plane on the and she don't even just make a plane omelet with cheese. My wife be drawing down on the arm the game. So she'll be slicing up some fresh diced tomatoes throwing them in there. She know I like my onions cook. She throws that in there. She sometimes Give me salmon in that john and cooks mo Do you have raw stuff? The cook salmon throws that in here. You're saying so I love like in taking my wife's wonderful armless and so all the time I know that I'm not just gonna get an amen. I'm gonna get an omelet with a whole bunch of topics. But one thing is clear is that I there's an ingredient ingredient that I did not mention as I was going through all that my wife puts into her omelets. The reason why I didn't mention is because you assumed it. The ingredient that I did not mention is eggs. Why do I not have to mention eggs when I'm talking about an omelet? It's because an omelet without eggs, a really an omelet at all. I'm here to declare to you that life without Jesus a really live at all. I've lived life both ways. I lived it without Jesus And I lived in with Jesus. And I'm just trying to tell you that it ain't even comparable life without Jesus a really life at all. He is the essence of all of life. Life ain't really about luxury, but life also in about leisure, life also in about leisure. Look at verse 16. As he opens up this parable, this is what the text says. And he told them a parable saying the land of a rich man produce plentifully Listen, and he thought to himself, what shall notice this, I do for I have nowhere to store my crops and he said, I will do this I will tear down my barns and build larger ones in there. I will store all my grain and my goods and I will say to my soul, so you have ample goods laid up for many years, relax, eat and drink and be married. You notice how much this is about. him. Life ain't about leisure. Life ain't about leisure. See, even as he opens up the parable, I love this. Don't miss this in the text. The text says that what was happening in the context is that the land produce pleantifully for this man wants you to notice this. It does not say the man produce it says the land produced.
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See from the gate Jesus wants us to recognize that we should not take credit for something we can do on all this is what we often do, is oftentimes believing that we produce our own prosperity. Jesus said, the land produce not the man produce, and God is the one sovereign over the fruitfulness of the land. So from the gate, we need to recognize that this man should be a grateful man. But do we see a grateful man Do we recognize and encounter a grateful man? Now we don't look at what the text says it says this. It says What shall I do for I have nowhere to store my crops and I will do this and I will tear down a barns and build large ones I was throwing my grain and my goods and I will say to my soul, so you have Apple goods laid up for many years relax, eat, drink and be merry See, and the text where he should be grateful. He is instead greedy. And the reason why you can see as greediness is because God brought him the Texas a plentiful harvest. You know whenever good seasons, where you just you don't even got enough ground you see like the leaves outside. Imagine a harvest season where just apples is just all over the ground like that. I mean, a harvesting season like you can't even expect so it's one of those seasons where even someone who normally has a good harvesting season is experienced something that even he has never experienced. So what does he do? What does he do? What does he do? He says, Well, I got this storehouse full of all my harvest, but this season's harvest is so plentiful, that they ain't gonna be enough no more. So what will I do my break this john down and I'm gonna build a bigger one for my greater harvest. Now the question on the table you need to be asking yourself is when does this end? Because what if the next year he gets an even greater harvest? Well, he'll build an even larger storehouse.
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Well what happens the following year if he hasn't even greater harvest, he'll build an even larger storehouse. Do you get the correlation? You could just keep going and going and going and going and going. Why? Because Greed has no chill. Has no silver has no cap. It never it can be top of it just wants more and more and more and more and more. It is all of our hearts. Every single one of us, we're just gonna have more and more and more and more and more. Friends. You have a wonderful guy, and I need you to hear me clearly. Who loves you enough to create you with this world to enjoy.
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Look back at Genesis chapter one. Look back at Genesis chapter two. God creates the world with all of these things to enjoy. It's our own God who made apples, sweet luscious apples. Kiwi ministry oh just have myself some peach cobbler last night. Glory to his name right. gave you all this stuff to enjoy. Why? Because you have a God who loves you. And he wants you to have enjoyment, but he does not want you to indulge.
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This is the problem in this text is that this, this man has moved from enjoyment to indulgence. You need to be asking yourself the question Have I moved from enjoyment to indulgence? What you see in this text are two ways that you know you've move from enjoyment to indulgence. The first is frivolous spending. The first way you know that you move from enjoyment to indulgence. indulgence is when you have a way about you that is just like, I'm just going to frivolous frivolously spend, just give it all away. Just get anything and everything that my heart desires. You get a new pair of Jordans you like well, I really want that pair. I'm gonna keep it though. And I'm gonna get another pair on top of that didn't like that pair as much as I did. I'm gonna keep it though. And I'm gonna get some LeBron James didn't like that. parama keep it though. And you just keep getting for yourself are required acquiring for yourself more and more and more. It just you don't care. You're just spinning. Everything that you have. Why? Because Greed has no chill.
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You just keep wanting more and more and more and more and more and now you're what twos become half twos. I want to watch the game. I want to go to the store I want to go do this and now I have to watch the game. I have to get these shoes. I have to go to this restaurant when want to become half tues you know that you know that you know that you have entered into frivolous spending for the most part, and that you have moved from enjoyment to indulgence. Here's a harder word for us. Because I think we can all get with that. Right? Like when you see people just spending money for no reason. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've seen these nba stars and Swan Walker is the one who comes to mind dudes who are making millions upon millions upon millions of dollars. Y'all don't know who Antwan Walker is because his career didn't last Law and that's why Walker Believe it or not made millions upon millions upon millions of dollars only to essentially go bankrupt. Because just spending on stuff they here really need and I think we look at Antwan Walker we say, Man, what an idiot. We all have money. You got nothing to show for what an idiot?
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Well, here's what the text is actually even more precisely getting at them frivolous spending, it's actually getting at foolish saving. Now, I'm gonna tell you this. I've never heard the word foolish. And the word saving in the same context, have you? Never, I always hear whenever somebody brings up saving wisdom. Like we think that saving is inherently wise. But notice in the text, all this man is doing is saving essentially all he's doing. I love what Darrell Bock says. He says, part of the power of this parable is in that this man's response seems so natural. I mean, he does what any one of us would do when you've been given much saved more.
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Isn't this what we would call wisdom? But you need to recognize that all saving is not inherently why she notices man, again, I want to read it to you. He says, What shall I do for I have nowhere to store my crops and he said, I will do this. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones in there. I will store all my green and my goods and I will say to my soul, do you notice how much there's an II mind mind mind mind mind mentality. So the reason why this saving is wrong is because it's narcissistic. It's all about him. How do I feed myself all about me? See in the text, it might be extremely hard to detect greediness and what this man does. But you know what's ultimately absent, gratefulness?
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It ain't there at all. Not one time does he turn around and say thank you, Lord, for what you provided? Now what time does he look to the heavens and say, Man, God, I know I couldn't even budge and making my harvest plentiful. Now, what time does he say? Everything that I have all that I am, it's because of your grace. He looks at himself and he feeds into the lie that I produce my own prosperity. But not only that, but in thinking that he's produced his own prosperity, he hogs it for himself. See, his saving is sinful because it's radically selfish. Now I want to say this before I move on. But I actually want to encourage our church. Like, as I was preparing this text and just like the Lord laying these things out on my heart, I just had to say, guys, we are overall a radically generous church.
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Like, I'm telling you, I've been to many, many contexts, and I've been to many churches, and I don't see people giving so sacrificially. I mean, when I and I'm not just talking about like some of our older congregants, I'm talking about some young folks who have just said, I'm gonna just give it all away for the purpose of the kingdom of God going forward. I mean, this is a radically generous church, and I'm thankful for that. But if you feel the sting of this text, enter into that, just enter into that. It's okay because I felt the seeing of this. I mean, you talk about frivolous spending and foolish saving. I do both. Anybody else in that number with me? You just like, I can't pick one man. Sometimes I'll spit it for no reason. Then another time I've been super cheap for myself.
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I mean, if you were to look at, like the way I spend, I mean, this, this is terrible, but I mean this, you'd be like, I, sometimes he seems really cheap for the wrong reasons. And then other times I see him go to a restaurant, he has no problem dropping $60 on a meal. Like, this is recap, Greg, and I should be honest. So my heart is in both of these areas, and I don't think I'm a greedy person. But if I'm just looking at the text, Jesus would say that I am.
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So what does the text say? To say like, all right, just feel bad about yourself. To say like, Oh my gosh, like you're the worst person in the world. Well, look what the text says. It's going to give you a reason why this is so bad. I love that Jesus doesn't leave with without reason. He says this verse 20. But God said to him, for this night Your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and it's not rich towards God. He knows what the text is saying is saying you can't bring any of it with you. Like really let that settle in. You can't take none of it with you. I mean, the Bible says that from the dust dust we came into the dust we shall return. You ever seen anybody pay like a lot of money for dirt? No. Like no one like has like an auction and you see like $500,000 went to you know, this person for selling his backyard dirt just never happens. There is just really inexpensive. So what the text is actually teaching us is that all of us are going to have an appointment day. With ultimate poverty See, this is what Hebrews chapter nine verse 21 teaches us. That all of us it is appointed to man to die once and then comes What? judgment all of us are going to have to see our Creator face to face. And I just need to tell you your money that you make in this world means absolutely nothing in that one is have absolutely no value.
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I went to Maui three years in a row for missions trips and there that we have the US dollar they have Malawi kwacha, and at the time, the kwacha was worth about one 400th of $1. That's about a quarter of a penny. Now, that lets you know that if somebody were to go from allow it to us and want to spend kwacha, it is almost worthless. Well, if you think that going from allow equality US dollars is almost worthless. Think about the US dollar in comparison to the kingdom of God.
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Your currency in this world means absolutely nothing in that one. So how in the world can we live a life before God go into His kingdom and actually be rich? Because Jesus says, Those who are wise are those who are rich towards God. How can we be rich toward God? How can we be rich towards God? Well, you can't earn your way to be rich towards God. You just can't. There's no job you can pick up. It's no career path you can put yourself on that can start building and accumulating your wealth before God. Just no way you could do that. So how do we become rich towards God?
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Second Corinthians chapter eight, verse nine is the answer. And that text, this is what Paul says. And I want you to notice what he's talking about. He's talking about exactly what the text is saying. It ain't about luxury. It ain't about leisure, and Jesus proved it. But what he came and did, he says, you know, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor, so that through his poverty, you might be rich. See, Jesus laid down His luxury and his leisure so that we might truly have life. That's how you're rich towards God. Through placing your faith and confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ, turning away from your sins, turning away from your greed, turning away from your covetousness which a Feess chapter five It says that that is actually idolatry. Turn away from that and turn towards the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will make you rich towards God.
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To illustrate that, I want to kind of end where we began with two brothers bickering over an inheritance. This some, it's not a parable. It's actually a story and the Word of God. So if you look back in Genesis, some of the patriarchs, you might know Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. And so there's a story of Isaac and Jacob and Esau. Isaac is the Father, Jacob and Esau are these twin brothers, but Esau is the older brother. And the text says that Esau was like, you know, he's his dad's guy, and Jacob was more of like a mama's boy. So Esau was a hairy man, the Texas and he was a hunter.
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And so one day, and Jacob and his mother schemed, so that Jacob could still The blessing the inheritance that Esau deserved as the older brother, as Esau was out hunting, Jacob comes before his father's whose eyes were dimmed. And he because he's his twin can kind of look a little bit like his brother, but he was not hairy like him. And so he puts on his arms go skin so that when his father feels him, he looks and sees and feels the younger brother, but believes that he's the older brother, and Isaac the father ultimately gives the inheritance of the older brother to the younger. It was a scheme. It was stealing, and it was trickery. But I say this to you. What happened in Genesis by manipulation happens in the Gospel by substitution. When you place your faith and confidence in Jesus Christ, he becomes your older brother. But Jesus Christ does not want to have the inheritance for himself. So he clothed you in his Christ's likeness, he makes you more like him. He makes you look like him. He makes you talk like him, he conformed you into the image of Jesus Christ, so that when the father sees you, he sees the older brother Jesus and the inheritance that only the older brother earn, you now receive by grace. What happened in Genesis and manipulation happens in the Gospel bus substitution? You place your faith and confidence in Jesus Christ, you become rich toward God. So now what do we do as Christians? What do we do? What's the word say application? Be content. Be content, be content. This is all Paul is saying is Philippians chapter four. He says I know how to abound. I know how to be brought low in any in every session. Come since I have learned the secret of facing plenty, and hunger, abundance and need, and here's the phrase, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. That's what that's about. It ain't about power. It's about contentment in Jesus Christ. And why is Paul able to say that because he knows that there is nothing as valuable as knowing Jesus Christ in the world. And that is why in the previous chapter in that book and phillipians Paul is just like, Yo, man, I'm the Jews, Jews, you know, say, according to Lama Ferdowsi, according to person, zero, I'm a persecutor of the church, according to zella says, I'm righteous under the law, but he says this, hear me. But I count all things. I wish I could say this in truth. Jesus help me account all things as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ. Jesus my Lord.
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Do we really believe that church? Do you really believe that you can count all things as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus your Lord, if you do you can live out with First Timothy chapter six says, He says charged those who are rich in this present age, that's all of us. Just say I'm rich. Alright, so you admitted it. So this is you. Charge those who are rich in this present age Listen, not to be haughty, nor to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches here, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Friends, we have everything we can ever have. We have everything we could ever want. We have everything we could possibly need in the Lord Jesus Christ. So if this is the case, let's be content and generous. Because we are already rich towards God, by grace and faith in Jesus Christ. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we thank you.