Watch ‘Your Stuff’

Happy Father's Day, guys. How you doing? Welcome to Watermark.

And if this is your first time or your millionth time,

we are glad that you're here to worship the Lord with us. And we have a very special day.

So I thought, I need some help. I need some helpers. And so if you're a kid,

can you come up here and help me for one second, please? Just come right here. All the kiddos,

come on. You don't have to cling to me, but just sit right there, okay?

All the kids, come on, guys.

Oh. Hey. Okay, guys, I need your help, okay? So can someone tell me what today is besides Sunday?

Father's Day. Father's Day. And what does Father's Day mean?

Father's Day. To do what now?

Father's Day means give a present to your daddy. That is so good. So how many of you guys are going

to take your dad out to lunch today and be nice to him? How many of you guys are going to give

your dad a brand new watch today? Wow. What great kids. Hey, so what I want to do is I need your help.

We have these special gifts made for our dads. And so I'm going to have all the dads and all the men in the church,

all the men in the church stand up. Okay, so all the men in the church stand up now.

Kids, push your, come on, Albert. You're a man. Stand up. Okay. All the men stand up. Okay, guys.

Hey, guys, listen to me. Look at me. I need your help. Can you help me pray for the dads? Okay?

So I'm going to pray, and you just pray right after me, okay? Okay? Let's pray.

Dear God, thank you for our dads. Guard their heart. Help them to love you. Help us to obey them.

Help us to obey them. We love you. Amen. Okay, guys, this is what I need to do. I need all the kids

to take these cards. Men, stand up still. Take these cards, and I want you to hand them out to any man

standing up and say, Happy Father's Day. Thank you so much. Okay? Thank you. So hand it to your daddy

and hand it to people. Here you go. Here you go. Just go hand them out. Just hand them out to your dads.

Wow, crazy chaos. Okay. Everybody got them? There you go. Here you go, Willow. Good job, guys.

And after the dads get their card, you can sit down. Okay. Pass them out. Okay. Here you go.

Take them. Take them. Okay. Good. There you go. Okay. Go give them to your dads.

And after that, kids, you are dismissed. Watermark kids. So every daddy standing up,

make sure you give them a card. Okay. After that, Watermark kids are dismissed,

and youth are dismissed with Eric.

The scripture reading today comes from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12. Please follow along in your

Luke 12 · chapter mention

bulletin.

Someone in the crowd said to him,

Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.

But he said to him, Man, who appointed me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?

Then he said to them, Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed.

For not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.

And he told them a parable, saying,

The land of a rich man was very productive.

And he began reasoning to himself, saying,

What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?

Then he said,

This is what I will do.

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 many goods laid up for many years to come.

Take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

But God said to him,

You fool, this very night your soul is required of you.

And now who will own what you have prepared?

So is the man who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

This is the reading of God's word.

I got stuff.

Good stuff.

Happy stuff.

Successful, sensational, recreational, relaxational stuff.

Mac stuff.

PC stuff.

I stuff.

Cool fashion.

Cool fashion.

Fast cash.

Fast action.

Rocket chips and chocolate chips.

Stuff with crosses.

Christian fishes.

Stuff beyond my wildest wishes.

And you can't take my stuff.

My stuff is a needle that drops to the vinyl to start the party and spin the spiral.

My stuff impressively, incessantly, illuminates my import.

And my stuff is loud.

It demands respect.

And you can't neglect when my stuff says,

I have arrived and this is what I'm all about.

My stuff demands respect.

It identifies me.

And I identify with my stuff.

My stuff is the needle that tattoos my skin, signifying the significance of who I am.

You can't handle my stuff.

I got stuff.

I got stuff.

Stuff.

Stuff from my past.

That follows me around like some run-down evangelist carnival caravan that keeps coming to town.

In the amusement park dark.

Saints from the shadows shout my shattered story.

Selling success souvenirs.

And soulful sideshows.

Their slanted slogans solicit me.

Slander me.

Compel me.

Tell me.

Tell me fortunes that I regret.

I can't forget.

And surrendering or seeking grace.

I surrender to the stuff spell.

But it conjures no confession.

No communion.

Just a constant carousel of clamor.

That casts out the quiet and the question so I don't have to hear my heart beat.

My stuff is a ferris wheel that takes me to the top.

Then brings me right back down again.

I spin and I turn and I want off.

But the ride never stops.

I got stuff.

I got stuff.

My stuff is the elevator to the penthouse floor.

Sometimes no matter what button I push.

I can't seem to open the door.

You can't handle my stuff.

You can't handle my stuff.

My stuff is the needle that injects my vein.

And it's warm like a fever.

And it spreads like a stain.

And it itches.

And I scratch until it burns like a blaze.

But all I have is this nothing.

And I can't stop the flame.

I can't stop the flame.

I can't stop the flame.

I can't stop the flame.

I can't.

I can't.

I can't.

I got stuff.

I can't handle my stuff.

You can't take my stuff.

You can't take my stuff.

Can you?

Can you?

Take my stuff?

I kind of feel like I just need to say amen after that.

Finish our time.

We're talking about stuff.

We're talking about life.

If you've been with us for any amount of time, you've heard us talk about stories that we're

all writing out and living out our story right now.

If you've been here for any amount of time, you hear us talking about journeys.

We're all on a journey.

And the interesting thing about this journey is that we're all following someone or something

or stuff.

Some of us are following Ben Bernanke.

Some of us are following Jamie Dimon.

Some of us are following Li Kai-shing.

Some of us are following Warren Buffett.

Some of us are trying to follow Christ.

But the stuff crowds out our life.

And we don't know how to handle it.

We're continuing the story of stuff and the journey.

Last week we talked about being in a minefield.

We talked about that we walk into a minefield.

And in this field there are things that can disable us and hurt us and cause us to be enslaved.

Jesus talked last week about that thing as the leaven of the Pharisees, hypocrisy.

We talked about wearing a mask, being different in different places and acting different ways

because people expect you to act certain ways.

And we said in the midst of all of that, we lose the gospel.

We de-gospelize ourself.

We're clinging to Christ and we're on this journey.

And all of a sudden we break free and we cling on to position and power and material things.

And we lose the power of the Holy Spirit.

We lose the power of the gospel.

As I was praying through this sermon today, I was reminded of a story.

And it begins as all good stories begin.

And the interesting thing about this story is I think that if we're honest,

we see it lived out every day in our life.

We see it lived out every day in people's lives all around us.

And this story begins like every story should begin.

Come on.

How does every story begin?

Once upon a time.

Once upon a time in Hong Kong, there lived a very important man or woman.

I'm just going to say a man.

He routinely logged in 12 to 14 hours of work a day.

And sometimes on weekends, he went to Stanford and Thunderbird and then the Harvard School of Management.

He got top honors.

He qualified in his chosen field and decided to broaden his horizons by joining every professional institute he could.

Indeed, he joined a number of boards and he was on the directors.

He read books on Genghis Khan and management and how to swim with the sharks.

And even when he wasn't working, his mind wandered back to his job,

which not was his occupation but became his preoccupation.

He found a 40-hour work week such a good idea that he often did it twice.

His wife tried to slow him down to remind him that he had a family.

He knew they were not as close as they had once been.

He had not intended for them to drift away.

It just seemed that she wanted time from him.

And that was just something that he didn't have to give because he gave it all at the office.

He was vaguely aware of his kids that they were growing up and they were missing him.

From time to time, his kids would complain about the books that he wasn't reading to them

and the games he wasn't going to them and all of these things.

And he would get angry and he says, I'm doing it all for you.

Just wait.

Soon it's all going to get better and our future will be assured.

One day his chief operations officer came to him and he said,

you're not going to believe this but business is booming.

I mean it's out of control.

We can't keep up with it.

It's a miracle.

But with the present technology that we have, we can't keep in the market.

We can't make a killing.

So he put the company through a technological revolution.

The buzzword was 24-7 connectivity.

There was phones everywhere in the bathrooms and in the conference rooms

and everybody was connected by Wi-Fi, BlackBerrys, iPhones.

As he sat at his computer that night rearranging the company,

he had overlooked one microscopic detail.

He had overlooked an artery that had once been so supple,

as supple as a blade of grass,

but now was dry and brittle like cement.

For more than a century,

his heart had been pumping 70 milliliters of blood with every contraction,

14,000 pints each day, 100,000 beats in 24 hours,

all of this happening without him ever having to send a memo

or giving a reminder or a performance review.

Now it skipped a beat,

and it skipped another beat,

and a third, and he grasped his chest,

and he breathed for air,

and for a moment he was given the gift of blinding clarity.

Even though he sat on the top of hundreds of organizational charts,

it turned out that he wasn't in control of his own pulse.

Funny thing, he was thinking as he was dying,

hundreds of people on multiple continents would listen and heed every word,

but now a few ounces of hardened muscle in his heart wouldn't obey him.

His wife woke up at 3 a.m.,

and she was still looking next to herself,

and she saw that he wasn't in bed,

and she went downstairs to drag him up out of bed,

and she saw that he was laying in front of the computer,

head on the desk,

and she just yelled to herself,

this is ridiculous.

It's like I'm being married to a child.

He would rather fall asleep in front of the screen than come to bed.

She touched him on the shoulder to wake him up,

and he didn't respond,

and his skin was eerily cold.

She quickly dialed 999,

and when the paramedics got there,

it was too late,

and they told her that he had died of a massive heart attack.

His death was a major story in the financial community.

The obituary appeared in the South China Morning Post,

and then the tattler.

It was too bad that he was dead,

because he would have loved to hear what people were saying about him.

They came to the funeral because of his prominence in the community.

People filed past his open casket,

and they commented on how peaceful he looked.

Death has a way of doing that,

of making us look peaceful.

Death is nature's way of saying you're working too hard.

You need to slow down.

And as they followed past,

they asked the same question that everybody always asks

when someone rich dies,

how much money did he leave?

He left it all.

We always leave it all.

People got up to eulogize him.

Mostly they talked about his accomplishments,

because everyone knew about him,

but no one really knew him.

He was one of the leading entrepreneurs of the day.

He was an innovator in technology.

He was a man of principles.

He never cheated on his taxes.

He never cheated on his expense sheet.

He never cheated on his wife.

He was a pillar of the community.

Everybody knew that.

Everybody saw how great he was.

He was an amazing networker.

This guy could network everything.

He never cheated on his side.

He never cheated on his side.

They commissioned a large marble monolith

by his grave,

and on it they wrote visionary,

innovator, leader, entrepreneur.

And at the top of the monolith,

they wrote this huge word, success.

But when it was dark and no one was around,

the angel of God was sent to the cemetery.

Unseen and unheard,

the angel made its way past all of the monuments,

until it came to his wonderful monument.

And in the quiet,

the angel traced with his finger

on the monolith

the words that God had used to describe him.

F-O-O-L.

Fool.

You fool.

This night,

your soul will be required of you.

As I think of this story,

I just think maybe there's a parallel going on

with this parable

of what's happening in Europe,

in the States,

in Asia.

We're so busy

accumulating stuff

for ourselves

that we haven't taken time off

to think about God

and to thank him

for where we are.

I guess a challenge this morning for me

and for all of us

as we think about this parable

is

am I,

are we

making efforts

to be richer towards God

or are we just interested

in getting more

stuff?

Chapter 12,

Jesus is talking to his disciples

in this very interesting passage

because as he's giving this amazing sermon,

this young man stands up

and he yells out a question

which has nothing to do

with the sermon.

Meaning,

you wonder what people are thinking.

Here,

he's the greatest communicator

of all time

and even the people

in the congregation

aren't clued in

to his words.

It kind of gives me comfort

as a pastor

because I wonder sometimes

what you're thinking

out there.

Does all he own

is blue shirts?

Well,

at least his belt

and his shoes

are matched today.

But the guy comes

and he asks Jesus

this incredible question

and I want to take

these couple minutes

just to look at it

because I think

there's so much more

we need to learn

from this passage

and it's found

in verse 13

through 21

of Luke 12.

It's interesting

when he asks

this question,

Jesus never answers

the question

that people ask.

He always answers

the problem

that's in their heart.

in our heart.

And so this guy

asked this question

if you look at it

in your bulletin

this is,

I'm going to look

through this really quickly

and we're going to make,

we're going to go through this.

I want to run through this

and we'll make some points

about the text

and see what we have

to learn here.

I want to share with you

some things

that I've been learning

these last couple weeks

and then I want to do

a quick exercise

and then you're dismissed

for Father's Day.

So in verse 13

someone in a crowd

yelled out to him,

teacher,

tell my brother

to divide the family

inheritance with me.

Someone,

we don't know who it is,

he yells out,

rabbi,

respected person,

tell my brother

to divide the inheritance

with me.

Those listening

would have known

exactly what had happened.

The father had died

and the boy yelling out

was the younger son

and the older son

who got two-thirds

of the inheritance

would always divide up

the inheritance

when it was his time

but he hadn't done it yet

and the younger son

was frustrated

because he wanted his stuff.

It's interesting

in this passage,

he doesn't ask God

to fix the relationship

between him

and the older brother.

He doesn't say,

God,

our relationship is broken.

We're arguing

with each other.

I know that we've never

seen this happen

in Hong Kong

and you've never seen

this happen in your life

when someone dies

and then everybody

starts arguing

over the stuff

but it happened

in Jesus' day

and the guy

doesn't ask Jesus

to fix the relationship.

He doesn't ask

to mend hearts.

He doesn't say,

hey, check me

because maybe my motives

are wrong.

Maybe something's

going on here.

Can you bring me

back to my brother?

All he asks Jesus

is I want my stuff.

Give me my stuff.

In verse 14,

Jesus says,

man,

who appointed me

a judge

or arbitrated over you?

It's a very strong word.

In the Middle Eastern,

everybody listening

would have been freaking out

because it was like

Jesus was disgusted

with this guy.

And so he doesn't even

call him by name

even though he would have

known his name

because he knows everything

but he addresses him

just as a man.

And then he shares

in verse 15,

beware,

pay attention,

understand,

learned about,

stay away from,

be on your guard,

always be constant,

active,

diligent,

look around

of every form.

There's more than one form.

There's position,

there's power,

there's possession

of greed,

coveting,

wanting things that aren't yours,

wanting more than you need,

wanting a surplus

that's not healthy.

Beware of these things

because not even

when one of you

has an abundance

does his life

consist

of these things.

Jesus looks

at the guy's heart.

He looks

at our heart

and he says,

you know,

you have a problem

and your problem

is greed.

You have a problem

and your problem

is coveting.

And it's interesting

because greed

and coveting

is so subtle,

it's so behind the scenes.

No one has ever

come to me

and confessed,

you know,

I have a problem

with greed.

Can you pray for me?

I've had people say,

I've had a problem

with my wife,

I have a problem

with my anger,

I have a problem

with materialism,

kind of,

but I have a problem

with these other things,

but never I have

a problem with greed.

But the scripture

talks about it

over and over

and I think the thing

that's scary

about greed

and hypocrisy

is if we walk

into that minefield,

if we go down

that road,

we start living out

a life that's hypocritical.

And so Jesus

is so concerned

about this

and he says,

be careful of this,

beware of this,

it's going to destroy you.

It's the tenth commandment,

thou shall not covet.

It's the loving of stuff,

it's the hoarding of stuff.

If I were to pick

one sin

that I would say

is probably

the chief sin,

I would probably

say it's greed

and coveting.

I mean,

think about it.

It's the sin

that got the angels

kicked out of heaven.

They wanted to be like God,

they wanted the things

of God,

they wanted to know

and act like God

and they got kicked out of the,

it was a sin

that got Adam and Eve

kicked out of the garden.

They wanted to be like God,

they wanted to have

the things of God,

they wanted to have

the knowledge of God

and it seems like

from that time on

it's been the sin

that causes quarrels,

wars,

strife,

division,

envy,

disputes,

jealousy,

hatred.

We can covet a lot of things,

we can be greedy

about a lot of things,

the passage says that,

many things be careful of.

We can be coveted

about possessions,

about stuff.

We can be greedy

about positions,

titles and jobs

and offices,

I want those things.

We can be greedy

about power.

In the book of Romans,

when Paul looked

at his life,

he looked at his life

outwardly

and he said,

look at me,

I'm perfect.

I'm a Jew of Jews,

I've kept all the requirements,

I keep all the laws,

I've done everything.

But in Romans 7,

he looks at his heart.

He doesn't look outwardly

but he looks inwardly

like God calls us to.

And he looks at his heart

and he goes,

I have a problem.

And this problem is

that I covet.

I see things

that other people have

and I want those things

and all of these things

are coming into my world

and Paul realizes

that sin has invaded his life

and has changed him.

Ultimately,

greed and coveting

is an attempt

to find satisfaction

and happiness

and ultimate meaning

in things that are temporary

instead of God.

it seems like

when we do that,

we're walking along

as Christians

and we're attached

to the gospel

and the power

of the Holy Spirit

and all of a sudden

we just kind of

de-gospelize

or we decouple

and we say,

no,

I'm not going to trust

in that anymore,

I'm going to trust

in my money.

Or no,

I'm not going to trust

in that anymore,

I'm going to trust

in my position.

And as we head down

that path,

the scripture says

that we become slaves

to the things

that we really want

and we desire.

Does anybody have a problem

with coveting

and greed in here?

Let me ask a couple questions.

Are you content

where you're at?

Financially,

location,

your job.

I mean,

as you look at your life

right now,

do you think

that this present condition

is the best condition

you could be in?

Are you content

with where God has you?

I mean,

could you say to God

right now,

God,

you have me

in the best place possible.

I mean,

I cannot imagine

any other better thing,

God,

you've had me

in exactly the best place.

With my family,

with my finances,

with my job,

with my location,

with my house,

with my car.

God,

you have me

exactly where I need to be.

Or would you say,

like me,

man,

if I were God,

I would do things

a little differently.

I'd probably get

a 20% more raise

and drive a little nicer car

and I don't know

about this house,

maybe I should own it

instead of renting it

because I'm just

wasting all this money.

That's just me.

Do you rejoice

when your friend

and your neighbor

prospers?

When your friend

gets something

that you don't have

but you want,

can you say,

man,

I'm so excited

for them.

I'm so excited

that their family

has got it together.

I'm so excited

that that husband

loves his wife

and spends time

with them.

I'm so excited

that that wife

respects her husband.

I'm so excited

that those kids,

they got into Harvard

finally and that's,

that's just amazing.

I'm so excited

for them.

I mean,

I want those things

but I'm just,

I'm just really glad

they got that new iPad

and that new Mac

PowerBook

that you can bend

like that.

That's really cool

but I'm really excited

they got it.

Can you say that?

Or do you say,

I need to go buy

that really cool

Mac PowerBook

before they see

that I don't have it

so they just assume

that I already have it too

and then we're both cool.

Do you want

what you have?

Now be very careful

this is gonna,

this is gonna take

some brain cells,

okay?

Do you want

what you have

is not having

what you want.

I know that sounds

like a country western song.

I want what I have,

I want what I don't have

but do you want

what you have

right now?

Or do you wanna have

what you want

for the future?

Are you generous

with what you have?

As you get more money,

if you get a pays,

if you get a bonus,

do you think,

oh how can I give this

away to people?

How can this go

towards the church?

How can this build up

treasures in heaven?

How can I help people

with this money?

Or do you think,

well this is my

great opportunity

to finally get

my car upgraded?

Or this is a great

opportunity for me

to change my lifestyle

because I deserve

a better lifestyle

because I've worked

so hard for it.

Are we generous

with what God gives us?

All these questions

I ask myself

all the time.

And Jesus wants us

to ask these things

of us

because he's worried

that we're gonna walk

down this road.

That we're gonna walk

into this minefield

and this minefield

is gonna enslave us

and destroy us

and change us

and the mine

that we're worried

about stepping on today

is greed

and coveting.

Are you following me?

The rest of the passage,

Jesus basically just says,

here are some things

you need to be aware of.

If you walk down this path,

you're gonna step on a mine.

And we're gonna run through them.

I wanna run through them

with you right now.

The first thing Jesus says

in verse 16

as you look at your bulletin,

Jesus warns

that we're heading

into the minefield,

that we're gonna become greedy,

that we're gonna worry

about coveting

if we just focus

on ourselves

and not on God.

Look at the passage.

He told them a parable

saying,

the land of the rich man

was very productive.

Now remember,

parables are stories.

The word actually means

to lay beside.

So Jesus is talking

to everybody

and he lays out this story

right in front of them

and he says,

okay, now take your life

and lay your life down

beside the story

and compare

and see how you're doing.

And so he shares

this first thing,

this first warning sign

as you walk

into this minefield

and he says,

the guy of a rich man,

his land was very,

very productive

and Jesus warns us,

he says,

you're gonna walk

into the minefield

when you forget

to give credit

for God

for what's going on

in your life.

You read in the passage,

the guy only thinks

of himself

and he thinks,

I did this,

I made this happen.

He looks at the harvest

and he says,

all of this was because

I was a great planter.

But every farmer knows

in farming

that there's rain,

there's hail,

there's sun,

there's locusts,

there's timing,

there's bacteria

that get into the dirt.

All of these things

can change the crop.

But the rich man says,

I did this,

it's me.

I made it happen.

Now I've gotten

some really serious arguments

sometimes with people

as I talked about this

and sometimes people

get really offended.

They go,

I worked hard.

I studied hard.

I got into Harvard

and I'm in

where I am

because of my work.

I've done everything

and that is what

has brought me here.

And I listen to them.

I go,

you're right.

I worked hard too

and I studied hard.

But you know,

that has nothing to do

with what country

I was born in.

And that has nothing

to do with what time

I was born.

Statistics tell us

that if we were born

one year later

or one year earlier

or five years later

or five years earlier

for sure,

we would not be

where we are right now.

We didn't choose

our parents.

We didn't choose

what we would look like.

We didn't choose

that we would have eyes.

And all of these things

that God has given us,

our mind,

our body,

where we're at,

all of these things

have brought us

where we are right now.

But the farmer

looks at that

and he goes,

no, it's me.

I did it.

I made it all happen.

I took a group

of students

when I was living

in China

to an orphanage.

And it was interesting

to see their reaction

when we walked

into the orphanage.

And we were playing

with the kids

and several of the kids

had nothing wrong

with them

except for like

a little spot

on their cheek,

a little birthmark.

And one of the guys

looked at this orphan

with that little birthmark,

that little physical scar

on him

and he started to cry

and he ran out

of the room.

And I caught up

with him

and I said,

what's going on?

And he goes,

I realize

that the only reason

I'm here

right now

studying

in this university

is because

I wasn't born

with a mark

on my face.

Because if I had

any imperfection,

my parents

would have sent me

to the orphanage.

I have a good friend,

he shares his testimony

and he talks about

how when his parents,

he was in his mother's stomach

and one of the tests

came back

later in stage of life

and it said

there was a 50% chance

that he was going to have

an abnormality,

genetic,

and that he would never

be able to survive

in the real world.

And the doctors

encouraged

and encouraged

and encouraged

his parents

to abort him.

And his parents,

which is amazing,

they weren't Christ followers

but they said,

we believe that

for some reason

we have this child

and we're going to

keep this child

and they kept him

and he was born

perfectly normal.

For some of us,

the only reason

we're here right now

is because the doctors

read our medical charts

right,

no abnormality

came back

in the blood work

and our parents

decided to keep us

instead of abort us.

But the farmer

doesn't know that.

The farmer thinks

it's all about him.

He did it all

and what Jesus

is trying to tell us

is if you run down

that road,

you're going to get

in trouble

because you're going

to become greedy

and you're going

to become lost.

He warns us

in verse 17,

again,

be careful.

The man began

reasoning to himself.

He's all by himself.

Everyone listening

would have been

freaking out

because he's all

by himself

and everyone in that

culture was communal.

He said to himself,

I shall do this

and I will do that

and no place

to store my crops

and then he said

this is what I will do.

I will tear down my barns

and I'll build larger ones

and they'll store

all my grains

and my goods

and Jesus warns us again.

He says be careful

when you separate yourself

from other people.

Be careful

when you separate yourself

from God

because when you start

thinking that ownership

is yours

and you're not a steward,

you're in trouble

and you're going

to become greedy

Jesus is warning us

and he's warning

the audience

that he's teaching to

that it's not our stuff,

it's not our crop,

it's not our barn,

it's not our house,

it's not our car,

it's not our bank account.

At least five more times

in the Gospel of Luke

he's going to talk

about these exact same things

and he's going to say

the only reason

you have what you have

is because God gave it to you.

I read this passage

and I thought wow

this is kind of like

the typical Hong Kong lifestyle,

isn't it?

I mean you think about it,

many of us in Hong Kong

we want to improve

our lifestyle.

We want to increase

our wealth,

we find more ways

to improve our lifestyle,

we find more ways

to enjoy ourselves,

we want to store up wealth,

we want to store up stuff

so that we can enjoy them

when we're old.

We're always planning

for the future,

we're making good investments

in stocks

and insurance

and wine

and property.

You notice this guy,

he's not yelled at

or criticized

for being a good planner

because the Bible wants us

to plan for our future

but what the guy

is criticized for

is that he leaves God

out of the plans.

He says,

I'm going to do it,

I can do it.

In verse 19,

Jesus goes on

and he tells his audience

and he tells us,

I will say to my soul,

in Greek and Hebrew,

he's actually saying myself,

self,

you have many goods

laid up for many years

to come.

Take your ease,

eat,

drink,

and be merry.

I mean,

he's so busy

thinking about

his physical body.

We're so busy

thinking about

our physical body.

that we forget

our soul.

And Jesus warns him

and he warns us,

be careful,

be careful,

be careful

because your future

isn't in your control.

It's in God's control.

Finally,

in verse 20,

verse 21,

Jesus shares with us

and he shares

with his congregation.

But God said to him,

you fool,

this very night

your soul

is required of you

and now

who will own

what you have been prepared?

So is the man

who stores up treasure

for himself

and is not rich

towards God.

All up until this point,

it's just been

the guy speaking.

I will do this,

I will do that,

I will do these things.

And all of a sudden,

God speaks

and he speaks

in a very powerful way

and he calls him

a fool.

In scripture,

in the Bible,

a fool is anyone

who disbelieves God

or disregards

God's teaching.

And if you look

at this parable,

you realize,

finally,

after all of his time,

the rich,

famous farmer

realizes that everything

isn't his.

his life's not his.

His stuff's not his.

His self's not his.

And actually,

the words

is required

is a banking term.

What Jesus is saying

is everything

that's on loan to you,

margin call,

everything's back.

Everything that I've given you,

I need it back.

And in this moment,

the guy realizes

as he walks through life,

all those things

he was clinging on

for significance

and who he was

and to bring power

and people recognize him,

all of these things

that weren't really his,

he has to give them back.

And he's left with nothing.

I mean,

these are harsh words.

I understand it.

I mean,

because the world would say

this guy was successful

and he was good

and he was famous,

but when we look at Scripture,

Jesus looks at this man

in verse 21

and he turns back

to the man who yells out

at the very beginning

and he says these words,

so is the man

who stores up treasure

for himself.

He is not rich towards God.

He's living like a fool.

Are we living like a fool today?

Where are we storing up

our riches?

What are we thinking about

as we walk through life?

Are we thinking

that it's me, me, me

who's did it?

Or do we think

God has brought me

to this place,

God has given me sight,

God has allowed me to hear,

God has given me the health

and he has allowed me

to be here?

Here's some thoughts

I want to run through

really quickly.

These are things

that I've been struggling with

in the last couple weeks.

I know I say it every time.

But yeah.

My first thought is this.

Life is a gift on loan.

Each day is a gift

and everything we have

belongs to God.

It's a gift to be used,

enjoyed,

and returned.

And when we start thinking

that we own it,

we're in trouble.

Number two,

every moment we have a choice,

are we going to live our life

for ourself

or towards God?

There's only two choices

in the Bible.

And I know this might run

some of you away

because we hear

different gospels sometimes,

but in the Bible it says

we only have two choices.

Are we going to live our lives

towards God

or towards ourself?

Are we going to store up

treasures for ourselves

or are we going to store up

treasures in heaven?

Both of these storings

involve trust.

Whenever you give something

to somebody

and they store it,

you have to trust them.

You're trusting the bank,

you're trusting the institution,

you're trusting your banker,

you're trusting your investment guy,

or you're trusting God.

But there's a huge element

of trust in there.

And what this guy realizes

is that storing up things

here on earth

ultimately failed him.

because the abundance

of our life

doesn't guarantee

our eternity.

Here's the question

I want to ask.

I've been very hesitant

to ask this.

If God were

an investment banker

and he looks at your life

and he realizes

everything

that he's put

into your life,

money,

talents,

connections,

family,

health,

eyesight,

stopping that drunk car

from hitting you

when you should have

been wiped out.

God,

as an investment banker,

and the only return

God wants

in your life

is treasures in heaven.

Because that's

what the Bible says.

So God is

an investment banker.

He's invested

all these things

in your life.

Have we been

a good investment

for him?

I mean,

have we brought

the return

that an investment banker

would have expected?

Now this has nothing

to do with our salvation,

right?

The gospel saves us.

We're not working

to earn our salvation.

We're already a child

of God.

We're walking with him.

That's the power

of the gospel.

But after that,

God continues

to build into us

and he continues

to invest into us

and he continues

to give to us.

And the question

we have to ask ourselves

is,

are we a good investment?

if the only thing

he expects

is treasures

stored in heaven?

Have we been

dealing with God's word?

Have we been

in community?

Have we been

giving and tithing

and helping people

less fortunate

than ourselves?

When we look

at our neighbors,

the two great commandments,

love the Lord your God

with all your heart,

mind, and soul.

Look at your neighbor,

love your neighbor

as yourself.

The guy asked,

who is my neighbor?

He said,

your neighbor,

is anybody in need?

Take care of them.

Heavenly investments.

Have we been

a good return

on those things?

The Bible says

that Jesus was rich

but for our sakes

he became poor.

He paid the debt

that we owed God.

the debt

that we owed God

was hell.

That's a bad debt.

And Jesus

paid that debt

on the cross

not by tithing

his blood.

Okay, I'll give

20% now

and maybe 30% later.

He paid that debt

because he gave

everything.

He poured out

everything on the cross.

Jesus is incredibly rich

and generous

towards everyone

in this room.

And because he is

we can be also.

because he is

we have the freedom

to be also.

As I look at this passage

and I think of greed

and coveting

I've been praying for us

every day as a church.

I'm praying that who we are

our identity

is not defined

by where we live

or where we meet.

I'm praying that our identity

isn't defined

by the clothes we wear

the barns or wealth

that we accumulate

where our kiddos

go to school

who we know

the group of people

we hang around

our business card

our family

how big our business is

how big our church is.

I'm praying that our identity

isn't determined

by those things

because it is

we're walking

in this minefield

and we're just as lost

as the rich farmer.

I'm praying as a church

and as individuals

that our identity

is rooted firmly

in God

the gospel of Jesus Christ

the grace of God

that is poured out

on the cross.

I want to do an exercise

very quickly.

At the very beginning

I handed out money

to about 20 people

in this congregation.

Would you please stand up

and pass it out

to everybody?

I know who you are

so you can't run off

with it okay?

Every adult

should get a one dollar bill.

Every adult.

Everybody take one.

Don't be a cutie.

Everybody take one.

I did a one dollar bill

because I'm an American

yeah you can give me

a hard time.

But also I felt like

I won't get arrested

if I were an American

and I did this

I'd get arrested

because I wrote

on American money right?

So that's bad.

So on the dollar bill

just do as quick

as you can buddy.

That's good.

On the back

of the dollar bill

I want you to hold it up.

Everybody have one?

If you don't have one

raise your hand.

Dave you got some more?

I want to give this to you.

Christina and I

want to give this to you

as a gift.

Our hope is

that you would put it

we have more money

any more money?

We have any more?

Any more?

Okay.

Charles you want to

hand it up?

Raise your hand.

Hold it up.

It's very interesting

isn't it?

Because on the back

it says in God

we trust.

But what we wrote

on there

was a Bible verse

Luke 12 21

So is the man

who stores up

treasure for himself

and is not rich

towards God.

You can stick this

in your Bible

please don't put it

in the offering box

to convert it

just to moff on.

Okay.

So don't do that.

But the reason

I gave it to you

is I want it

you to take this

and think about it

as you go through

this day

and this week.

I mean this passage

tells us

that God

listen to me guys

this passage

tells us

that God

wants us

to enjoy life

but he doesn't

want us to do it

a part of

a relationship

with him

and other people

around us.

this passage

tells us

that God

wants us

to have stuff

but he doesn't

want us

to worship it.

He doesn't want

it to become

our gods

he doesn't want us

to forget

that we're not owners

but we're stewards

and one day

there's going to be

a bell that rings

inside your head

your eyes are going

to close

and the next thing

you do

when you open up

your eyes

hopefully

is you're going

to see Jesus Christ

and you're going

to look around

and you're not

going to have

any of the stuff

that you had

on earth

with you.

The only thing

you're going

to have

in your new home

is the heavenly

treasures

that you sent

ahead.

That's it.

And this passage

tells us

that God

wants us

to have stuff

he wants us

to enjoy things

but he wants us

to remember

that it's not

ours

that ownership

is a myth

ownership

is a myth

even with our

kids

even with our

life

God gives it

to us

for a little

while to enjoy

and then one day

he's going to ask

for it back

and hopefully

we'll be with him

enjoying eternity.

This passage

tells us

that God

wants us

to plan

for our futures

but he wants

us to remember

that our future

isn't here

that our future

is in heaven

and that's

where he wants

us to store

our treasures

not here

but in heaven

mine too

Jesus says

be careful

you walking

down that road

everybody has

that problem

everybody has

that problem

is probably

the greatest

sin

no one wants

to talk

about it

because no one

wants to say

I'm greedy

they'd rather say

I look at pornography

or I'm a drunk

but they don't want

to say I'm greedy

but Jesus says

we all struggle

with it

and we need

to be careful

we need

to be careful

Father we just

thank you for this

day

I thank you

for your mercy

and your grace

in our life

we thank you

for your goodness

and Father we thank you

for your word

that is living

and active

and never changes

and as we look

at this parable

of the rich farmer

we realize

that

that's us

if we're honest

we realize

that there's times

that we've forgotten

you

we realize

that there's times

that we've forgotten

community and fellowship

we realize

that there's times

we think this stuff

is ours

we realize

that there's times

that we think

that this is where

we store our treasures

and Father we just

come before you

and we just confess

and we repent

and we ask

your forgiveness

I know there are

people in here

even now

who haven't even

started the journey

with Christ

in our hope

what you heard

from this message

is that God

loves you

and he so desires

to have a relationship

with you

and our prayer

is that you would

stop having

relationships

with stuff

things that will

pass away

one day

and that you will

have it with

the eternal God

who you can enjoy

forever

and for the rest

of us

I just pray

Lord

as we walk

on this journey

and we walk

into these fields

and these struggles

that we would have

brothers and sisters

around us

who care enough

about us

to ask us questions

that we'd have

brothers and sisters

around us

who care enough

to pick us up

when we fall

and to point us

into the right direction

the direction of mercy

and direction of grace

and so Lord

we just come before you

as your people

and we continue

to think

that your son

was so rich

and yet for us

he became poor

he paid the debt

that we could never pay

so that we might

become rich

as members

of your family

help this gospel

message

permeate all

that we do

may we be generous

and gracious

because we serve

a God who is

we love you

amen