Full Barns, Empty Soul

Making our way through the gospel of Luke, Jesus and His mission.

! Jesus is on a mission, and His mission is to seek and to save that which was lost.

And when He comes, He shows us how to live our life as well.

That we're to be on mission for Him, that we're to share the gospel with others,

and He's kind of showing us the way that we should live our own life.

And so we're going to see that again here this morning.

And we found our place there in Luke chapter number 12.

We'll begin reading in verse number 13.

The Bible says this,

And one of the company said unto him,

Master, speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me.

And he said unto him,

Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?

And he said unto them,

Take heed and beware of covetousness.

For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesses.

And he spake a parable unto them,

The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.

And he thought within himself, saying,

What shall I do?

Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits.

And he said,

This will I do.

I will pull down my barns and build greater.

And there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

And I will say to my soul,

Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years.

Take thine ease,

Eat, drink,

and be merry.

But God said unto him,

Thou fool,

This night thy soul shall be required of thee.

Then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?

So is he that layeth up treasure for himself,

And is not rich toward God.

Maybe in your Bible it has a little heading,

The rich fool.

You think,

Well, it doesn't apply to me because I'm not rich.

It's much more than just possessions.

It's the spirit that we see here.

Because it is possible to have full barns and an empty soul.

And that's what this man's problem was.

He spent his whole life trying to live for himself

And to get what the world said you have to have

And missed the one thing that mattered.

And Jesus wants us to make sure that we don't follow that same path.

And so that's what we're going to look at this morning.

Full barns, empty souls.

So let's go to the Lord in prayer and ask his blessing on our time.

Father, thank you for this time that we can't open up the word.

Lord, I'm so thankful you've given us the word of God

To help us live our life the way that you intend for it to be

And to be designed to live.

What I do pray is we've already prayed once

That if there's somebody here today that's trying to be a good person,

Trying to do the right thing,

That maybe their faith and trust is in that,

But you would make it clear that it needs to be in you

And your work on the cross of Calvary.

Lord, that we wouldn't live our life just accumulating a bunch of things

And miss the one thing that matters.

Lord, I pray you'd be with me now.

You would empty me of self.

You would cleanse me of sin.

You'd fill me with your spirit.

Lord, I need you.

I need your words.

I need your help.

Lord, I pray that you would just

Help this be a blessing to your people today.

And we ask it in Christ's name.

Amen.

Thank you so much for standing.

You may be seated.

I heard a story about a man who died,

And he was known as a compulsive hoarder.

I'm not coming after you.

Anybody like to collect things?

I like the show American Pickers.

Anybody ever watch that show American Pickers?

Like I wish my grandpa had a barn.

His barn is not full of cool stuff.

It's full of a bunch of stuff we're going to have to throw away one day.

You know, but I watch that show and they walk in there and they're like,

Oh, it's a Model T that's never been driven.

You know, like that's a cool way to hoard.

But this gentleman in this particular story was not that way.

When he passed away, he really didn't have much family.

And so the workers went to his house and began cleaning it out.

And they found newspapers from decades ago.

And, you know, boxes are kind of piled to the ceiling.

Broken appliances everywhere.

His clothes that were in the closet that had never been worn.

Really, room after room was filled with things that he had just collected and stored.

But as the workers made their way through the house,

they soon began to discover something kind of shocking.

Hidden in the bottom of boxes and in certain areas and closets,

there was envelopes full of cash.

Full of savings bonds.

And they started collecting all of them.

They counted.

And when they counted, it was over a million dollars of cash just scattered around this house.

Now, I'm about that.

That's what I would like to find.

But that's not how he lived.

When neighbors found out that they had found over a million dollars in the house,

they said, we didn't see this one coming.

He wore the same old worn out clothes every day.

He refused to turn the heat on in the house because he didn't want to pay for it.

He ate the cheapest food he could find.

This man had wealth all around him but never enjoyed it.

He had all the money.

He had all the property that he lived on.

All the possessions.

And everything he spent his life storing up and saving and collecting went to somebody else.

And I'm sure you've heard stories like this.

And if you're like me, I think, man, what a waste.

Man, if I had that money, we start thinking about,

if I had this, then I would do this.

And we think, how could somebody live like that?

But as we come to our text here this morning in Luke's gospel,

Jesus says something even more sobering than maybe a fictional story like that.

He reminds us that it is possible to spend your entire life accumulating and saving

and storing and collecting and end up when it's all said and done with nothing to show for it.

In fact, something worse than that, to be spiritually bankrupt,

to have a soul that is neglected.

You can have full barns and an empty soul.

So here in Luke chapter number 12, Jesus tells us a story about a man like the one in our story

that had all these things and really he was doing very well on the outside.

I mean, he had a booming business.

The harvest was abundant in his case and really his future looks secure.

But we read that verse there in verse number 20, when God spoke up, here's what he said,

you're a fool.

Wow.

And the question that Jesus wants his listeners then,

and I believe he wants us today to wrestle with is this,

is how does somebody end up there?

With a man that had all the goods of life

and how does a person who appears successful and seems secure

and really has more than enough end up to a place where at the end of his life,

God says, thou fool.

And really in this parable, Jesus walks us step by step down the road this man took

so we don't travel the same road.

Because here's the reality.

You don't wake up one day and suddenly have an empty soul.

No, no, no, it's a gradual process.

It's little decisions.

It's mixed up priorities.

It's one misplaced treasure at a time.

And an empty soul, it begins with a selfish heart.

It grows into a covetous spirit.

And what that does is it really shapes a self-centered life.

And at the end, you're bankrupt.

And that's where this man is.

So if you're taking notes today, we could summarize it like this.

The path to an empty soul.

The path to an empty soul.

And the first step down this road begins with something we see in the crowd

before he even gets to the story.

Number one, a selfish heart.

Jesus is here and he's, and if you've been with us for the past few weeks,

I mean he's teaching some really great eternal principles.

He's really been leaning into not being a hypocrite.

Because the Pharisees and the religious crowd,

they would have been in that situation where they looked really good on the outside.

I mean they look like this man in the story.

Everything looks like they have it together.

But in the inside, they were dead and they were just putting on a facade.

And Jesus began to teach that to those that were following,

listen, you don't need to fear man.

You need to fear God.

Because they were living in fear of keeping all of these rules

and not running into the Pharisees.

And really, Jesus says,

you've got to make sure who your allegiance lies to.

That it's either man or it's to God.

And in the middle of all of this,

when he's dealing with matters of eternal importance,

a man interrupts the sermon.

And he's like,

hey Jesus,

make my brother give me my inheritance.

You think,

what is the deal here?

I mean you talk about a selfish request.

This man kind of seems way off.

He's not saying,

Lord,

teach us something spiritual.

He's like,

Lord,

give me my money.

I mean that's what's going on right here.

Kind of in the middle of Jesus' sermon.

Because if your Bible's like mine,

there's a bunch of red letters.

And then there's this guy asking a really dumb question.

And just write this down.

There is such things as a dumb question.

You know,

there is.

This is one of them.

But I'm glad he asked,

because Jesus is going to use this opportunity

to teach us a great principle.

Because we notice this man's tone

when he says,

Master,

speak to my brother

that he divide the inheritance with me.

He doesn't ask Jesus to evaluate the situation.

He doesn't ask Jesus for wisdom.

No,

I think you see there,

he demands it.

You know,

that's kind of how my kids do sometimes.

Tell them to be nice.

Tell them this is not theirs.

Anybody else's kids like that?

Just mine?

Okay,

I thought so.

You know,

we do it the same way.

You go to your boss,

tell them that this is mine,

you know.

We still have that.

But here's really what he's saying

in verse number 13.

Jesus,

take my side.

That's what he's wanting.

He's wanting somebody

with a little bit of clout.

Somebody that has

some authority

to tell his brother

he's wrong.

That I want what I want.

And really,

he's so consumed

with what he believes

belongs to him

that he interrupts Jesus

when he's teaching

about the importance

of these eternal matters.

And while speaking about the soul,

this man's worried about his estate

that he feels like

he's getting gypped on.

And that's kind of where he's at.

And I love Jesus' response.

He doesn't say,

hey man,

he didn't say,

you're a great guy.

He said,

who do you think you are?

And that's verse 14.

When he said,

man.

This wasn't a kind tone.

This wasn't a normal greeting.

He was kind of putting

this man in his place.

He's saying,

man,

who made me a judge?

This is not what I'm here for.

This is not my mission

is what Jesus says.

He's telling this guy,

listen,

I didn't come here

to be a probate judge.

He's like,

this isn't on my docket.

I'm not here to settle

family estates.

Now as we walk through

the Gospel of Luke,

we realize this.

Jesus came to deal

with something far more important.

Our heart.

That's what he's searching for.

That's what he's desiring.

That's what he wants

from all of us.

And the problem

with this man's heart,

it was in the wrong place.

Now don't misunderstand,

and we'll kind of walk

through it here in a minute,

but the real issue

is not the inheritance.

Like, you know,

if you want to put me

in your inheritance,

go ahead.

I'm cool with that.

I mean, yeah,

just write me in there.

Listen,

there's nothing wrong

with an inheritance.

Some of you have received some.

But here's the problem

with this man,

his obsession with it.

He wants it.

He wants it now.

He's got,

he needs more of it

because he needs

all the things

because no doubt,

maybe he's already

bought the things

that he's going to buy

with an inheritance

and now the collectors

come and do for it.

That's maybe where he's at.

He's like,

hey, I need this money

kind of like right now

because I put the jet ski

on layaway.

I don't know if they had

jet skis back then,

but probably so.

See, money and possessions

really have a way

of revealing

what we truly value.

I mean,

they expose our heart.

They really expose

our priorities,

our desires.

They expose our idols.

We don't like to think

about it like that,

but they do.

Money is a way

of bringing out

the worst in people.

And this situation

wasn't unique

to the first century Israel.

I think we see it

in everyday life.

You probably have seen it

around you

that families

that have gotten along

for years

suddenly fracture

when an inheritance

is involved.

And it becomes

this messy situation

and siblings

stop speaking

to each other

and arguments erupt

over houses

and land

and furniture

and money

and Jesus is saying,

listen,

this is not an illegal dispute.

It's a spiritual problem.

It's about where

our heart is

because where our

treasure is

is where our heart

is also.

Jesus told us

that in the Sermon

on the Mount.

He's going to tell us

in a few sermons later

as we move

through the Gospel of Luke

the same truth.

And before we move on

and kind of get into

the actual parable

that Jesus gives,

I think it's worth

stopping and asking

ourselves an honest question.

What does money

tend to surface

in our own life?

when it comes up

and there's a situation

about what we feel

like we deserve

and what we need.

It might not look like

interrupting Jesus

in the middle of a sermon

but it might look like

a constant preoccupation

with financial gain.

Listen,

God doesn't want you

to go to work

and be the worst employee ever.

It's not,

it's not,

Jesus is not saying,

well,

don't go for a raise,

go for a demotion.

It's not what it's saying.

But what's your focus?

Is your focus just

more and more and more?

How many of you

have ever gotten a raise

in your life?

Only two people?

Wow.

Y'all are the worst

workers ever,

I guess.

Hypothetically,

you got a raise.

Let's say you got a raise

last year and your boss

says, hey,

I want to give you a raise.

No,

I'm good.

I don't think anybody

in this room,

gas prices,

you're going to need one soon.

I'm like,

what in the world?

There's nothing wrong

with those things.

But is that your

constant preoccupation?

Is that what drives you?

Maybe there's anxiety

in your life

that every time,

it rises every time

that money gets tight.

And listen,

I understand that.

We've all been in

situations like that.

Maybe it's frustration

when somebody else

seems to get

what you think

you deserve.

And that should have

been your promotion.

That should have been

your raise.

That should have been

your job.

And maybe it's this

quiet resentment

when it just feels

like life isn't fair

and you're trying

to do the right thing

and you're trying

to serve the Lord

and you're trying

to give

and you're trying

to go

and it just seems

like nothing's

working out for you.

And sometimes

the most revealing

thing about our hearts

when it comes

to the things

of money

is not what we say

in church

and nod to a sermon

but what occupies

our thoughts

throughout the week.

And Jesus wants

to address that.

Because this request

right here,

it exposed

what mattered

most to this man.

It's like

he's sitting there

in this sermon

and Jesus is teaching

all this life-changing

truth and he's thinking

I'm going to wait

until he pauses

and I'm going to

ask my question.

I mean that's kind

of how it is.

I mean as soon as you,

Jesus, I mean he was

ready to go.

And it just showed

where his heart was.

And Jesus responds

to him we saw

in verse 14

but he didn't say

okay I'll settle

the argument.

No he does something

far more important.

He exposes

the heart behind

the request.

Because the real danger

wasn't with the

inheritance dispute.

It was with the

covetous spirit

that was driving it.

That's where

the problem lies

and that's why

Jesus gives us

a warning here

in verse number 15

that applies

to every one of us.

He says listen

the path to an

empty soul

it starts with

a selfish heart

but it ends up

turning into

a covetous spirit.

Look at the very

first part of

number 15.

Verse 15.

And he said

unto them

this is everybody

listening so

this man addresses

Jesus but Jesus

addresses the crowd.

Take heed

and beware

of covetousness.

So Jesus

really is exposing

the deeper problem.

You know I feel

like Jesus would

have been very

stern in this

situation.

Anybody's dad

ever used their

their dad voice

on you?

You know my dad

yeah yeah

yeah that's what

I'm talking about.

I mean he knows

what's up.

And I know

you know my dad

was a pretty easy

going guy but

when the dad

voice came out

you better

check yourself

before you wreck

yourself is kind

of what what

happened.

You know it's

because hey we're

not gonna do

that oh my

goodness.

We when dad

used a certain

voice we knew

he was serious

and that's exactly

what Jesus is

doing here.

I just want to

remind us that

Jesus is not

sometimes who we

think he is based

on some paintings

we've seen from

the renaissance.

Jesus didn't

mess around

here.

He's not

saying well

let's all be

kind and get

along.

No here's what

he says take

heed beware.

He's showing

the seriousness

of the issue

of the heart

problem.

That word take

heed means this

hey pay

attention.

Don't miss

this.

He because

apparently this

man has missed

everything else.

He said listen

I need you to

pay attention

right here.

I need you to

take heed.

I need you to

beware.

Here's what he's

saying.

You got to

guard your

heart.

Because this

man wasn't

guarding his

heart.

He had let

all these

things in and

this selfishness

is really coming

to the surface.

And these are

strong words.

Jesus isn't

casually offering

some financial

advice.

He's issuing a

warning.

We ask ourselves

why such a

serious warning?

I mean it's

just a request

that a lot of

people in the

crowd probably

had.

I think the

warning is so

serious because

covetousness is a

serious sin.

Jesus looks at it

that way.

So what is

covetousness?

It's not a word

we go around

using all the

time but the

idea is it

refers to this

boundless desire

to have more.

More money.

More possessions.

More success.

More security.

It's a spirit in

our life that

constantly whispers

if I just had a

little bit more

then I'd be happy.

If I just got that

raise, if I just

did this, if I just

got rid of that,

then I would be

happy.

But that's not how

it works.

Because we all in

this room have

gotten that raise

and gotten that

promotion and

bought that car and

did all those

things and guess

what?

You're thinking,

well, I guess I

just need that then.

I guess I just

need that next

thing.

I just need that

other thing and

it's that constant

reminder that it

will never satisfy

us.

I mean, you try to

take care of your

new things.

You get a new car

and nobody's allowed

to eat in it.

And I mention this

all the time, I bet

your car smells like

french fries right

now.

You know, because

it's like, well,

I'll get a new one

sooner or later.

Listen, the Bible

calls us to deal

with the spirit of

covetousness

drastically.

Here's what Paul

tells the Colossians

in Colossians 3, 5.

Mortify, which

means kill it.

Mortify, therefore,

your members which

are upon the earth,

fornication, uncleanness,

inordinate affection,

evil concubinance,

and covetousness.

See, we wouldn't

maybe put covetousness

in a category with

some of these other

sins, but the word

of God does.

And he says,

here's the problem,

all of these things,

which is idolatry?

That it replaces God

in our life.

And the reason

covetousness is dangerous

is because it

convinces us that

life can be secured

without God.

And that we can find

satisfaction apart

from Jesus.

That's impossible.

There is no

satisfaction in life

outside of Christ.

That job may satisfy

for a while,

but it can be gone

like that.

Your health might be

good right now,

but it can be gone

like that.

Listen, we've got to be

careful where we're

placing our trust

and we're looking

for satisfaction

because other than

Christ, it will all

fail.

And Jesus reminds us

of that.

And really, the Bible

warns us of this

danger over and over

and over.

Solomon, the wisest

man who ever lived,

did some dumb things

and he learned from it.

And he wrote the

book of Ecclesiastes.

And he said in

Ecclesiastes 5.10,

He that loveth silver

shall not be satisfied

with silver,

nor he that loveth

abundance with

increase.

This is also vanity.

He said it's empty.

And we're talking

about a man that

had more money

than he knew

what to do with.

He had so much money,

he just started

overlaying everything

with gold.

He said it doesn't

satisfy.

He kept looking

and he kept searching.

Paul told Timothy,

for the love of money

is the root of all evil.

Listen, money in and

of itself is not evil.

It's not.

We can use it for good

and we can use it

for evil.

Here's the problem

with money,

when you love it.

When it's your desire.

When it's your force

behind it.

When the Bible tells us

in 1 Timothy 6,

which while some

coveted after,

they have erred

from the faith

and pierced themselves

through with many sorrows.

See, money promises

satisfaction,

but it never delivers.

Book of Proverbs says

it gets wings

and flies away.

Anybody's bank

can't work like that?

You know,

I just tried this new thing.

Don't look at the bank

and you won't be disappointed.

You know,

that doesn't work either,

by the way.

Joking.

So Jesus says,

hey,

take heed,

pay attention,

beware.

I want you to see this.

Why?

Because he tells us

in the end of verse 15,

for a man's life

consisteth not

in the abundance

of the things

which he possesses.

You can have

all the toys

in the world

and have an empty soul.

I mean,

your house can be

full of possessions

with nothing to show.

I mean,

we see it in our world

all the time.

We see celebrities

that have all these things

and they end up

wrecking their life,

they end up taking

their life,

and you think,

man,

if I had all those things,

I'd be happy.

No,

you wouldn't.

No,

you wouldn't.

Because those things

don't satisfy.

The things in your life

don't satisfy.

The only place

that true life is found,

satisfaction and joy

that cannot be touched,

is in a relationship

with Jesus Christ.

That's where joy is found.

Read John chapter 15.

John 15 · chapter mention

When we abide in him,

we will experience joy.

And we just can't assume

that we're immune to this.

Listen,

covetousness,

it slips in quietly

to everyday life.

You say,

what does it look like?

Well,

it can look like

constant comparison.

We think we're fine.

But every time

a really nice car drives by,

I'm like,

ooh,

don't act like

you don't do that.

I mean,

I was driving down,

we were kind of

in Fort Worth,

I guess they were having

some sort of car show,

and they had,

at the racetrack,

they had all kinds

of hot rods.

I was like,

Lord,

if you really loved me,

I would take a 57 Chevy.

I mean,

I would.

For you,

of course,

I'd put a Central Baptist

sticker on it.

Follow me to Central Baptist,

you know.

But I look at people

and I'm like,

why do they have that?

Like,

I wish I had that.

And I kind of

begin to compare my life,

and maybe we measure

success sometimes

by what we have.

We live in a culture

that the world

looks and says,

well,

they're successful

because look at their house,

look at their car,

look at this,

look at that.

I think we all know

this in the room.

We still fall prey to it,

but we know,

that doesn't mean

you're successful.

It's going to shock us

when we get to heaven

one day,

and the people

the Lord

gives all the crowns to,

there's going to be

somebody you've probably

never even heard of.

Some little old widow lady

that nobody even knew about,

but she may have been

the most faithful prayer

that anybody's ever known.

It's not based

on worldly success,

and maybe we think

that we look at this

and it creeps into our life,

this covetous spirit,

because we think

one more purchase

will satisfy.

Maybe you're saving up.

I'm not here to,

listen,

God's not against things,

but he is against things

having you.

And maybe the thing

that you're trying to get

and you're pushing towards

and you're working overtime

is not really

what he wants you to have.

It's not really

what he's calling you to do.

And maybe it creeps in our life

by believing life

will feel a little bit more secure

when we reach that financial goal.

You should have financial goals.

The Bible tells us

the ants prepare for winter.

There's a good in that,

but that's not what

your life is about.

That's what this man's life

was about.

That's what Jesus is showing.

And to make sure

that no one misses this warning,

he tells a parable,

a story that they would have understood

to kind of bring it to life.

And this parable is about a man

who had everything

the world said he needed.

I mean, he had the house,

he had the cars,

he had the jet ski,

he had all the stuff.

But in the end,

he lost what mattered.

And so we see a path

to an empty soul.

It starts with this selfish heart

and a covetous spirit,

and it creates

a self-centered life.

A self-centered life.

See, what started

as something

that kind of was just

under the surface,

now is shaping

how this man lives.

Look in verse number 16.

And he spake a parable

unto them, saying,

the ground of a certain rich man

brought forth plentifully.

And he thought within himself,

saying,

what shall I do?

Because I have no room

where to bestow my fruits.

Now what we know about this man

from these first few verses

is this,

he was prosperous.

He had an abundant harvest.

And from the outside,

he looked like

an absolute success story.

The world would look around

and say,

man, I don't know what

he's putting on his field,

but it's growing.

I mean, he's got the best food

at the market,

and we want to be involved

with him.

We want to invest here,

and his investments

are paying off,

and he's got all the things

that he wants.

But I think when we read

through these verses,

and we won't take down

to read the rest of them,

Jesus is inviting us

to see something.

This conversation

is happening

within his own head.

He's talking to himself.

He's preaching a sermon

to himself.

Yeah, he had a lot

going for him,

but what he doesn't have

is that he doesn't ask God

what he should do.

God's the one blessing.

Hey, the rain,

it rains on the just

and the unjust.

He might have been

a good farmer,

but you know what he still

needed?

Rain.

He still needed

the right temperatures.

He still needed

the right season.

He still needed

a lot of things

to work for him,

but he doesn't ask God

what he should do.

He doesn't thank God

for his harvest.

He doesn't consider

helping others.

I mean,

he has an overabundance.

He can't even store it all.

Instead of saying,

hey, how can I help

my neighbor around him?

You know what I need?

Bigger barns.

Really, the idea is this.

His only concern

is what to do

with his own abundance.

My fruit,

my barns,

my goods.

And in these few verses

right here,

11 times the word

I or my is mentioned.

That's what it's about.

God is never mentioned

in his conversation.

Eternity is never considered.

Other people are

way out of the question.

And so he's preaching

the sermon to himself

and he has an epiphany,

a little light bulb

over his head in verse 18.

This will I do.

I'll just build bigger barns.

You know,

these barns are old anyways.

I'll just get newer ones.

And we look at it and say,

well, that's just

good business, preacher.

I mean,

he's just doing

the right thing.

I mean,

it's good business planning.

He's bigger barns

and increase of storage.

And really,

he's just preparing

for the future.

What's wrong with that?

Well, here's what's wrong.

It's not about the barns.

It's about the heart.

That's what Jesus

is showing us

in this story.

See,

this man saw

his prosperity

as something

to possess,

not something

to steward.

Listen,

we're just stewards.

Everything we have,

I'm pretty sure

James told us

every good gift

and every perfect gift

is from above.

It comes from God.

And we begin

to think to ourselves

if we're not careful

like this,

man,

hey,

I worked hard for this.

This is my stuff.

No,

we're just the steward

of all the blessings

God has given us

in our life.

And he viewed it as,

no,

they're mine.

He never considered

the harvest

was a gift from God.

He never considered

the abundance

might come

with responsibility.

No,

instead,

we see in verse 19,

he assumed

that the blessings

of his life

existed purely

for his own comfort.

Eat,

drink,

and be merry

because that's what

life is all about.

That's what he thought.

And I would just tell you

to look around

outside this,

in this world,

that's what people

still think life's about.

And the reason

this is such a serious

warning is because

it very easily

creeps into our own life.

We say things like this,

well,

I deserve this.

Listen,

I'm not,

I'm not trying

to be mean.

I like going on trips.

I like eating good food.

I like stuff.

God's not against that.

But he wants our heart.

And maybe some of the blessings

that we have,

God gave them to you

and they weren't supposed

to stop there.

They were supposed

to go there

and go to somebody else.

That God wants to use you.

And here's this man's

fatal assumption.

He believed

he controlled tomorrow.

That's what he thought.

James tells us that

at the end of James chapter 4.

James 4 · chapter mention

He said,

what?

You're here now

and you're gone.

Your life's just a vapor.

Like,

we just assume

we're going to be here tomorrow.

I know this is not fun

to think about,

but we're not promised tomorrow.

We don't control tomorrow.

I mean,

this man assumed

he had many years

ahead of him.

He believed his wealth

had completely secured

his future,

so he was done.

He was retiring.

This is not against retirement,

but it's against

living for yourself.

Listen,

you can retire

and still be a blessing

and a useful person

in the kingdom of God.

Sometimes people retire

and they just kind of

go off the rocker.

No, no,

we're supposed to still

serve the Lord.

All those blessings,

the fact you can't retire

is because God

allowed that to happen.

But he forgot

that one truth

that we must all remember,

that life is fragile.

See,

a selfish heart

and a covetous spirit

and a self-centered life,

it will always land you

in spiritual bankruptcy.

Verse number 20,

But God said unto him,

Thou fool,

this night shall thy soul

be required of thee.

Then who shall those things be

which thou hast provided?

See,

up to this point

in the parable,

the only voice we've heard

is the rich man

talking to himself,

patting himself on the back,

encouraging himself.

But now God speaks.

And everybody around this man

said,

Wow,

you're the best businessman

I know.

I mean,

teach me your secrets,

write a book

on how to be

a successful farmer.

Ten steps to

being a successful farmer.

But when God evaluates

this man's life,

the verdict is shocking.

He said,

Thou fool.

I want to remind us

what scripture describes

as a fool.

A fool is not somebody,

we may say fool

like they lack intelligence.

That's not what a fool is

in the Bible.

It's not somebody

that lacks intelligence.

A fool is somebody

who lives

as if God doesn't matter

or he doesn't exist.

Psalm 14,

The fool hath said

in his heart,

There is no God.

That's what a fool is.

This man may have not

verbally denied God,

but he lived

as if God

had nothing

to do with his life.

He planned his future

without God.

He measured his success

without God.

He built all the security

that he had

without God.

And he was planning

and building

and drawing

up the blueprints

for all these bigger barns

because he thought

he had all these years

and God said,

You got one night.

And that's it.

In a single moment,

all the plans collapsed.

All the barns

meant nothing.

All the stored grain

meant nothing.

All the financial security

meant nothing.

Because while he gathered

and he stored

and he accumulated

all these things

throughout his life,

he neglected the only thing

that mattered,

his soul.

And Jesus gives us

the final warning there

in verse 21.

He says,

So is he that layeth up

treasure for himself

and is not rich

toward God.

Notice Jesus

doesn't condemn wealth.

Nowhere in this parable.

Even in the final warning.

The sin wasn't

that this man

was rich.

The sin was

that he was rich

towards himself

and poor towards God.

That's the sin.

That he thought,

you know,

as long as I'm

a good person,

as long as I'm

doing good things,

then hey,

God's going to

just let me in.

But if you go back

to the Sermon on the Mount,

the very first thing

Jesus says is,

Blessed are the poor

in spirit.

You know what that,

you know what he's saying?

Blessed are those

that realize

they're spiritually bankrupt.

Because when you realize

you're spiritually bankrupt,

here's what you do.

You cry out to God.

That's what changes

your life.

That's where

true wealth is found.

Blessed are the poor

in spirit,

for theirs

is the kingdom of heaven.

See,

this man had it

all backwards.

As long as I get everything,

God's got to let me in.

He's got to,

you know,

he wouldn't turn me away.

I'm successful.

I do all the right things

in the world's standards.

Listen,

he had invested

everything in the earth

and nothing in eternity.

And that is a dangerous

place to be.

See,

here's the big idea.

The success

in the eyes of the world

doesn't guarantee

success in the eyes of God.

this man that interrupted

was so worried

about all his possessions,

all his inheritance.

He needed it.

Jesus,

tell him to give me

what's mine.

But you can have

full barns

or a full bank account,

a full retirement plan,

and still stand before God

with an empty soul.

And the tragedy

was that was true

in this man's life.

That his soul

was empty.

And Jesus said,

I came to seek

and to save

that which was lost.

But when you place

your trust in the wrong things,

you don't think you're lost

because,

I have this and this.

And if I have good things,

then God has to love me.

Listen,

God's love isn't based

on your material blessings.

Just because you have things

doesn't mean God loves you.

That's a biblical principle.

And the reason he found himself there

is because he let that selfish heart

morph into a covetous spirit.

And it shaped the way

he lived his life.

His life wasn't about other people.

It was about himself.

That's not how Jesus lived.

Jesus came not to be ministered unto,

but to minister,

to serve,

and to give his life

a ransom for many.

And if we're going to live on mission

like Jesus did,

you know what we should do?

Minister.

Serve.

Maybe God's blessed you financially.

God's blessed you in other areas.

You know what he wants you to do?

Share it.

Help others.

Point others to Christ.

And Jesus tells us

this story right here

so none of us end up

where this man was.

So as you go into this week,

I want you to remember

this simple truth.

The question is not

how full your barns are.

The question is,

are you rich towards God

or rich towards yourself?

What's your trust in?

Where's your security?

Is it in all the abundance

of things you have?

Well, guess what?

You can't take those with you.

We've all heard a little saying,

you've never seen a hearse

pulling a U-Haul.

You don't take it.

All the Egyptian pharaohs,

they thought,

I'm going to take all this stuff with me.

Still sitting in those tombs over there.

People just steal it.

That's not what matters.

And Jesus is going to get into this

here in a minute.

He's going to show us

the same truths in the Sermon on the Mount

in these next few sermons.

That where our treasure is,

there where our heart be also.

Brother Garrett preached it

last Sunday.

So the real question is,

what are you living for?

Have you prepared for eternity?

Are you thinking,

man, I've got plenty of time.

I'm living my life.

Eat, drink, and be merry.

I mean, I've got so many things.

I'll worry about that later.

Now Jesus says,

you need to worry about it right now.

That's what matters.

Would you stand with your heads bowed

and with your eyes closed?

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.