Transforming a Bigger Barn Philosophy

Scripture Introduction:

What makes you anxious? Or what tempts you to be anxious?

A study came out in October showing that 40% of Americans worry about the future multiple times a week. Another study showed that 75% of young people say “the future is frightening”. Millennials are more worried about the future than others…and before you call us snowflakes, it’s probably because of the age that millennials are right now. Most have young kids, caring for aging parents, etc. But there ARE social factors there too.

The study also found that WHAT people worry about changes with age. The Silent Generation (you’d be 75-95) are almost three times more worried about political instability than gen Z (that’s 10-25). They were far more concerned about things like cyberattacks, global warming, and the role of artificial intelligence—and those things didn’t even really register with The Silent Generation.

It’s not surprising that the most common worry was financial instability and that was across all generations. Others were concerned about future pandemics. Now this study didn’t look at what you are worried about TODAY. Anxiety and depression symptoms are through the roof right now. We are a stressed out and anxious people.

And I’m guessing we each have at least some anxious things we’ve brought here this morning.

Worried about paying your light bill? Worried about your own personal health? The health of somebody else? Nervous about the state of our economy, our nation, civil unrest. Relational difficulties? A big test coming up? What has you teetering towards anxiety this morning---or maybe you aren’t teetering towards anxiety…you’re anxious. What’s got you there?

In Luke 12 we’re going to hear of a guy who had a very pressing concern on him. He’s going to interrupt Jesus’ speech. And to me it’s a little humorous what happens…Jesus is talking about things like persecution and the kingdom of God…and this guy’s question just seems to come out of nowhere.

But I think we will do better if we put ourselves in his shoes for a moment. You know what it’s like to have this kind of tunnel vision. When your anxiety is pressing upon you. His question is going to seem disconnected but in his mind it’s everything. This is THE pressing concern for him. Nothing else matters. He is consumed by this. He knows what needs to happen in his life and he knows that Jesus is the one who can decide this squabble. It’s fractured his relationship with his older brother…he’s being treated unfairly…his world is coming apart…and so he blurts it out:

READ TEXT

Luke 12:13–34 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.” 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. “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.

Sermon Introduction:

I wonder how that guy responded. Was he put off by Jesus? Was he furious…leaves kicking the dust because if Jesus REALLY cared about him then he would respond to the thing that was on the top of his heart…he’d give him an answer on this inheritance thing. But he just skirts around it. How is that loving?

But Jesus actually gets to the root. He’s wanting to give this man something far better. He wants him to have an inheritance that can never spoil or fade. And if he can somehow have that…and catch a vision for that…then it changes the very question that he is asking about. But it’s impossible for him—while he is full of himself and his own pressing concern—it’s impossible for him to be filled with delight in Jesus. He’s already filled to capacity with his inheritance question.

Jesus aims to help with anxiety. He is helping this man. And he is helping us. So I want us to walk through this passage and see the help that Jesus gives for the anxious heart…and then I want to bring in a bit of Old Testament that can help us put a discipline in our life that will help us grow in trust and will help in our battle with anxiety.

First, he reorients our worldview.

He has just told the disciples to watch out for the Pharisees…watch out for hypocrisy. And now he gives another “watch out”. Look out for covetousness. What is covetousness? It’s greediness…it’s wanting something more than what you are due. It’s taking everything. It’s a desire to acquire more and more and more possessions…to have more than other people. It’s the error…the sin…of getting your identity from your possessions.

Notice in your Bible where it says, “one’s LIFE does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” There are three different Greek words that are translated life. There is one which just simply means the quantity of your life…your bios…the number of days you have. He didn’t use that one. The second one would have been that quality of life…your personhood, your values, your relationships. He didn’t use that one either. The third word is one that means the very essence of a living being—it’s the opposite of death. It’s the “ahhh this is the life.” If you really wanted to get the sense of this word you’d translate it something like, “to live”. One’s “to live” does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

Jesus is saying that doesn’t consist of the abundance of possessions. Life isn’t about acquiring stuff. Stuff can improve the quality of your life…but it can’t make you really live. He illustrates it with a parable.

Rich man. Dude is already rich. And he has a great crop. So much that he can’t even store all the crops. So what does he need to do?

Now the Old Testament actually tells him what he’s supposed to do. It’s not efficient. They were to leave the margins of their field unharvested, they weren’t to pick up the stuff that fell on the ground, they were only to harvest once.

Why would you leave your field unharvested? Why not get every bit of grain you can? It’s yours. It’s your land. It’s yours to do with what you want. Not for the people of God. They were (according to Leviticus and Dt.) to leave this for the foreigner and the poor. Leave margins so that others can thrive.

Dude shouldn’t have an overflowing barn. Harvest what it takes to fill up your barn, that’s fine. Take care of your family, take care of your needs, totally fine. But leave margin for the poor. Don’t squeeze as much out of the land as you possibly can.

But this guy has a different strategy. I’m going to tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and then I’ll store my grain and my goods. And I love what happens there in verse 19… “then I will say to my soul…you have ample goods laid up for many years…relax, eat, drink, be merry.”

Now you and I know that he isn’t going to rest. He already has enough. That’s indicated by him being able to just tear down the barns and build new ones without even selling this years crop. If his small barn isn’t enough to satisfy him, then the larger ones aren’t either. We know that this farmer is going to just keep on toiling.

And it’s no accident that this guy says to his own soul, “soul...” it’s self-talk. He’s the captain of his ship. He’s in charge of his soul. He’s in charge of his destiny. But this very night his “soul is required” of him. God is the one in charge. And he hasn’t been even thinking about God. His whole reference point is off.

So what does this say to the brother who wants his inheritance divided…what does it say to our own anxious and striving souls...He has been thinking that the wrong thing is going to give him life. If I can just get THIS figured out then I’ll have life....rest soul, eat, drink, be merry. Just have to get that inheritance.

What is filled in the blank for you?

It can be tough to see ourselves in this passage if we aren’t the rich farmer....but we want to be. And if we aren’t striving for bigger barns but something else. It would have been true for Jesus’ first hearers as well. How many of them do you think could have identified with the rich man building bigger barns?

That’s not why he is telling the parable this way. He’s not saying this to be a bunch of people who even had their own tiny barn. His audience isn’t predominately wealthy. They are poor. They are the ones who are probably hurting from this guys greed.

What Jesus is doing is something a bit like what Nathan did to King David. He’s telling a story that would cause David to not necessarily see himself in the parable at first…but it would help him to see the sin in this man’s life.

How silly this anxious toiling of this guy. He’s not building for the kingdom. He is building his own kingdom. What a fool. Anxiously striving for something that isn’t going to last.

Not us, though, man. We’re just trying to stay alive. No barns for us. Then he turns to the disicples and says, “do not be anxious about your life”.

Different word for life. This one isn’t the “to live”. This is the quality of life one. This is the stuff of the day to day. And he says, “don’t be anxious about that.” Therefore…he’s connecting our everyday anxiety to the guy with the big barn.

Consider the ravens. They don’t even have a barn. And yet God feeds them. You’re more valuable than they are. Worry doesn’t add to your life. You can’t add a single day to your life…a single moment…if you aren’t in charge of that why are you trying to take charge of the rest…that’s what he is saying in v26.

Then he turns to the lilies. You ever feel like your life is made up of toiling and spinning? Look at the lilies..they don’t do either and yet they are beautiful. No spinning. No anxious labor. And yet they are thrown in the oven and God gives them such beauty.

O you of little faith. The nations seek after these things. God knows you need them. Seek his kingdom, and all these things will be added to you. So what is this saying to the disciples? What is this saying to the younger brother with his inheritance? What does it say about our own anxieties?

It is telling that guy that he is concerned about the wrong thing. Now one way to read this passage would be to say, if you’re seeking God’s kingdom then don’t worry everything is going to work out. So our inheritance guy....”seek God and he’s going to make your inheritance work out. Trust him with that. Hand it over to God…and he’ll end up giving you what you want.”

Trust God, you’ll be fed. Trust God, you’ll be clothed. And I think as a general rule that’s true. But Jesus had many night where he didn’t have a pillow. Jesus trusted God fully and was dying of thirst as he panted to get breath in his lungs having been nailed to a cruel and torturous tree. Many of the disciples were martryed. Luke, the author of these words, it is believed was hanged from an olive tree.

Luke gets word that he’s going to be hanged from an olive tree. That’s going to bring about at least some level of concern and anxiety, right. He’s going to have to cast those cares at the Lord’s feet. He hands it over to Jesus. He seeks the kingdom first. He gets hanged from an olive tree.

What if seeking the kingdom changes our perspective? Yes, all these things will be added to you. The point is shifting from self-security and self-focus to a dependence on God.

But I want to share a little about my own story here...I told you a few weeks ago that this passage has one of my favorite verses. I’m not quite there yet. But I was writing a sermon on this passage for LifeWay…and I was at a really low place. It was a particular difficult season in our previous pastorate.

I had much anxious striving. If I were the guy asking for inheritance I’d have a list…it’d be different though. It was Jesus-related stuff. I wasn’t trying for a bigger barn…I wasn’t having ample crops…I wasn’t the wealthy guy…I wanted to be a successful pastor…wanted to have ministry successes…wanted to have tons of people coming…wanted to be seen as a good pastor, to be there for people…to be the best pastor they’ve ever had, etc.. Wanted to be seen as a good dad, a good husband, a good writer…all these different hats. I was spinning them.

If you’d ask me whether I was seeking the kingdom, I’d have said, “yes. Check.” But why am I still overcome with so much anxiety and fear? Why am I feeling like a failure? Why am I at such a low point?

I’m writing this sermon for LifeWay and sharing some of what I’ve already shared about seeking the kingdom…but it didn’t seem to be tracking. I was “seeking the kingdom” and it was THAT which felt like it was crushing me.

Because “seeking the kingdom” doesn’t mean just replacing the object of an idolatrous heart it means replacing the entire way of relating. It is possible that “seeking the kingdom” can become an idol…and we can anxiously toil for the kingdom.

We can hear the words of Jesus “seek first the kingdom” and think he is saying to take our bigger barn philosophy of life into his kingdom. The problem is the field…we think.

Notice what this guy is saying. “I will do. I will tear. I will store. I will say....then he will direct his own soul ‘eat, drink, be merry.” And so if we hear Jesus saying, “seek first” and we respond with… “I will seek. I will build. I will go. I will labor. I will witness. I will preach. I will prophesy, and do miracles, and do all these things. Yes…I will seek the kingdom.”

Why we’ve not abandoned the acquiring possession mentality we’ve just traded the stuff in our barns. But look at 12:32…and this is my favorite verse.

Luke 12:32 ESV

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

Fear not. I was so afraid. I was afraid that my Jesus barns wouldn’t be big enough. My witness wouldn’t be loud enough. My pastoring wouldn’t be sufficient. My inadequacies would shine forth brighter than anything else...

Little flock....oh what tender words. Tiny sheep. That has a way of setting you in your place. But it’s also really freeing and loving when you’re worried about big barns and big ambition and big goals and big stuff for God.

“For it is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Seek the kingdom. It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. He delights to give what he requires. We don’t obey 12:31 by building big ministry barns. We obey 12:31 by receiving the kingdom.

God delights to give you His kingdom. His kingdom. Do you know what that entails.

Revelation 21:1–7 ESV

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.

He DELIGHTS to give that to you. Not begrudging. Not, fine I’ll do it because you can’t. Not forced into it. Not giving because it was earned. It is with joy. Sheer pleasure.

Do you see what this does to our anxiety. God delights to give you the greatest give of all. He’s dedicated to giving that to you. It’s his joy. What does that say to the inheritance guy. You’re aiming way too low, man. You want me to tell your brother to give you an inheritance that is going to spoil and fade away. You want me to help you get a moneybag that’s going to be destroyed by moth. And THIS is what has consumed your life? This is what you are anxious about? The father aims to give you something far greater.

That’s why we see what we do in verse 33 and 34. Sell your possessions, give to the needy. Sow into an eternal kingdom. That is what this is saying. It’s connected even to what we said earlier about gleaning.

Why does he talk about being given the kingdom..no cost…and then it almost sounds like (at least in other places for sure) that these are imperatives…do this. You want the kingdom “sell your possessions”. Because you can’t have the kingdom unless the other one topples. It’s just not possible. You can’t have the kingdom of God if you’re building bigger barns. Because one of these things is not like the other.

And so this is why we see that selling of possessions…it’s the response of a heart that is changed. It’s the evidence of that perspective changing. You sell those earthly possessions…tear down that big barn…you start doing things like gleaning because your whole perspective has changed.

How do we apply this?

Here is a whole church challenge.

Calvary is a pretty big barn. It’s a big field. What would it look like for us to leave the margins? What if some of our empty rooms, cluttered rooms, filled with storage and stuff from yesteryear…what if they aren’t meant for us? What if folks need to do some gleaning? What would that look like?

Individually

Not saying stop being anxious. Rest in his kingdom.

Are you trusting in his kingdom.? Manna. Gleaning.