Gambling: Irresponsible Stewardship (Luke 12:13-21)

Well, good morning. Thank you for worshiping with us this morning.

If you have your bibles, if you're turned with me

this morning to the Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of Luke.

We're going to start in chapter twelve this morning, Luke,

chapter twelve, and we will start in verse thirteen in

just a few moments Luke Chapter twelve, starting verse thirteen.

In first Peter the Apostle, Peter wrights a passage to

the church, and he says these words, he's words of

caution's words of warning. And in these words he's warning

the church of an adversary, someone something seeking to destroy.

Who is this Satan? He says this, be suberminded, be

watchful your adversary. The devil prowls around like a roaring lion,

seeking someone to devour. Resist him. Firm in your faith.

You know the Bible says that Peter, as the Apostle,

understood that Satan is seeking to devour who devour you,

the church? People? In the church. He scripture describes him

as your adversary. He describes him as a lying seeking

to devour his prey. Do you know today that Satan is,

as Peter said many years ago? He is still seeking today.

He's still seeking after you. He's still seeking to devour

God's people. He's still seeking to devour his prey. I

really believe over the last few years, God's led me

to be a part of a committee for our North

Carolina Baptists, and in that it's allowed me to understand

some different things that are happening in our world today.

And in this by looking into gambling and other things

that are coming in our world today, it's helped me

see how the enemy is still at work. He's still

seeking to devour God's people today. I think we'll look

at a topic that I think is very important for

us today, and that's the topic of gambling. Do you

know Satan is using the tool of gambling to destroy

lives of people today? Many people in the church heard

a story of a young boy. His name is Kurt,

Kurt Flinderbergen. I think is how you say his name.

Kurt was eleven years old. It's a normal kid. He

played he ran track, he played for the soccer team

at the school. He loved play video games. It was

a good student. One day he was watching a live

stream of a video game he played. He noticed in

the comment section that there was a link there, and

he clicked on the leak and next thing you know,

it took him to an online offshore online casino. It

gave him some credits, free credits to play, and the

next thing you know, Kurt begin gambling online. It was

first using skins that he won in the game that

he could take as or that he won that he

could then use as credits to play, and next thing

you know, he was hooked. At the age of eleven.

It would go on that he would continue gambling, playing blackjack, poker, roulette,

all many different games, all as something he was doing.

He was hooked. His parents did not know. They didn't

see the signs of his addiction. He did so from

the age eleven to the age of nineteen and nineteen

he was in college and they started to notice some behavior.

He eventually dropped out after they found that he was

taking things from the house and selling them to pay

his bets. And he eventually dropped out of school and

was because they found out he was stealing money for

them to pay for his debts. Do you know today

from common Sense Media found that they're in twenty twenty

five boys from the age of eleven to seventeen. Thirty

six percent of boys from eleven to seventeen said that

they've gambled in the last year. Children, boys just like Kurt,

who are seeking after gambling. It's destroying lives of teens,

it's destroying lives of adults today. I think it's important

for us to know that that is one of the

tools of our enemy. You know. George Washington in seventeen

eighty three said this of gambling, Gambling is the child

of greed, the brother of iniquity, and the father of mischief.

This is a vice which is productive in every possible evil.

In a word, few gain by this abominal practice, while

thousands are injured, you know, George Washington, instead of gambling,

that gambling is the child of greed. The word greed

means a desire for more in the Greek. Actually it

means the desire for more. It's not what I have

is not enough. I want more. I was thinking about this,

and I couldn't help to think of Willy Wonka. Our

school just did Willy Wonka to play, and there's a

little girl in willy Wonka Verka Salt. Her parents were

owned a peanut factory and she was wealthy, her family

was rich. She had all the things that a little

girl you thought would want, would have, or need. But

it wasn't enough for Vanka. She wanted more. And then

the play, she sings a song says, I won't it now.

I want the world, I want the whole world. I

want to lock it up in my pocket. I want

my barle of chocolate, and I won't it now. Varaka,

she embodied. He's greed. Not just what I have is enough.

I want more. And at the heart of gambling, and

the heart of it is this desire. That's the same

desire that Washington says, the same desire that Kurt had,

and also the same desire that Aranka embodied. And that

is a desirable. God, what you've given me is not enough.

I want more, you know. In Second Peter Second Peter,

Chapter two, Peter describes not only the enemy that's seeking

to devour, there's someone else that's seeking to entice. What

he describes the unsteady, the weak in the church. Who

are they? They're false teachers, and false teachers are described

in Second Peter two fourteen. They have eyes that are

full of adultery, insatiable for sin, and they entice unsteady souls,

and they have hearts that are trained in greed. You

see the false teacher are enticing and how what are

they enticing with? They're enticed by greed and they're enticing

to lead others away. Can I tell you today Satan

is seeking to devour many through the tool of gambling,

and he's seeking to entice them with greed, a desire

for more. This morning, as we come to Luke chapter twelve,

I think we're going to see the Bible's version of

Varanka salt. It's a man who had it all, wasn't enough.

He wanted more, And I want you to see this

morning how Jesus's words in this passage described this man

as an irresponsible stewart. You see, at the heart of

gambling is a desire for greed, wanting more. But that

also it also demonstrates us being irresponsible with what God

is given me. You recognize this one as we begin

to everything that you have today, your home, your clothes

that you're wearing today, the food, the meal that you're

going to have later on at bow Jangles wherever you

are going to go, Everything that you have today. God

has entrusted to you, He's given to you by God.

How are you faithful with what God's given you? Are

you content with what God's given you today? Or are

you greedy for more? Do you recognize today that Satan

desires to entice you to destroy you through the temptation

of greed this morning? How are you resisting? How are

you finding contentment in the Lord? Let's stand together, Let's

read God's word together. Luke Chapter twelve, starting verse thirteen,

The Bible says, someone in the crowd said to him, Teacher,

tell my brother to divide my inheritance with me.

But he said to him, men, who made me a judge.

Or arbitrarior for you? And he said to him, take

care and be on your guard against all covetedness, for

one's life does not consist in abundance of possession. And

he told them a parable saying, the land of a

rich man produced plentiful. 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 I will build larger ones, and

there ill store all my grain and my goods. And

I will say to my soul. Soul, you have ample

goods laid up for you for many years. Relax, eat, drink,

be merry. But God said of him full this night.

Your soul is required of you, and the things you

have prepared, Who will they? Whose will they be? So

is the one who lays up treasure for himself and

is not rich toward God. Let's pray together, Lord, we

thank you, Lord for this word that you've given us. Lord.

We recognize today that the enemy is seeking to devour. Lord.

We know he seeks those within our congregation, within our body. Lord,

we know the temptation Lord, of desiring more. Lord, I

pray today that you would help us learn from your

word today, Lord, what you say to us, and Lord,

that we'd be faithful stewarts or what you've given us.

We'd recognize, Lord, Lord, all the blessings that you've provided

for us, And Lord, that we'd be faithful stewarts of

what you've given us. Lord, I pray today that you

would feel me. Lord. This is a tough subject. Lord.

We're facing this in our world today like never before. Lord.

I pray that you would Lord speak through me today. Lord, Today,

they don't need careful crafted words by me. They need

the movement of your spirit. So Lord, I pray speak

through me, feel me, or I pray I would decrease

and you would increase. And Lord, may today Lord that

you would bless Lord the preaching and teaching of your word.

In your name. We pray, Amen, you may be seated.

So here Jesus and Luke. Chapter twelve, I think is

important for you kind of the context of what's happening.

Jesus is teaching his disciples, and as he's teaching his disciples,

a huge crowd of about a thousand people kind of

gathered around his disciples to hear Jesus teaching. And he's

teaching his disciples and the crowd there on the ports

of having no fear, in the portance of not being

shamed before the Lord. And as he's teaching, the Bible

describes as we see in verse thirteen, a man comes

to him and he asked Jesus for Jesus's help. There's

kind of a family riff, if you will, there's issue

with this inheritance between this man and his brother. So

he comes to Jesus and he said, tell Jesus, will

you tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me,

I need this money that he had, And Jesus responds

kind of very beginning, he says to him, who made

me a judge? Arbitrary for you? He's basically saying to him,

I'm not a lawyer. That's not what I'm to do.

That's not what my role is. But I think it's

important for He says, I'm not a lawyer. But then

in verse fifteen he responds to him, and then his response,

just as I said to you, Peter gave the church warnings,

Jesus gives this man a warning. He kind of warns

him of something. And what does he warning of. Listen

to what he says here in verse fifteen, and he

said to him, take care and be on guard against

all covetedness. It's interesting. He says to him, Hey, listen,

I'm not a lawyer. I can't settle your family dispute.

But be on guard and be on lrds, be watchful.

This is the idea of being watchful for an adversary,

for something that might come up. I told our Wednesday

Night crowd the other week that I was coming outside

and feed my dog real late one night, and I

as I opened up the back door to go feed her.

I looked out and and right outside was two coyotes

that had come in my backyard. Well guess what now?

Every time, hey, I was just kind of hat paradlessly

coming out of the door, and I didn't think that

they were there, or they would be there, or they

would be so close. But once now that I've seen them,

every time I go out, I'm like, I'm looking. I'm

looking to see if they're there, is anything else around,

because it's something to I'm afraid of or worried about. Right,

I'm looking for them. That's the idea. Be watchful. This

is this is dangerous. This is the adversary who comes

against you. And what is it? What is he warning

him of? Take care and be on guard. What is

he to be on guard against. It's not coyotes here,

it's it's covetedness. The word for covetedness here is is

play no next seeau. That's the Greek there. It means greed.

It means wanting more. He used covetedness here, but it's

the same. It's actually the exact same word that first

Peter use and one Peter two when I register a

minute ago. They have eyes full of adultery first Peter

or Second Peter two fourteen, and satal desire for sin.

They entice in steadily souls. They have hearts that are

trained in greed. It's the same word there.

It means a desire for more.

He's telling this man who says, hey, I want you

to help me and my brother where our parents have

died and we have an inheritance and he won't split it

with me. And Jesus says, hey, I'm not your lawyer,

but I want to warn you. Watch out for greed,

watch out for.

The desire of wanting more.

I think it's important for you to think about this.

This is a concept just found in Jesus's words. Here's

concept found all the way in scripture. It's actually a

concept that was started and when Moses came down with

the Ten Commandments. It's actually the last of the Tenth Commandments.

Commandment is AXS twenty seventeen. What does he say, You

shall not covet your neighbor's house. You not shall covet

your neighbor's wife. Here's mail servant. It's few manserver as oxers,

donkey or anything in your neighbor's house. What is it?

That's the idea of I want more. What the house

I have is not good enough. I want to another house.

I want a house like my neighbors mine. What I

have and my car is not good enough. I want

the car that my neighbor has, or I want what

he has. Is we were not have a desire of God.

What I have is not enough. I want more, Just

like Aranka in the play's warning against the dangers of greed,

it's not only a passage that we see in Jesus

as we see the Old Testament, we also see in

Colastions All talks about. In Colautions, he talks to the

Church of Colautions. He says, you're a new creature in Christ,

and as you became a new creature in Christ, your

old life died. You're to die to your old self. Instead,

You're not to live like you used to live. You're

to live as a new creature in Christ. As a

new creature in Christ, You're not to set your eyes

on things of this earth. You're set your eyes on

the things of Heaven. Tells them that in Cautions, beginning

in Cautions three, and then he describes and cautions things

of the old life that you are to put to death. Basically,

back before you became a Christian, there were some year had,

some old habits, some old ways. But now you're a

new creature in Christ. You need to put away some

of them old things. Not to live like you once lived.

You're to set your eyes on Jesus, and you're to

live for Christ. And in Cautions three five, he lists

some things that are the description of your life before Christ.

Listen the way he says. He says, put to death.

Therefore, what is earthly in you?

Sexual morality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and covetingness. What is covetingness? There? Greed?

You know what Paul is saying. Hey, before you came

to Christ, you used to go after a lot of things,

and one of those things of your old life was greed.

But that should not characterize your life today as a

new believer. And only does Paul say that we should

put to death this desire, but he also describes it

as idolatry. Listen to that. Put to death Therefore, what

is earthly in you? Sexual morality, impurity, passion, evil desires, covetedness,

which is idolatry? It's an idol. Greed can be another

god that we worship, that we worship above our Lord.

Why I think it's important as you think about Jesus's

word of warning here to this brother or this man

who has this brother that's battling over an inheritance, he

gives a warning, be on guard against greed. Don't you

see There's something else he says here in chapter twelve,

he gives him the reason why. Here's the reason why.

For life does not consist and the abundance of possessions.

Life doesn't consist in of abundance of possessions. You see,

for this man, he thought, my life will be better

if I get my half of the inheritance, if I

get what I want, if I, as Veraca says, if

I want more and I get it now, then I'll

be happy. But the desire, the problem is we just

want more and more and more and more. And for

this man, he believed that life was found in finding more.

Then Jesus, I think it's important, then gives a terrible

to describe a man who is life consisted of greed

wanting more. Tells the story of a man who has

read the passage with me verse sixteen told the parable

saying the land of a rich man produced plentiful. He

thought to himself, what shall I do, for I have

nowhere to store my crops? He says, I will do this.

I will tear down my barns. I will build larger ones,

and I will come and store all my grain and

all my goods.

And then I'll say to my soul, listen to this.

Soul. I'll say to my soul, you have ample goods

laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, and be merry.

That's life for him. This life for this man, and

this parable accumulating more and more things, so much so

that he can't he doesn't have enough storage for the

crops that he has. So he's gonna be built bigger

storage units so he can have more.

And then once he fills those up and.

They are full, he can se it back or relax, eat

and drink and be merry. And that is life, right.

I remember, and I'm going to date myself, but I

remember when I was a teenager, I used to work

at my grandfather. My grandfather had a shop and a

tire shop, and I worked for him during the summer,

and I remember every July, something would come in the

mail and if you remember this, it was Publisher clearing House.

Publisher clearing House was this system and I know some

of the younger people you may not know what this is,

and I vaguely remember, but it was this system where

you would go and you could buy magazines. They would

what published Clearinghouse was making their money. They were making

money off selling magazine magazine subscriptions and they would do

this kind of rifle. I don't know what you would

just this. I don't know how you describe it, but

they they did this thing where you if you bought

a magazine, you could be put into a drawing that's

the word I'm looking for, and you could win a

million dollars and you could you could buy the magazine

if you want, or you say no, I don't want

to buy buy a magazine, but I want to be

entered into the drawing. And at the very end of

the summer or somewhere, Egg McMahon would come in. You

may not know who edmonct man is, but Ed mc

man would come to your house and he had this

massive check of a million dollars and if you won

the drawing, you would get you'd be on TV with

Ed McMahon and you won your million dollars. And I

remember Grandma and Grandpa would get in that and we

would see it, and I remember thinking, I remember thinking,

that's a little boy dreaming. What would what would what

would we do if we want a million dollars? What

would we do, Grandpa? What would we do, Grandpa if

we'd want a million dollars? And I say that because

we all have this temptation. We've all, different times in

our life even maybe thought that, or what would happen

if I want a million dollars? What would I do

with that million dollars?

What car would I buy?

What house would I buy? Would I buy me a

beach hole and have a mountain house? Or We've all

had these dreams and these thoughts. And this man was

having his desires. He had his life found upon what

would happened if I won? And that the heart of

gambling is the desire to say, if I gamble this money,

maybe I'll have me and maybe I went a little something.

And man, that'll bring me some life. Life is found

in acquiring possessions. I told you the story before. I

remember we were in Sunday school class.

One time, Brandon and I was a couple's class and

there was a young man in that class and him

remember him saying, you know what, I'll be a better

Christian if I wanted the lottery.

He said, because if I wanted the lottery, I wouldn't

have to work again.

I could just sit at my home and read my Bible.

I'll be a better Christian if I won the lottery.

You see the fallacy of that is this, and the

fallacy of this man, and the fallacy of the rich

man and the parable. As we think life is in

the buns of possessions. Happiness and contentment is not in

the Lord. It's actually in the things that I have.

And if I have those things, as I thought of,

maybe as a teenage boy, or as this man in

the Suny school class, or maybe here today, you who

think if I just had this, I would be happy.

As we're misplacing our values and we're putting value in possessions.

We're putting value in the gift instead of putting value

in the one who gave Lord. My life is not

found in the material things of this world. Possession or

how much money I have in the bank, or how

much money I could have in the bank. My life

is found in you. Christ. Beware, as the Lord says,

be on guard against all greed. I wondered this morning

this man is irresponsible, irresponsible steward. He's irresponsible first to himself.

Why because he's made his life all about possessions, money

in getting more. This morning, I wonder, if you consider

what God's given you, do you find life in possessions

and getting more? Where do you find life in Christ?

I think once you see, secondly in this passage known

irresponsible in himself. He's irresponsible for us to others. He

didn't realize that the possessions that God given him, the

money that God given him, the possessions that God gave him,

he used to use that to care for others. Notice

the passage as he says in verse eighteen, as he

realizes his barns are full, what's his decision to do

with what he has? He says, what? And he said,

I will do this. I will tear down my barns

and I'll build larger ones, and there all store all

my grain and my goods. Solution to what he has

the abundance of what he has is to get more

into building more for himself, to be merry, and to

find pleasure in those things. That is why he thinks

God's giving him those things, you know, Ephesians four twenty eight.

Paul is talking about the importance of working, not stealing,

but laboring for our own goods, laboring for ourselves. And

while we should labor, while we should work, while we

should acquire different things. This is what it says, Ephesians

four twenty eight. He who steals must no longer still,

but rather he's a labor performing with his own hands.

What is good? Why so that he might have something

to share with those who has need? You ever thought

about that? What's God giving you what he's given you?

What's God giving you the job? Why has God giving

you the possessions that He's given you? What's the purpose?

If I'm not to worship it, It's not to be

an idol to me. I'm not to find happiness or

fulfillment in those things. What did God give it to him?

Why did he give it to me? God give it

to you that you might care for others. In twenty ten,

I went to a chapel at Southeastern Seminary has their

visiting and there that Sunday or that Tuesday or whatever

it was, David Platt was speaking and I was reviewing

over some of the things he said. I had some

notes of some things he said in that chapel to

that day, and it's pretty startlingk You know today that

there's two billion people that live on this earth that

live on less than two dollars a day. In the

over half of our world are living on less than

a dollar to day a day. You know today that

they say Yusef says that twenty six thousand children would

die today starvation. What are issues whatever it may be,

starvation or preventable diseases, Just think about that less than

two dollars a day. Yeah, we spend thousands and thousands

of dollars a year and we turn a blind eye

to those that are hurting around us. He also gave

the statistics that startling less two percent tithe biblical tithe,

and out of those who give in the church one

hundred dollars a year, if that person gave one hundred

dollars to the church a year, statistically it's four pennies there. Statistically,

if a person gives one hundred dollars to the church.

They only give four cent a year to those in need.

In our world, four billion people living off less than

two dollars a day, and we as Americans, give less

than four cent to those in needs around US. Twenty

six thousand children dying, and we're not doing anything about it.

David Platt said this. I think he's right. He says

this is not a problem in our convention, This is

not a problem in our churches. This is a problem

in our hearts. God's entrusted us with possessions, and he

trusted us with these possessions that we might care for

others in need. And yet we are like the rich

man in this parable what we think about when God

fills up our barns, of how we're going to build

builder barns, bigger barns so we can enjoy it for ourself,

and not how we could use it to care for

someone in need around us. I wonder today, billions and

billions of dollars in North Carolina this year's been made

off of gambling. What if that money was used to

care for the hungry in our world today? How might

it change our world? But yet we chase after a

gamble in order to get more. It's irresponsible. He was

irresponsible to himself, he was irresponsible to others. Want you see, lastly,

is irresponsible to God. The Bible says, he has this

vision that when he builds the bigger barns, he's gonna

sip back and say to his soul in verse nineteen,

I will say to my soul, soul, you've been You

have ample goods laid up for many, many years. He

thinks future is bride ahead, where likes eat and be merry.

And the Lord says, what full this night? Your soul

is required of you? And the things you have prepared,

whose will they be? This man thought that he could

be irresponsible with what God gave him, that God would

not hold him account. And in this passage God does

hold him account for being an irresponsible steward it all

and in a moment he lost it all. Why because

he treasured the gift and he never knew the giver.

You know, as Scripture says, I think it's important that

we see throughout scripture and second Corinthians, I mean First

Corinthian six. Paul talks about the unrighteous who will not

inherit the kingdom of God, he says, Or do you

not know the unrighteous will not then inherit the Kingdom

of God. Don't be deceived either sexual moral nor a dodgers,

nor adulters, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor

the greedy or the drunkers, or rivalries or swindlers will

inherit the Kingdom of God. It's the greedy like this man.

It's marks of the old life. Right was Marx Jesus

say in Mark chapter eight? What does it profit a

man if he gains the whole world world but forfeits

his soul. He's irresponsible to himself. He was irresponsible to others.

Finally he was irresponsible to God, and God held him accountable.

I wonder today, have you considered that God will hold

you accountable for what you've done in this life with

what He's given you? Can you say today, Lord, I

want to be faithful steward of what your resources, what

you've given me. Lord, I don't want to worship the gifts.

I want to worship the give he would you pray

with me every head bouty ivery close? Lord, I pray

today this morning as we come together and steady your

word and we considered the would consider the vice of greed,

and Lord, it's not just a vice for those who gamble,

it's a temptation for all of us here to treasure

the possessions, to treasure the things more than we treasure you. Lord,

I pray today we will consider Lord, the things that

you've given us. Or I pray today we will consider

the warnings Lord from you, to be on guard. Lord,

I pray today we would consider that life is more

than possessions. And Lord, today I pray we would find

you the giver. Lord. Your word tells us that you

held this man accountable. And Lord, we will all give

an account before you one day, Lord, of what we've

done in this life. Lord, I pray that we be

found faithful, faithful to love you first, seek you first,

faithful to treasure you above all else, faithful to use

Lord what you've given us, to share with others in

need around us. Lord, help us be found faithful. Lord. Lord,

I pray, Lord, today, as we come into a time

of invitation, I pray there'd be those who respond to

Lord your word. Maybe come this altar and pray maybe

to know today someone like Kurt that's addicted that's battling,

or I pray they need someone to come to this

alter and pray for loved ones they know that are

wrapped up and greed. Maybe they're not in gambling, just

writing up in greed. Or I pray there'd be those

who would come to this altar and find this as

a place where of confashion, a place of prayer, a

place of supplication. Or I pray if you lead those

to do that. I pray you lead us to do

that now in this time invitation. I pray to someone

here today doesn't know you as Lord and Savior. I

pray they've may be finding life in possessions of things,

or I pray they'd be those today that find life

in You today, in a relationship with you, by placing

their faith in you for salvation today. Or we love you,

We thank you Lord for this morning. Lead us now

in this time of invitation your name, we pray Jesus

to