06 - The Biggest Loser The Rich Fool 2012

Luke 12:16-21

Our story begins with a man who wants Jesus to bring him justice.

While Jesus has been preaching about heavy issues like eternal judgment, persecution and so forth, all this man in the crowd could think about is the money his brother hasn’t given to him.

So he asks Jesus to intervene.

But rather than deal with the man’s perceived injustice, Jesus uses the opportunity to warn against greed.

“Watch out!” Jesus said. “Be on guard against greed; for life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

Scripture teaches that greed is an ‘insatiable desire.”

Even if you get what you want, you won’t be satisfied.

Get one thing and your desires will only escalate.

It is like an addiction; what you have is never enough—you must have more.

Jesus uses the opportunity to tell a parable about a rich man.

In doing so, he’s holding up a mirror, not just for the man that wanted justice, but for all of us through the ages, that we might avoid the trap of greed.

In the parable, the man is already rich before his land brings forth even more abundance.

He already has more than enough – but to him, it isn’t enough.

“He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ 18 “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.”

The rich man obviously prides himself on his intelligence, his success, his efficiency and foresight as a businessman.

His plans were like many American’s—that being to ensure his comfort for many years to come.

Now, let’s look at this rich man a bit more closely, because he is a great example of modern man:

He thought he was intelligent.

This man believed he was a smart businessman.

He believed that he was wisely making arrangements for the ongoing success of his business.

But how intelligent are you if you don’t consider the unpredictable nature of life?

James talked about this “attitude of presuming” you have x number of years left on this planet:

James 4:13-16 “Listen! You who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this city and stay a year and make money.” 14 You do not know about tomorrow. What is your life? It is like fog. You see it and soon it is gone.”

“What you should say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that. Otherwise you are boasting about your own plans, and all such boasting is evil.”

Scripture is clear that there is no guarantee of tomorrow; and that we should live in a daily dependence on God.

Our rich man in the parable fits James’ description perfectly.

He was smart about investments, but foolish about the temporary nature of life.

In Jesus’ parable, God looked down from heaven and said:

“You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you.”

Right in the middle of his best laid plans, his time on earth came to a close.

That is not intelligence!

Intelligence considers all of the options, including the eternal ones.

Next,

He thought he had great foresight

There he was, planning for the future,

He was very careful to think about everything long before the time so that he would not reach a day where the money ran out.

He said to himself, “You’ve got plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”

Kick back! he thought.

You’ve worked hard; now enjoy your latter years!

You’ve got a great 401k.

You can live comfortably off of the interest.

You’re set!

He dreamed of all he would do in the years ahead.

All the golf courses he would play, the cruises he would take, the exotic places he would visit, the days of relaxation he would enjoy.

But his thinking about the future only went only as far as a few years.

He was not thinking about what lay beyond this life.

He was concerned about old age but not about eternity.

His intelligence didn’t consider the brevity of life, and his foresight didn’t take eternity into account.

And then also,

He believed he was successful

Our rich man surveyed his barns, fields, and investments and patted himself on the back.

He “had it made,” he thought.

He’d won the game of life

He was on top of the pile; he’d arrived!

But what is successful about a man who dies leaving everything behind?

When all that you’ve worked for will only be enjoyed by another?

Solomon was vexed by this fact of life:

Ecc.6:2 “God gives some people great wealth and honor and everything they could ever want, but then he doesn’t give them the chance to enjoy these things. They die, and someone else, even a stranger, ends up enjoying their wealth! This is meaningless—a sickening tragedy.”

One popular bumper sticker reads, “He who dies with the most toys wins.”

But Jesus would disagree with that philosophy.

Because you can’t take anything with you, though people try to the point of even requesting to be buried with different things:

1. Sir Walter Raleigh was buried with his favorite pipe and a tin of tobacco.

2. Wild Bill Hickok was buried with his Sharps rifle.

3. Bela Lugosi with his Dracula cape.

5. Humphrey Bogart with a small gold whistle.

6. Elvis with a diamond ring.

7. Frank Sinatra was buried with a flask of Jack Daniels whiskey.

8. Sandra Ilene West (California socialite) with her 1964 Ferrari.

All of these people tried holding on to things that they couldn’t take with them!

This cuts to the very meaning of the word “sin.”

Sin means “to miss the mark.”

If you live a life of sin, you may acquire many things in this world, but God says you have “missed the mark.”

You didn’t hit the bulls-eye.

You missed what life is truly all about!

This was our rich man in Jesus’ parable.

Now, though we can’t take any treasures with us, we can send treasures ahead of us:

Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount, “Don’t hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths, corroded by rust, or stolen by burglars. Store up treasure in heaven, where it’s safe from moth and rust and burglars.”—Matt.6:19

You can live for the Lord on earth and, in so doing, store up treasures in heaven that are eternal!

This rich man thought he was intelligent, that he had foresight, and that he was successful…

But in the end, he had placed all of his eggs in the wrong basket!

He’d been all about material riches, but had no sense when it came to spiritual riches.

Jesus sums up his life by saying he “was not ‘rich towards God.’”

Listen to all the personal pronouns in Jesus’ description of his thoughts:

“He said to himself, ‘What should I do? I don’t have room for all my crops.’ 18 Then he said, ‘I know! I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll have room enough to store all my wheat and other goods. 19 And I’ll sit back and say to myself, “My friend, you have enough stored away for years to come. Now take it easy! Eat, drink, and be merry!”’

—HE, HIMSELF, I, MY, MYSELF—I counted fifteen personal pronouns in only two verses!

God was nowhere in his thoughts, plans, or affections.

Though materially rich, he wasn’t rich in faith, rich in concern for the needy, rich in spirituality, rich in concern for the kingdom of God.

It was all about him and what he could acquire for his own selfish ends.

No wonder God called him a fool—life’s biggest loser!

At the height of his success God decided his life had gone on long enough and it was time to call him to account for the way he had lived.

12:20 “God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be required from you.”

“Required” comes from Greek word meaning, “Your soul, entrusted to you by God for a time, is demanded back.”

This rich man who had seemed to have it all entered eternity in poverty.

His intelligence, foresight, and perceived success failed him on the other side.

On earth he looked like the biggest winner, but in eternity he was considered the biggest loser.

Jesus closed by saying, “This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

And so ended the Lord’s warning about the dangers of greed.

ILLUS: Dollar bill. This is my dollar. I can spend it any way I want, but I can only spend it once.

How are you spending your life?

Are you rich toward God?

Is he getting a tithe of your time?

Your talents?

Your finances?

Are you serving Him?

Let’s Pray: