Sermon for 7/31/22 "Priorities" 16 Minutes

Luke 12:13-21

This morning I'll be reading Luke chapter 12 verses 13 through 21. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Luke 12:13-21 In the beginning of these scriptures,,, Jesus is asked to tell a man's brother to divide the inheritance with him and this leads into a parable designed to help us see what is important in our daily life.

Luke 12:13–21 (HCSB) — 13 Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 “Friend,” He said to him, “who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” 16 Then He told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? 18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’ 21 “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ----------------------------------------------------------- Last Sunday,,, I posted a sermon on Psalm 85 and we learned that,,, To be revived,,, requires seeking God’s forgiveness for the sins that we have committed.

When we do that,,, God is merciful,,, and will revive us,,, just as He did the Israelites in the Old Testament.

The Israelites made mistake after mistake,,, but God always forgave them,,, if they truly turned from their wicked ways.

God was always right there with them,,, waiting for them to turn back to Him.

He will do that for each of us as well.

God is the same as He was yesterday,,, today,,, and tomorrow,,, He never changes,,, so what He did in the past,,, He will do today,,, and in the future as well.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Our country needs change,,, but that won’t happen unless we change as well.

Each one of us,,, individually.

So we must be sure that we are walking with God the way that we should,,, and if not,,, we must be able to humble yourselves like the Israelites and seek God’s forgiveness,,, so that we as the Christians of this nation can show everyone,,, by our actions,,, what needs to be done!

Then,,, just maybe,,, they will follow our example,,, and change,,, before it is too late.

God is waiting.

He is here with us.

But we must truly seek Him and His guidance going forward,,, as a nation together,,, if we want God to “Revive Us Again!”

This morning we will look at these verses in Luke and we will see how they will help us in our walk with God this week.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 13 and 14 say: 13 Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 “Friend,” He said to him, “who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?”

During this time period,,, rabbis were sometimes asked to intervene in disputes between people.

And they would rule on who was right or wrong.

My Holman Christian Study Bible says that problems like this were often brought before the rabbis for them to settle,,, and Jesus' answer wasn't a change of subject.

Instead,,, Jesus is pointing to a higher issue,,, which is a correct attitude toward the accumulation of wealth.

Life is more than material goods,,, far more important is our relationship with God.

Here,,, Jesus put his finger on this questioners heart.

And when we bring problems to God in prayer,,, He often responds the same way,,, showing us how we need to change and grow in our attitude toward the problem.

The answer is often not the one we were looking for,,, but later in life,,, we can usually see God’s hand on something that at the time we couldn’t see,,, or understand.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verse 15 say: 15 He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard against all greed because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.”

Jesus' point was that having many possessions wasn't what life should be about.

The disciples needed to learn the lesson that life spent living for God is more important than material things.

Today we need to hear this,,, and not only our possessions,,, but time as well.

We must be focused on our future,,, and I’m not talking about retirement future.

Instead,,, I mean our heavenly future.

We spend much more time focusing on our earthly retirement and leave our heavenly retirement for later.

But as we will see as we look further into this parable,,, that can be very dangerous!

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 16 and 17 say: 16 Then He told them a parable: “A rich man’s land was very productive. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops?

In verses 16 - 20,,, Jesus begins to tell the parable of the Rich Fool.

That's the title that my Study Bible has above it.

In this story,,, a man's land was very productive and he had a bountiful crop.

He harvested more crops than the barns that he had would hold.

He wasn't sure what to do.

We see the answer that he comes up with in the next couple of verses.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 18 and 19 say: 18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’

So he decided to tear down his old barns and build newer,,, bigger barns,,, that would hold all of the harvested produce.

And that's exactly what he did.

He built enough barns that held all that he had harvested and put it up for his future.

Now he thinks that he has it made,,, he doesn’t have to worry about anything any more.

All that he needs to do now,,, is just sit back,,, and enjoy everything that he has worked for.

----------------------------------------------------------- Verses 20 and 21 say: 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be?’ 21 “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

He was called a fool because he lived his life as if God doesn't exist.

We aren’t told whether he believes in God,,, but he definitely never gives God any thanks for his blessings like he should,,, or tries to help anyone else that might need help!

Instead,,, his only thoughts seem to be for himself.

The farmer thought that he would live many more years but God said that this very night his life was demanded of him.

The farmer made plans for his life in this world but he planned nothing for his life in eternity!

When we have our thoughts on ourselves instead of focusing on God,,, we lose everything in the end because nothing goes with us when we die.

The only thing that we have that truly mater,,, will be the things that we do here on earth that help us to get to Heaven.

We will never take any material things with us when we leave this world,,, all of it will stay here.

None of the material things that we have worked so hard for will be of any use to us.

Someone else will decide how to use the things that we leave behind,,, whether they will use them,,, sell them,,, or throw them away.

A lot of times they aren’t as important to someone else as they are to you.

That’s why it’s so important that we have our “Priorities” in the right place,,, or we will be focusing on the wrong things in life.

----------------------------------------------------------- That’s what Jesus was trying to tell this man that started this conversation.

He told this parable so that we can all see that this is foolish behavior,,, and yet,,, we see it from so many people today.

We get up on Monday morning and go to our jobs,,, work hard all week,,, making a paycheck,,, paying bills out of it,,, saving for something we want,,, whether it’s a new car,,, new house,,, clothes,,, vacation,,, retirement,,, whatever it may be!

There isn’t much thought put into our future beyond this life,,, even though they are our most important thoughts,,, or,,, at least they should be.

Like the “rich man”,,, (that Jesus called a “fool”),,, we spend our time selfishly thinking of today without any thoughts of our future that really matters.

Our “Priorities” are in the wrong place and need to be changed.

When we do that we will also change our outlook on everything else and improve our feelings for others as well.

We will begin to see people that need help and act upon that sight,,, not just passing on by.

It changes our outlook so that we see things more in line with the way that Jesus saw things while He was here on earth.

Our focus changes for the betterment for all people,,, when we change our “Priorities” from an earthly perspective,,, to a heavenly perspective!

Jesus wanted that for this man so long ago,,, and He wants it for us as well today!

----------------------------------------------------------- So be sure that you change your “Priorities” so that you are focused on the things that really matter.

Jesus thought it was important that day when He answered the man about his inheritance,,, and it’s important today for us as well.

Being sure that we remember the words in Matthew 6:21 that says: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

If our “Priorities” aren’t changed correctly,,, our hearts may be set on earthly things instead of heavenly things and we will pay for it in an eternity spent in hell instead of heaven.

So ask God to show you the correct choices that you should make,,, and any changes that are needed today so that you can put your blessings to work for heavenly gain,,, instead of earthly gain,,, and make sure your “Priorities” are focused on the future that matters the most,,, and will be spent in the best possible way,,, that leads to an eternity with Jesus,,, when our “Priorities” are set correctly!

----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------