Successfully Foolish

We gather here this morning because of Jesus. We have believed in Him and He has made us family. We are blood brothers and sisters in Jesus who died and rose again for us, as we just remembered together - and he is here with us by his Spirit this morning.

*SO if you’re not a believer in Jesus today - you are in the right place because you are in the company of people who know him and love him.

Jesus is our savior, we belong to him now. His kingdom has already begun. The good news isn’t just about heaven when we die it is about living a new life now. And with the help of his Spirit we are learning to live as his people in this world today. which is why we look at the scriptures together, because it is God’s word given to us so that we might know Jesus and live for him.

Not about having all the bible answers its about growing in wisdom, skill in living. So for the next few weeks we want to engage you in thinking through how you will live out the principles we look at together.

Everyone wants to be successful...

something from conference? Shayne “only 50 members” planting a new inner city church - just commended him ....

How we view success has a profound impact on our faith and the quality of our lives

Luke 12:13–21 ESV

Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, 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 he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced 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 merry.” ’ 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 up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

If we’re honest we can identify with this man - he has a nice house, he has nice things, he is comfortable, he doesn’t have to worry about when the paycheck is coming in or whether or not he can pay his bills, he doesn’t have to work anymore he can pick and choose what he does with his time… - isn’t this how many of us view retirement? isn’t this why some of us work hard to leave behind a nice inheritance - for our children to help them succeed to live a better life. Even if we accept that the wealth he has is temporary and short lived - we still tend to think ‘at least his family was looked after’.

rich toward himself - diagram

If we’re honest we can identify with this man - he has a nice house, he has nice things, he is comfortable, he doesn’t have to worry about when the paycheck is coming in or whether or not he can pay his bills, he doesn’t have to work anymore he can pick and choose what he does with his time… - isn’t this how many of us view retirement? isn’t this why some of us work hard to leave behind a nice inheritance - for our children to help them succeed to live a better life. Even if it is obvious to us that his wealth is temporary and short sighted - we still tend to think ‘at least his family was looked after’.

If we’re really honest with ourselves this man Jesus is describing seems pretty successful - But in Jesus’ eyes he is successfully Foolish! He’s a poster boy for “How to be a Fool”

BIG IDEA: True success is far deeper and more comprehensive than financial success or enjoyment of this life. True success involves being ‘Rich Toward God’

The problem isn’t that this man is rich - in Jesus’ day great wealth was considered a sign of God’s blessing - it’s not the fact that he has wealth that makes him a fool - he is a fool because he is not rich toward God.

Look closely at how Jesus describes the internal conversation this man is having with himself… [PPT_Slide] “He is materially rich toward himself” - The focus of his wealth & the energy and effort of his investments is on himself (and his own family). “Me and my family”

cultural conditioning that wires us to think this way too - to see personal success in terms of being rich toward ourselves instead of rich toward God? It doesn’t matter if you are materially rich or poor you can still easily buy into this view of success…

cultural conditioning that wires us for being rich toward ourselves instead of rich toward God???

which Jesus calls foolish - Because True Success involves being rich toward God!

BIG IDEA: True success is far deeper and more comprehensive than financial success or enjoyment of this life.

After telling this story Jesus turns to his disciples to expand a bit on what he means by “being rich toward God” and the first thing out of his mouth is, ‘do not be anxious’

Defining personal success in terms of being rich toward ourselves results in lots of anxiety !

Wisdom and success = ancient Greeks & Bible

Global news article on Anxiety in young people

“Rich Toward God”??

Global news article on Anxiety in young people

Luke 12:22–31 ESV

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. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 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! And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest? 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. 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! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you.

Wisdom and success = ancient Greeks & Bible

Luke 12:32–34 ESV

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 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. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Rich toward God - diagram in my notebook

Being Rich toward God = The focus of our wealth & the energy and effort of our investments is on Christ and his Kingdom. Instead of “Me and my family” Jesus and his Kingdom at the center.

BIG IDEA: True success is far deeper and more comprehensive than financial success and enjoyment of this life. True success is found in knowing Christ and being invested in his eternal kingdom!

God and his kingdom = It is in his kingdom that we truly thrive! It is as part of his kingdom that we are under the care and provision of the Father. What we invest in his kingdom is of eternal benefit. The treasures of the kingdom you can never loose, they outlast this life. God’s Kingdom, his plan and purpose will continue to unfold even after we’re dead and gone, which means out kingdom investments can impact our children for generations and generations.

‘Sell your possessions and give to the needy’ - this is the antithesis of popular views of success - this even scares us. Why?

True success is found in living with God and being invested in his eternal kingdom!

‘Sell your possessions and give to the needy’ - this is the antithesis of popular views of success - this even scares us. Why?

Story from Greg Paul’s book - the riches of the kingdom!

Wisdom and success = ancient Greeks & Bible

We want quick fixes - not long term solutions

We want how to’s laid out for us - not the ability to think clearly for ourselves

we want short training - not life long learning

we want tantalizing subjects - not serious ordered learning

we want fill in the blank exercises - not reflective writing

we want one time applications - not serious life projects

Wisdom and success = ancient Greeks & Bible

Our culture builds into us a mindset about so many things:

We want quick fixes - not long term solutions

We want how to’s laid out for us - not the ability to think clearly for ourselves

we want short training - not life long learning

we want tantalizing subjects - not serious ordered learning

we want fill in the blank exercises - not reflective writing

we want one time applications - not serious life projects

As you grew up in your family, how were you taught to look at success and personal security? How has culture shaped your thinking about this?

Q: As you grew up in your family, how were you taught to look at success and personal security? How has culture shaped your thinking about this?

Personal success

Being Rich toward God - involves a radically different view of our own wealth and investing for the future - which we’ll look at next week, Then we will take two weeks to look at two guaranteed investments for being rich toward God and then importance of the foundation for these investments. And finally we’ll wrap things up by looking at how it is really all about Jesus.

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