The Foolish Farmer
Good morning here this morning to help us prepare our minds to overtake of the Lord's supper will be taking the bread was represents the body of Jesus Christ who was crucified on the cross and the fruit of the Vine with ripping since his blood which was shed for us. How many reading from Exodus 12 1 through 14 the start off? A Jehova spoken to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt saying this much should be infused. The beginning of month is Shelby the first month of the year to you speakee until all the congregation of Israel saying in the 10th day of this month they shall take to to them every man a lamb according to the houses to their father's house alarm for a household. And if the house will be too little for land in Shell he and his neighbor next next into his house take one according to the number of the souls according to Every Man's eating he shall make you count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish to mail mail a year old. You shall take it from the Sheep. Are you are from the goat and you shall keep it until the 14th day of the same month and the whole assembly Congregation of Israel shall kill it at evening and they shall take the blood and put it on the two side post and on on the lentil upon the houses where they shall eat it and they shall eat the Flesh in that night roasted with Favre unleavened bread with bitter herbs. They shall eat it. Eating out of it wrong at all with water, but roasted with fire its head and its legs and with the N word in words, they're there and you shall let nothing of it remain until morning that they but that which remain is of it until morning you shall burn with fire and that show you eat it with your loins girded your shoes on your feet and your staff in your hand and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Jehovah's Passover for I will go through the land of Egypt in that night and was Smite all the first born in the land of Egypt both man and Beast and against all the gods of Egypt. I will execute judgment. I am Jehovah and the blood shall be to you for a token of haunted house where you are and then when I see the blood I will pass over and there shall no play the upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt and this station. In this day shall be unto you at 4 Memorial and you shall keep it at keep it a feast to Jehovah throughout your Generations. You shall keep it A Feast for an ordinance forever.
So we see that this is the Passover that Jesus was taking that he was deserving when he is too that the Lord's Supper.
the thing we we talked about a number of times how the Old Testament is our tutor for for the New Testament for Christ in this is a perfect example of it here. We have the blood of a lamb that they sacrificed actually saves the Jews from death. And that angel passes oversees the blood he passes over and doesn't kill the first born in the same ways. When Jesus institute the Lord's Supper his blood that he sheds on the cross is what saves us from death from Eternal separation from God. So it is a very symbolic thing that Jesus is doing as the Institute this Lord's Supper so that we all have it full understanding that he is the last and final perfect sacrifice. I'll close out reading Hebrews 9 verse 11 through 14, but when Christ appeared as a high price of the good things to come he entered through the greater and more perfect Tabernacle not made with hands that is to say not of this creation and not not and not through the blood of goats and calves but through his own blood. He entered the holy Place once for all having attained Eternal Redemption Force the blood of goats and Bulls in the ashes of a heifer sprinkled those who had been defiled Sanctified for the cleanse another flash how much more would the blood of Christ who threw the eternal spirit offered him without blemish to God cleanse cleanse your conscience from the dead were To serve the Living God. So at least words will for taking the Lord's Supper.
Good morning. Please open your Bibles to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12 we're going to be studying the parable of the foolish farmer there. And it's not Luke 14, it's Luke 12. I promise you many of you know, this Parable as the rich fool, but the same thing about Appreciate Spencer song leading at as happens. So often he chooses songs that fit with the idea of the lesson and the one that we just sang The Way of the Cross leads home is so fitting to our topic this morning.
We've got to follow the path of the Cross which doesn't just mean Jesus sacrifice for us, but it means we've got to live a sacrificial life. We leave the way of the world. That's what I think verse 3 of that song says but you don't just leave the way of the world. You have to leave the way of the world and you have to take on this sacrificial pact. You don't just quit sending but you've got to start on this path of your calling of Christ. And so that's what we're going to focus on but it's good to see everybody here is good to see I saw daddy a minute ago. She's been spending so much time caring for her mother who is very ill but she was able to make it this morning. Please keep her in prayer to get for comfort and support. I know she would appreciate it. As Ron said Laura is home sick. I said she sounded like a seal but I think she does sound more like a frog that that makes more sense. Is is Ron pointed out? I called her? Last night about something as I was up here working and I thought I've got Jeffrey on the phone. So that just tells you what she sounds like it. Apparently this is something that's been going around and Fred and Davison had it some kind of bronchial thing, but hopefully you don't get so just stay away from her.
In Luke chapter 12 in beginning in verse 13, you have this parable. Which begins when somebody from the crowds is Jesus was preaching interrupts him and ask him for a family favorite. He says teacher tell my brother to invade the to divide the inheritance with me and that prompts Christ to give this Parable. Take care. He says in verse 15 and be on your guard against covetousness and then he tells the story of this rich man who had a really good year growing crops and he thought you know, this is it I struck gold. I won the lottery. I'm going to build at my Barnes and store all of this and I can live off this for the rest of my life. And Jesus calls him full because his life ends that night. So I want to talk about what exactly was so foolish about what this farmer didn't know what he was thinking because I think it applies to us and then I'm going to go ahead and confess to you that this man's dream is appealing to me. To have enough so that you know, I can finally chill out a little bit and you'll finally enjoy life away from all of the anxieties and worries that are pressing on me.
It's appealing to get to that point in life. And you say to yourself. I worked hard. Know what the song says I work so hard to Jesus. I often boast and say I've tried to work hard for Jesus. Sacrificed a lot of things along the lonely way. I tried to get my give my family what it needs at all times as a father which requires sacrifices.
I'm ready to have that year where I can just build big enough Barnes and store everything and live off of that. And you don't know where I build my barns don't you think? You know me well enough it's going to be on the beach somewhere. He thought I was going to California California has to be near the ocean. I want my little place on the beach with no responsibilities. I want to go for walks on the shore at night. That's when I like being at the beach. It's so peaceful. That sound just does something to me.
Maybe write songs, maybe not good songs, but you know just right songs. I don't remember this big church with great preaching and awesome singing It's encouraging every Sunday and every Wednesday and amazing Bible class teachers and just uplifted every week and you know, that would be my bigger Barn story.
So what's wrong with that? We we all deserve to get to that point. We've all worked hard. What's wrong with that kind of dream?
And that's exactly what Jesus explains here in Luke chapter 12 and his point to not just this man who interrupts him. But his point to the crowds is it's a delusion. It is it's a delusion of think that we can have this relaxing life because that's not the reality of the world because while we're trying to get to our happy place the world around us is apocalyptic. This is the description that Jesus gives us in Loop 12 and just imagine some happy-go-lucky guy. He's living the dream and he's out in his front yard watering. His flowers is Garden. whistling as everything's exploding around him.
People are dying. Wars are being fought everything's on fire and he's grabbing his books so he can go hang out in his hammock can just relax.
That's the biggest the bigger message of this chapter that I want to show you.
It and we miss it when we just read the parable got to take the parable and we've got to look at the bigger picture to understand why Jesus is giving us this Parable and end. This is what I want you to see that they're saying there's no time to waste week. We've got to stay busy. We've got to work and that's why this interrupting guy is such an important part of the story. This is talk about him for a minute.
Remember in Luke chapter 12 verse 13 Jesus as someone in the crowd said to him teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. What do you think of this guy? Look at the beginning of this chapter just just to get an image of what's going on here. This one begins by expressing to us how large the crowd was that day one of Jesus biggest. They're all listening to Christ verse verse 1 says in the mean time when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another. He began to say Jesus pulls out the big sermon. The one that the thousands of people need to hear. And he's preaching about the Pharisees and he's preaching about fear and persecution and all the sudden he hears from the midst of this ocean of people. Excuse me. Teacher, excuse me.
Do you help with inheritance issues? I've Got a Friend a preacher friend who is talking about this so they told the story about one day where
his car had broken down and his family desperately had to get somewhere.
To church or something like that, but they had to take their backup car supposed to be one that was driveable. It had some problems where you could get it started, but if you ever turn it off, it wouldn't start back up again and He did not renew the tags on it because he wasn't supposed to drive it until it got fixed up but their main car broke down and so he had to take this one and it didn't have any gas in it. So the family all files in and they're on their way to church and he's already stressed out about having to take the back of car knowing he doesn't have tags for gets pulled over if a cop gets behind him. But you know, it's kind of embarrassing he's in trouble station, but he can't turn the car off. He said so he has to just get gas with the car turned on which is not a good idea and you know, he's stressed out about that too. And he said it in the midst of all this chaos and in all this fear an emotion that he has going on running late and driving this car his his little son his his three-year old little boy pokes his head out the window and he says he
Can I get some candy?
And he said all he wants to do to this sign is is to yell side. Do you really think that's what's important right now is we're running late to church and and we're in the wrong car the back of the car and then I'm feeling not been it's still turned on and you're asking me for candy.
That is kind of the feel of this guy who's interrupting Christ as he's presenting this message to the crowds about giving their lives to live the sacrificial life to the living the life of the Cross and fighting against the Pharisees and not fearing them but fearing God and proclaiming the name of Christ at all, these big important issues and this man speaks up asking about some inheritance help. Between him and his brother.
Was it really that important?
Ask my brother to give me my share of the inheritance was that was that big a deal?
Well, it was to this guy. And probably if it were you and me would be a huge deal for us. Because you know what that maybe a lot of money he made the have depended on that inheritance, especially in their day and age.
but Jesus response Tell him. In verse 14 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 possession. You got your priorities mixed up sir. You think I'm preaching all this so that you can you know be taken care of or beat be comfortable. So you can have your fair share. Well, let me tell you the story Jesus at this is the context of the parable of the foolish farmer. It's about a guy who is missing the bigger picture is Jesus is presenting this important sermon, he's missing the bigger picture and he's thinking about
his own Comfort Inn in his own material needs.
Let me just ask you the question that really Jesus is hitting at it in his conversation with this man and to the crowds in general. The question is what what are we looking for?
What's our Dream? Are are we trying to be comfortable or we looking to get to work?
So for all of us who share a dream of finally being comfortable in life whether your dream, is it a little cottage by the ocean, or maybe it's just a finally retire and and not carry the burdens in the Stress and Anxiety you got going on in life right now.
What's it going to take for us to just forget about that dream to set it aside and give ourselves right now fully to the kingdom from now until we die.
What is what's the mentality change that needs to take place in our minds? To do that right now? And Jesus has an awful lot to say about that in chapter 12. And so I like it. I like to take you through not just that Parable but Jesus sermon in Luke chapter 12 and see what he has to say about staying focused on our job as Christians and the first thing that he addresses which it makes a lot of sense when you consider the parable of the foolish farmer, but the first thing that he addresses in the sermon is the fear of the work, So sorry about fear for a minute. As these crowds are settling in these thousands of people. They're finally quieting down to hear him. The first thing the Lord does is that he challenges them to no longer fear for claiming their faith. He brings up the Pharisees. And Jesus warns the people that you need to be concerned about the leaven of the Pharisees. You don't need to be worried about what they can do to the to your body's need to be worried about their 11 and then he says down in verse 4. I tell you my friends do not fear Those Who Kill the body and after that have nothing more that they can do.
Fear Don't Fear the job that God has given you to do just put yourself out there and do it and forget about the consequences, but that is a scary thing. There's nothing worse. Been having it. Present something to people do a bunch of people. Just think about getting up in front of people. I've always heard that there's more people who are afraid of public speaking in the art of dying. So people would rather die than give a speech or give a talk. I still remember I still remember the look on people's faces. When I had to give my first speech at least the first one that I can remember in school. I think I was in high school might have been Junior High and it seemed like it had something to do with Aeronautics. I don't even know why I remember that but I just remember I'm terrified I get up in front of everybody and I have to give this speech and I don't remember anything that I said, but as I'm sitting down I do remember the faces of the people who just had to witness this train wreck and it was a that their expression is a combination of confusion and shocked like when you witness a car accident or something and I doubt hardly anything that I said made sense cuz I couldn't get the words out. Do you know it was a disaster? It's a terrifying thing to present to people but it's even more terrifying that Jesus challenges us to stand up for a faith in front of people who will be hostile to it when I wasn't a hostile crowd. These were all my friends. But you can be really embarrassing. When you plead your case in front of people who you know aren't going to accept it.
It's really embarrassing and you feel like you said the wrong thing most of the time and you can yell relate to that. You're trying to share your faith and Just about every single time when you're done. All you do afterwards is you replay what you said in your mind and it was the dumbest thing. Anybody could have said so, how can we get to the point where we're not afraid? To live our faith to express our faith and to declare the name of Christ and Jesus answer. In this lesson is you need to fear God more than you fear, man. It is the first thing he says in verse 5.
After in verse for he he tells them to not be afraid of Those Who Kill the body and after that could do no more than 4/5 he says, but I will show you whom you shall fear fear Him who after your body has been killed as authority to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you fear Him. But we got to fear God more because if we're not acknowledging Christ in our lives. I'm going to have to explain to God someday why we're not.
Do your friends know that you're a Christian?
Are you talking about it? Or they seen it? Are you discussing? Christ with them not just in your words of I mean we're supposed to be living sacrifices. We're not we're not just sent out to talk. But people around us need to know who we are and what we need to be every every effort that we're making. It's got to be to try to bring them around to Christ. Just came up in. a Bible class That I was a part of last night where there is a sister talking about. She reads her Bible every day at lunch when she's at work. And she's been doing this for a long time and she's got Bible conversations going on with their co-workers and subjects about scripture and being a Christian are always coming up. but then some new person has come into the office who has one of those judgy faces know I'm talking about and you know, she's not quite so comfortable anymore than want to leave the impression that you know, she's just doing this to be seen or something but
You know folks need to know what we stand for even if it's embarrassing or uncomfortable and we need to be doing things like that finding ways to express who we are not being afraid to do that. And the way that we avoid fear of doing it is by fearing God more but Jesus goes on to say it's not just that we need to be more afraid of God. We also need to remember how valuable we are to him. And that's another way that we can combat fear remembering how valuable we are to God. I think about that sometimes when I have to have a difficult conversation with somebody about some spiritual subject or talk to somebody who's way smarter than me about the Bible Remembered in college. I had I made an effort to try to talk to a professor about baptism cuz he he was a guy who'd written books and he wrote about baptism and I didn't agree with it. And so I tried to go talk to him about it, but he knew way more about the Bible than I did. He was smarter than me and it didn't go so well that conversation but I know God goes with me in those efforts because he wants to help me he wants me to be successful and he wants me to be. Okay and this is the idea remember how much how valuable got is two you go into the situation know when he's right there behind you or is right there with you as you're talking to folks in Luke chapter 12 and verse 6. This is what Jesus reminds us of after he says you need to fear God more than you fear people who It hurt you. Then Jesus says number 6 are not five sparrows sold for two pennies yet. Not one of them is forgotten by God indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered God care so much about you. He knows every detail about you and your life and your person even the number of hairs on your head. So don't be afraid you're worth more than many sparrows.
Also, Jesus promises and verse 11. When you're brought before synagogues rulers and authorities do not worry about how you will defend yourself or what you will say for the holy spirit will teach you at that time what you should say? Now I understand that was a prophecy about the apostles the ones that Jesus would send before the religious rulers and leaders. But still the principal is that God wants us to succeed because he cares about us and he's going to help us when we try. So we don't need to be afraid just go just throw yourself in there and do it. And you know, if it doesn't go well just put it in God's hands we did what he wanted. That's all we can do in and he'll take it from there. But he can use every effort that we make even if we think it's terrible effort. we got to put ourselves out there and trust that God cares enough about us that he's going to try to help us to be successful and then know this is the big point that a lot of his crowds miss that we miss and I think this interrupting guy missed as well that the way to overcome fear is that we trust that God will take care of us. I want you to really think about this one for a minute. In order to overcome our fear and get into the work. We've got to trust that. God will take care of us. Take a look at verse 22 of Luke chapter 12.
Right after Jesus gets done with this Parable. This is what he says familiar words.
Luke 12 verse 22 then Jesus said to his disciples therefore I tell you do not worry about your life. What's this interrupting guy worried about his life? Yeah. Going to miss out on some money. He might not have a place to live. He's really anxious about that. Jesus said to his disciples if I tell you to not worry about your life what you will eat or about your body. What you will wear for life is more than food and the body more than clothes.
And now this is what this interrupting I didn't understand and I think it's a big problem we have in our work for the Lord.
We think he's not there for us.
I'm predicting in my mind that you're all saying all that silly course. I know God's God is there for us but your actions speak louder than words. We think he's not there for us. And I know that my evidence for that. Is that where such stressed-out people? We're worried and anxious about everything.
If we weren't so worried and anxious about everything we wouldn't look so forward to a day when we can finally relax. We are high-stress people living in a high-stress environment.
And Jesus tells people like that. Don't worry about your life.
Verse 32. Jesus says do not be afraid Little Flock for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom sell your possessions and give to the poor provide purses for yourselves. That will not wear out a treasure in heaven that will never fail where no thief comes near and no moth destroys for where your treasure is there. Your heart will be also Quit being afraid that we won't be taken care of and so focused on building bigger barns. So that will be all right in and lasts through these, you know difficult. Trust that God is there at all times caring for you and and and once we can quit being afraid then we can go to work knowing God has our back. So I hope that's the big lesson the big point you get out of this morning's lesson. Get out. Go to work go talk to people don't be afraid of doing that goes Shine Your Light and forget about all these.
All these needs that we have like food and clothing. Just trust God's going to take care of that.
And get to work. That's a message of of the rest of this chapter down in verse 35.
Jesus concludes be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning like servants waiting for their Master to return from A Wedding Banquet so that when he comes and knocks, they can immediately open the door for him that the man in Jesus parable was not ready. He got to the point where you can finally relax and God came when he was not working. Bristol 37 it will be good for those servants whose Master finds them watching when he comes truly. I tell you he will dress himself to serve will have them recline at the table and we'll come and wait on them. If he comes in the second watch or in the third and finds them awake blessed are those servants but know this that if the Master of the House had known it what hours if he was coming he would not have left his house to be broken into you also must be ready for the son of man is coming at an hour. You do not expect and being ready. Does it just mean I'm not sending being ready means working. And serving and living the life of the cross.
We got come overcome our fears to get ourselves more involved into that light. I imagine there's a lot of us who relate to this interrupting man. Knows Jesus is pushing this critical message of getting to work because the world is a dangerous difficult place. We're thinking about our peripheral needs.
And we're looking for a break from Life think that's where we most relate. We're looking for that break from an anxious and uncertain life, but we've got to quit worrying about that stuff and get to work. My friend got a job a little while ago and when they hired him they gave him a car and they gave him a laptop and they gave him a company credit card. Why did you all that so he can focus on his job and not have to worry about how he's going to get all this other stuff to do his job. Just hear you here. It is everything you need just focus on your job.
Is god with you providing everything you need to do your job? So you don't have to worry about? What are you so anxious and stressed out about all that stuff. You can't concentrate on living the sacrificial life of the Cross. Are we ready to get to work?
Jesus says in verse 40. You also must be ready because of son of man will come at an hour. You do not expect him and you do not want to be idle when he makes his return. Get busy. If you haven't yet entered into the field of harvest, we haven't yet gotten to work. You have an opportunity to do that right. Now. The water is ready Romans chapter 6 verses one through three since they were baptized into Christ. That's where the Journey Begins
I was told by ananias y t delay arise be baptized and wash away your sins. If you're ready. You need to take that step. Now. If you have the face to do it, if you are a Christian and you haven't been busy working and you need prayers and strength in support of your church family, please come forward. Let us know what we can do for you while we stand in C.