The Satisfaction of the Soul

The Parable of the Rich Fool

Lk 12:13–21 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 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.” 16 And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 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. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

Do Not Be Anxious

Lk 12:22–35 22 And he said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

divide the inheritance with me… What a Jewish Father worked for and left behind become the property of his sons after he passed away. That was his inheritance. The largest portion was passed to the first born son. The rest was divided amongst his other sons.

Divine inheritance… You should know that an inheritance has been prepared for you, by your Father in Heaven. The Kingdom of God. God has prepared the Kingdom for all of His children. The gift is not one you worked for. Another has worked and you are reaping the blessing. Jesus hung on the tree to activate the inheritance for every other son and daughter of God. What He worked for and earned becomes our gift. His righteousness becomes ours. His eternal relationship with the Father becomes one we enjoy.

What about the son who you cried out to Jesus?… Had his Father passed away yet? If not how callus of a question is this. Before my Fathers death my only concern is what I will or wont get out of it. Where was the relationship to man who Fathered him? Maybe the mans Father has already passed. If so, his only concern after his Father was gone the stuff he left? Where is his grief at the loss of his father? Why is it all that he can think about at a time like that is what his father left behind? He is speaking to Jesus, the Messiah. He who has raised the dead. He could have asked for his father back but instead, all he can think about is money.

At some point what the mans father could do for him, and not who his father was to him, became more important. His relationship was no longer gratitude and love, but selfishness. The first love of the mans life had become material possessions.

who made me a judge or arbitrator over you… Jesus answered the mans statement with a question that revealed truth the man didn’t ask for. An Arbiter or Judge was used to mediate property disputes after the death of a father. Thankfully Jesus has a tendency to redirect us when we are off base. He confronts to motives of misguided hearts. The man asking the question was missing the big picture. His eyes were blinded to what was really important. He had forgotten the importance of his relationship with his father. He was also ignoring the relationship with his brother. All over money.

How this must have reminded Jesus of mankind's relationship to the Heavenly Father… Think back to the garden. What did we do, traded one thing for something else, like the fruit of a certain tree to be wise in our own eyes, for the relationship we held with the Father? Its no wonder Jesus takes the opportunity to confront and reveal the twisted motives of the mans heart.

be on your guard against all covetousness… All covetousness. Notice He didn’t single out money?

1 Ti 6:6–10 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

Did you catch the end of Titus 10 ? ‘.… through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” Folks that pretty serious. No wonder He says be on guard. There are serious consequence’s to loving anything more than righteousness with God.

“Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”… The rich fool falsely believed He would be satisfied in His wealth. “ relax, eat, drink, be merry” Who here knows that you can have some pretty cool stuff and still be really lonely and unhappy?

Ec 5:10–12 10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, the Son of David, the King who built the temple of God.

2 Chronicles 9:22–24 “Thus King Solomon excelled all the kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put into his mind. Every one of them brought his present, articles of silver and of gold, garments, myrrh, spices, horses, and mules, so much year by year.”

Solomon was so wealthy other Kings brought him gifts... And yet Solomon pens this piece of scripture where He says ‘He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity”. I think Solomon learned what it was like to be very rich in possession and very poor in Spirit. These are the reflections of a man who has spent a great deal of time thinking. How hard would it have been for Solomon to find true friendship? Someone who wasn’t just kind to Him because of His great wealth wisdom and power? Solomon probably didn’t find many genuine friends. And if He did have them, was He suspicious of their motives? Are they here for me, or my wisdom, stuff and power?

What about the companionship of a good wife? … Surely this man of great wealth and power had a great wife? Those who know Solomons story know that He probably wasn’t close to any of them.

1 Kings 11:1–6 “Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. He had 700 wives, who were princesses, and 300 concubines. And his wives turned away his heart. For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done.”

So many, What about their names?… He had so many wives I’m not sure how He could even remember their names. How could anyone one of them have been close to him? They were probably all competing with one another even if they didn’t say it out loud. Do you think they could be open, honest and vulnerable to him in those circumstances? I think He was a man surrounded by people, and as lonely as anyone you ever met.

When God warns listen… I know one thing for sure, when God tells you something bad will happen if you do it, that’s exactley what happens. What did God warn the Isrealites, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.”, And guess what happened? Exactly what God said would happen happened. Solomon followed these woman and their false Gods. Remind you of another situation that played out in a certain garden?

Genesis 2:17 “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”” What happened after they ate the forbidden fruit? Spiritual death.

No satisfaction… This man wasn’t satisfied in His wealth. He wasn’t satisfied in his relationships. It was more and more wives, never enough. Where are the are the writings about his deep friendships? None of it satisfied. None of it satisfied because God is supposed to be his satisfaction. He had more than any earthly friendship in God. What earthly marriage could he be a part of that comes close to the marriage of a soul with God for eternity?

be on your guard against all covetousnes for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions… consist, upheld, kept, sustained. Is your life defined by the stuff in your life? Or does your life define the stuff in it? The things in this life that we tend to think are the most important are not really important in the long run at all. They don’t really bring us life. More often than not we let them steal the life we should have away, by caring about them far more than they deserve. After we are long and gone how many of the things we cared about wont be thought about by much of anybody? But if Jesus if the life by which you live, then Jesus defines the things in your life, and the things you have or don’t have cant change who you are.

The land of a rich man produced plentifully… Who’s land was it the man farmed? Gods. Who created the seed by which the man planted to grow a crop? God. Who sent the rains to water the fields the man grew in? God. Who hung the sun in the sky by which the fields received the sunlight it needed? God. Who kept disease, pest and natural disaster from wiping the mans fields out. God. Everything this man received was in fact a blessing from God.

A perspective of self… The rich fool had one perspective and one perspective only. Himself

The rich fool refers to himself 11 times in the story. “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 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. 19 And I will say to my soul

‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?… What does He mean by your soul is required of you? He is talking about the last judgement of the great judge Jesus Christ. The day we all give an account for what we have done in this life, or the day Jesus gives a defense on our behalf for what He did in His life. We each one of us will give and account for our soul, what did we decide to do with it regarding the revelation of God, Jesus Christ the Son.

So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” … What does it mean to be rich towards God? Let me ask you this question, can you possibly out give God? Would you send your child to death, to save another. To save another who was actually responsible for your child's death? Would you then adopt him into your family as a son. Would you move him into your house. Would you leave him all your earthly possessions when you were done? Rich towards God is so many different things, but most of all, its holding back none of yourself to Him, like He held none of Himself back from you. A greater love for any single thing in your life than God, even your own life, will cause you to selfishly hold back from Him in complete surrender.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing… If food, clothes were all someone needs in life to be happy Solomon would have been more than happy. But Solomon, who had far more than just these things, riches beyond measure, wisdom, power, his pick of woman, found not peace in all that he had.

There is covering, far great than the clothes we wear… The covering of Christ’s righteousness. Instead of clothing the body with perishable things, our mindset should be an eternal one. Lets clothe ourselves with the imperishable.

Zec 3:1–5.3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord was standing by.

Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments...

I will clothe you with pure vestments...

Ephesians 5:25–27 “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”

How? How can Christ clothe us in purity? Holy and without blemish?.… I have taken your iniquity away from you. Zechariah saw what Jesus was going to do not just for the High priest of Israel, but for all Gods people. All HIS PEOPLE ARE CALLED into the priesthood of worshiping and communing with Him.

What a cheap counterfeit… Living a life trying to do everything on our own. Instead a of life filled with the freedom and joy of Him as our provider. Why would we ever make that trade?

24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 26 If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!

The lilies, the ravens… both share a couple things in common with one another.

1. Neither one can do anything to provide for themselves. The lilies grow where they grow. The ravens eat the food that they can find.

2. Each of them are completely dependent on God. It’s His loving grace that sustains their needs.

This is the connection He is trying to draw to us. We are completely dependent upon Him.

29 And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.… What is He talking about here. Don’t seek the basics, the necessities of life? Why would He say something like that, He knows we need them. Look at the end of verse 30, that will tell you why seeking it isn’t necessary, because the Father knows you you need them. God is already working the details to care for His children. You have been freed of the need to endlessly pursue just the basics of life. The pursuit of just satisfying the flesh in no longer your purpose. Seeking them doesn't have to be the drive of your life. Seeking God in all things can be the drive of your life. You have been given liberty beyond your physical limitations to pursue and know Him.

“‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Clothes and Food, these things may sustain you, but they don’t give you life. Life is only found in God.

All nations… God cares for mankind in every corner of His creation. Every meal anyone easts and every stitch of clothing one wears is ultimately a blessing and comes from the hand of God.

31 Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.… Lord in Heaven Hallowed by thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. What is the Kingdom of God, here on earth as it is in Heaven? Its the Fathers will done. That's the Kingdom. We carry the Kingdom inside us and we bring it forth every time we make a decision for His names sake and not our own.

Luke 17:20–21 “Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.””

Jesus told them more than when the Kingdom was coming… He told them where. It’s here it’s there its all around you. Because the Father lives inside of every man woman and child you whose desire is to do the Fathers will. That why it’s in our midst, the Father Himself is reaching into the world through you and I as we yield and surrender to him. We are so much more than our needs in the life. We are free from even the need to pursue our own lives because He has given us a new one we live through Him.

32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom… Think about that church He has prepared for you a present that he greatly desire for you to receive. Above and beyond salvation, sozo, saved, healed, delivered, He has a gift for all His children. He hasn’t withheld even His Kingdom from us. We were orphans alienated from God by Sin. And in His great love He didn’t just cover over our sin He brought us into the family of God, as children receiving a full inheritance. He didn’t stop there either. He says what is mine is yours share in all that is mine. What we stand to gain is far greater than we have to give up or could ever lose.

33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys… Because you wont have need of it. Your living for something eternal now. Remember Jesus has put His robe of righteousness on you. It’s the food of His word that sustains you. You can afford to care for others, because the Father is caring for you.

34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also…

Matthew 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Closing

Lets look one more time at Ecclesiastes

Ec 5:10–12 10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. 11 When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? 12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

There is no satisfaction in the pursuit of wealth. But what come right before it got me excited church.

Ec 5:8–9 8 If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. 9 But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.

A king, committed to cultivated fields. This is the place of gain.

Not a land where everyone is in it for themselves. Where the poor are oppressed. Where justice is denied

Why is that so exciting.

The Lord reminds the reader. There is another in charge, higher in that land then even those that are unjust and oppressive.

This ruler is a just King, This is ruler is a righteous King.

This King is committed to His people, to His Kingdom.

This King will see that the fields in His land are not barren. The fields in His Kingdom will be cultivated

His people shall not lack, because He is righteous and just.

This King is Jesus Christ.

Do you remember the parable of the Sower? What did the ground the seed was sown upon represent?

You, Me, Us, our hearts.

Do you see it church?

The world has been twisted and broken. Selfishness and greed have ruled the hearts of men.

There has been a unjust ruler, cultivating this kind of life throughout the land. But Jesus Christ the true King was coming. He would restore Justice and Righteousness to His people.

Not only would Jesus overthrow this ruler, he would transform the fields of His Nation.

Jesus is committed to cultivating our hearts. There will be gain in His land.

He is preparing our hearts so that all manner of good things are produced.

Our King is committed to cultivating our hearts, will we yield the ground of our hearts to Him so that He can do His mighty work?

It’s going to take turning out other loves, like rocks in a field that tear up or stop a plow completely. Money, possession’s these are just one of the many loves that need to be turned out so the King can cultivate our hearts.