This Night - 3/8/26 - Meadows Baptist Church - Pastor Charlie Branch

Welcome to the podcast of Meadows

Baptist Church of Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. We're so glad you joined us

today. If you enjoy today's message, be

sure to subscribe, follow, and share

with your friends. Now, let's join

Pastor Charlie Branch with a word from

God.

man looked at Jesus one day and Jesus

asked him said do you believe and he

said Lord I believe but you know he said

after that he said help my unbelief

and uh Curtis Hudson said this you may

not agree with it but I think he was

right about it he said wherever there's

faith there's always going to be doubt

accompanying it

wherever there's faith there's always

going to be a little bit of fear You

say, "How is that, preacher?" You You

said the Bible says, "Perfect love

casteth out fear." Well, it doesn't say

it gets rid of all of them.

There are questions we have, things we

don't know. We may never know on this

side, but I tell you this, there's one

that does know.

>> We're headed to where he is. Amen. And I

thank him for his mercy and his grace.

And I appreciate Donna, you sister, you

and brother Eric singing that for us

this morning. The good touch of the Holy

Spirit on it. Truth is, nobody could do

for us what Jesus did. Amen. And I love

that song. Thank the Lord for anointing

it this morning. If you have a Bible, I

invite you to turn with me to Luke's

Gospel.

Luke's Gospel, chapter 12.

Just trying to be obedient to the Holy

Spirit this morning.

You find your place if you would stand

on reference to the reading of God's

word.

Luke's Gospel chapter number 12

verse number 13.

Luke's Gospel chapter number 12 verse

number 13. Brother Chris came on Friday

and set all the clocks forward and uh

bless his heart that would have give me

an extra hour. Amen. But uh not going to

have it today and so Amen. But uh

anyway, he don't want me to preach too

long. So anyhow, but uh we'll still get

you out about 12:30. How's that? Amen.

I'm just kidding. We'll be done

directly, but I won't preach what God

put on my heart. Amen. Luke 12:13,

Luke 12:13

Bible says, "And one of the companies

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 be aware of

covetousness,

for man's life consisteth not in the

abundance of things which he

possesseth." 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? And he said, "This

will I do. I will pull down my barns and

build greater. 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

knees, eat, drink, and be merry.

Verse 20, the Bible says, "But God said

unto him, thou fool, this night, this

night, thy soul shall be required of

thee. Then who shall those things be

which thou hast provided?" And Jesus

says in verse 21, "So is he that layeth

up treasure for himself, and is not rich

toward God. And he said unto his

disciples, "Therefore I say unto you,

take no thought for your life, what you

shall eat, neither for the body, what

you shall put on. The life is more than

meat, and the body is more than

raignment." Father, I ask you humbly

this morning, God, as we've come before

you, God, I don't know the need of this

service, Lord. I don't know uh Lord, the

need that's on anybody's heart. And God,

I realize I don't really even know what

I need myself. But God, you know what we

need. And Lord, I've come seeking you

this morning. God, I've come, Lord,

desiring to hear from you. And God, I

pray that you would speak to every

heart. I pray uh God, that the Holy

Ghost of God would speak, Lord, and move

in every life. God, I pray that you

would help us to be obedient to the word

of God as it is shared. I pray you'd

help us to preach with power and

demonstration of the spirit this

morning. God, I pray you give us

uncction and liberty, God, to preach the

gospel. And I ask you, Father, you'd

help us to receive with meekness the

engrafted word. God, I pray you'd open

our eyes that we might behold wondrous

things in thy law. And God, I pray we'd

see no man save Jesus only. And God, I

ask you, Lord, that you would be exalted

and glorified as a result of this

message. And Lord, I pray sinners would

be convicted and drawn unto you. And

Lord, for those that's not right with

you. God, I pray, God, that they would

get right with you before this service

is over. And Lord, I pray for whatever

fellowship needs to be restored, God. If

there's any hindrance, Lord, here this

morning, any malice or any anger, Lord,

or strife, God, I pray you'd remove that

this morning. And and God, I pray you'd

work in the places, God, that we cannot

see. Lord, I pray every heart, Lord,

will open up to you the deepest parts.

And God, I pray you'll do an internal

work today that is eternal in every one

of our lives. And God, we'll be sure to

give you the thanks and all the honor

and glory for what you do because we ask

it in Jesus' name. And God's children

said, "Thank you for standing. You can

be seated this morning."

When praying about this service this

morning, the Lord directed my heart to

this passage of scripture and really

zeroed in on one little phrase found in

these verses. Now, I'm going to deal

with the entirety of what I've read to

you this morning. Try to be as brief as

I possibly can. But in verse number 20,

the Bible says, "But God said unto him,

thou fool," notice those next two words.

This night,

this night, look what he says. Thy soul

shall be required of thee. Then who

shall those things be which thou hast

provided? I want to preach for a little

while on that subject this morning, on

this night. Now the truth is this

morning we don't know what's going to

befall us before nightfall comes. The

Bible says in the book of Proverbs

chapter number 27 and verse number one

boast not thyself of tomorrow for thou

knowest not what a day may bring forth.

And James says this. He says for what is

your life? It's even a vapor that

appearth for a little time and then

vanishth away. And we know this morning

that we are not promised tomorrow. We're

not promised tonight. Matter of fact,

we're not promised this afternoon and we

wasn't promised yesterday, but here we

are this morning. And I want to say this

to you. What matters is what you do with

where you're at right now.

>> What you do with Jesus in the life that

you presently live. Now, there's many

folk that you come across in a daily

life that they are working to build a

future. But let me say this. I'm not

working to build a future. My future's

already been built. Somebody say, "Amen.

Heaven is my home." Amen. And just as

sure as I'm standing before you, there's

a mansion over there in glory that is

built for me. And I've heard people say

it and we understand what they mean.

Well, Jesus, it took him six days to

build the heavens and the earth and all

that in them is, man, he's been gone for

some 2,000 years building my mansion.

And I understand that makes for good

preaching, but it just ain't good

biblically. Amen. What the matter of

fact is when Jesus said, "I go to

prepare a place for you," he said, "In

my father's house are many mansions."

He's not going to build them. Amen. But

they're already presently there. Amen.

And so, let me say this to you this

morning. I'm not working to build a

future. My future's already been built.

Amen. But when I think about this life,

I realize what matters in my life and in

yours is what we do with the nasty now

and now for Jesus. Amen. I can say this

without a shadow of a doubt this

morning. That in our flesh, it is a

painful and a miserable trial that we

have to walk in. But aren't you thankful

that we don't have to just walk it in

the flesh. Amen. But we can walk in the

fullness of the spirit. And the Bible

says if we walk in the spirit, we'll not

fulfill the lust of the flesh. Amen. And

so we can have comfort today knowing

that our future is settled. But also in

this life, we can know that our future

here can be fruitful

>> for the glory of God. And Jesus in this

chapter here, he's presented with a

problem. And I want to lay four things

on your heart this morning. And I'll

give you the four here. There's the

problem, the principle, the parable, and

the poverty that's mentioned in our text

this morning. And when you come to this

chapter in Luke's gospel, chapter number

12, Luke is recording here. Jesus is

speaking to a multitude of people

according to verse number one that

there's an innumerable multitude in so

much that they trod upon one another.

And Jesus begins to preach unto them in

the text and give them the exhortation

of this scripture. and he's dealing with

the leaven of the Pharisees. You notice

that in verse number one, he describes

it as hypocrisy. And now we know that

this subject we're going to deal with

this morning concerning wealth, it was

the number one problem for the

Pharisees. They thought that their

righteousness equated material, physical

wealth. But let me say this to you this

morning. You can own all the you can

have all the money and own all the stock

and own all the real estate and still be

just as wicked as the devil himself.

Amen. It has nothing to do with your

wealth. It makes you righteous. Amen.

I'll say this THIS MORNING. YOUR WEALTH

doesn't have to make you unrighteous.

Somebody say amen right there. If God

has blessed you, he didn't say money is

the root of all evil. He said the love

of money is the root of all evil. Amen.

And so your money doesn't have to make

you amen unrighteous before God. But if

you'll take that thing and use it as God

has blessed you, he can bless you in

that in your life. Amen. And I'll say

this, this preacher is not against you

having things, but I am against things

having you. Somebody say, "Amen."

>> And Jesus in this text, you note number

one here as he's given this message,

there's a man that comes to him in verse

13, the Bible says in one of the company

said unto him, "Master, speak to my

brother that he divide the inheritance

with me." So obviously there may have

been some sort of family situation, a

death in the family. I don't know. The

scripture doesn't tell us but it does

tell us that his this brother has come

and evidently his brother is there with

him. These two brothers there and they

speak to Jesus and they say master speak

to my brother that he divide the

inheritance with me. And now I want to

say this this morning. We a lot of times

in our life try to invite Jesus into

situations where he should have been

invited a long time ago. Amen. He should

have been invited when we had a problem

that was just dealt with on a moral

sense. But now we've got a bigger

problem and now we want to handle it.

Amen. Let me say this. Jesus is not

obligated to fix any of our moral

issues.

>> Amen. That's right. Listen to what he

says in verse number 14. And he said

unto him, "Man, who made me a judge or

divider over you?" That word divider

simply means an arbitrator.

He says, "Look, son, it ain't my duty to

fix your problems for you." Amen. Now, I

firmly believe, Amen. If it matters to

you, it matters to the Lord. Amen. Let

me say this to you. There's a lot of

things we think matter that really don't

matter. Amen. Let me say this. This the

stuff in this life. Jesus said, "Lay not

up for yourselves treasures upon the

earth." Amen. Remember why he said not

to lay them up on the earth. He said,

"Where moth and rust doth corrupt and

thieves break through and steal." Amen.

Everything in this life's temporary.

>> Amen.

>> Amen. It's borrowed. And you know what?

It don't matter how much value some man

or some lady puts on what you have. In

the eyes of God, it's worthless. That's

right.

>> Amen. And I'm going to say more about

that as the message goes on this

morning. But Jesus here, the problem is

that there's division in the family

because the inheritance is not being

divided. And so obviously the testator

here in this family that was entrusted

with keeping up with the books of the

inheritance that this man left behind

obviously did not want to divide the

inheritance as the will had stated. But

Jesus says, why does that really matter?

Let me ask you this morning, why does

the temporal things in this life really

matter to us?

Because we're selfish.

>> You say, "Preacher, but I didn't get my

fair share." Oh, no.

There's your problem. See, if you got

what was fair, you'd be in hell now.

>> And the truth is, anything outside of a

blessing from God. Amen.

>> And you say, "Preacher, WELL, I DIDN'T

GET MY FAIR SHARE." WELL, LET me just

remind you, Jesus didn't get treated

fair either when he went to the cross.

Amen. He took your sin, shame, and

suffering on Calvary. Amen. And died in

your place so that you could have life.

I don't know about you, but that's the

most unfair thing I've ever seen in my

life. I'm saying that God of all glory,

who was perfect AND HOLINESS AND

RIGHTEOUSNESS, WOULD DIE IN A

SINNER'SSTEAD. THERE'S NOTHING MORE

unfair than that.

>> When you have a problem in your family,

it's good to remember that. Amen.

the problem. Look what he says. Who made

me a judge or a divider over you? They

thought Jesus was going to fix their

issues. But you see, Jesus sees the

deeper problem here. He doesn't only we

we we we see the problem of the surface

in the text. And you know, we could talk

about that for a while, but I want to

get to the message this morning. Notice

the principle here. Second of all, in

verse 15, and he said unto them, take

heed

and beware of what? Covetousness. Now

what is covetousness? It's desire to

have that which is not ours. Amen.

Covetousness in the marriage world is

adultery. It's desire to have another

spouse that does not belong to us. Amen.

Covetousness in the physical world is

that love of money, that lust of mammon.

Amen. And here in the text, he says,

"Take heed and beware of covetousness."

Look at what he says. For a man's life

consisteth not in the abundance of

things which he possesseth. Now the

problem with this boy right here in the

text, he says to speak to my brother

that he divide the inheritance with me.

The problem in the text is is that he he

put the inheritance before his brother.

You say, preacher, well the other

brother wasn't being fair with him.

Well, you know what the Bible teaches

about that? Jesus said, if a man smite

you, what did he say? He said, you turn

and let him smite the other cheek. I

know we don't like that. Amen, preacher.

I'm I'm going to ball my fist up and

give him what he deserves. Well, you'll

find out you might get something hold of

something you can't handle. Amen.

That's exactly right. And what I'm

saying is Jesus gives the principle here

things in this life. THERE ARE CERTAIN

things it's not worth dividing over.

There's certain things that's not worth

being bitter over. There's certain

things that's not worth being afflicted

over because in the grand scheme of

eternity, it makes no difference.

>> Amen. And let me just say this to you

this morning. The truth is your family

might be perfect and you might get along

at all times and you say, "Preacher,

well that'll never happen to me." Let me

just say this. If you live in this world

any amount of time, you will be treated

unfairly to your own liking.

>> Amen. You will be treated unfairly, you

will feel like you're treated unfairly.

Matter of fact, most time you probably

ain't been. It's just how you feel.

Amen. Somebody say amen right there.

Jesus says you need to be aware of

covetousness.

He says, "You want something, number

one, that you don't have, number two,

that you don't need."

Let's just be real this morning. We're

all clothed. Thank God for that. There's

some churches that can't get that down.

Amen. But we're all clothed. Amen. And

we're in our right mind and we're fed.

Amen. Most of you eat breakfast this

morning. And some of us didn't cuz we

couldn't preach if we did. Amen. But

what I'm saying is God's been better to

us than we deserve.

>> Amen.

>> Why do we want to argue over petty

things that make no difference for

eternity? Jesus said, "Beware of

covetousness." Why is this principle

shared? Because man's purpose does not

consist in his possessions.

Look what he says. For a man's life

consisteth not in the abundance of

things which he possess possess

possesseth the platform of our life. So

many people they make their platform out

of their possessions.

They make their purpose, what they own,

what they do, their business, their

possessions. That is their platform for

life. All right. And the thing is, the

reason why we're that way is because

that's the American dream. Amen. Let me

say this. For 95% of people, the

American dream turned into the American

nightmare real fast. Amen. And you'll

find out that you'll come up a day late

and a dollar short every time when you

follow that dream. Amen. Jesus said,

"Beware of covetousness." He said,

"Because your life, the purpose of your

life is not to have things." The purpose

of your life is not to get as big as you

can and be as broad as you can and have

as much influence as you can. You say,

"Preacher, but Jesus wanted to influence

the whole world." Let me remind you

something about Christ. When Christ came

to this world, you know what? When

people were reaching out to him, you

know what he did? He withdrew himself.

All these influencers in this day and

time, putting themselves out there on

every platform known to man, they

broadcast theirel. They broadcast their

platform so that you can buy their

product. Amen. And they're robbing you

blinds what they're doing. Amen. You

say, "Well, Jesus wanted to propagate

the gospel to the whole world." Well,

let me ask you this. Why did he get 12

men to do that for?

Jesus is God. He could have made a loud

speaker that spoke to the whole world

and spoke to every person on planet

Earth and said, "I'm God." But you know,

that's not what he wanted to do because

Jesus, what's the Bible say? He came as

a servant.

>> Oh man, we don't like that mentality, do

we?

>> Amen. Where's Where's the revival of

servantthood at in our churches in this

dead time? People that are willing to do

the baser jobs, the things that don't

get recognized. Amen. The things that

don't get a standing ovation from

everybody that's around. I'm saying we

need some servants.

>> The reason why we don't have service is

because people are full of this very

thing Jesus was talking about. It's

covetousness. We want the platform. And

we think it's going to be possessions

that gets us there. Just like the story

I told in Sunday school this morning,

your riches in this church, it does not

matter how big your offering is, that

does not mean you have control over what

this church does.

>> Amen. And you say, "Preacher, will I

withdraw my offering?" Well, God can put

in three times as much as you without

you.

>> Amen. That's exactly right. This morning

and so just get it out of your mind this

morning. The principle is your life,

your abundance does not constitute your

life. Notice the parable this morning. I

want to preach here for a few minutes. I

notice in the text, the Bible says in

verse 16, "And he spake a parable unto

them, saying, "The ground of a certain

rich man brought forth plentifully." So

you notice in verse 16 his supplement.

Obviously, this guy is a farmer. He's

got much land. And this land was not

only He didn't only have much land, but

he had much fruit that came from this

land. This land was very fruitful. Been

blessed by the Lord God of heaven. Let

me say this this morning. It doesn't

matter how much fertilizer, how much

seed you put in the ground, God's got to

send the rain. Amen. And if you've got

anything in this life, let me put it

this way. God has given it to you. Amen.

You didn't get anything on your own. You

say, "Preacher, well, I work for it

myself." Well, friend, you couldn't have

worked for it if God hadn't given you

ability to work for it. Amen. I'M SAYING

GOD HAS GIVEN it to you. And this rich

man, his land brought forth plentifully,

so you needed see his supplement in

verse 16. Notice his sentiment. In verse

17, and he thought within himself,

saying, "What shall I do because I have

no room where to bestow my fruits?"

He said, "I He said, "I brought in so

much, I ain't even got enough room for

all of it." Man, I'm telling you, I'm

thankful God's able to bless that way,

aren't you, man? He can open the windows

of heaven. We talked about it this

morning. He can open the windows of

heaven and pour you out a blessing.

Amen. So big you can't receive it. Amen.

And I notice not only his supplement,

his sentiment. He's he's thinking about

what am I going to do? Notice not only

his sentiment, but notice his

development in verse 18. 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."

Now, you say, "Preacher, what's the

problem?" Well, there ain't no problem

up to this point. What he's doing is is

just the natural course of life. God has

blessed him. And so, in order to take

care of what he's been given, he says,

"All right, I got to pull my barns down

and build greater. That way, I can keep

what God's blessed me with." AND THERE'S

NO problem with that. The problem

doesn't show up to the next verse.

>> Let me say this to you this morning.

God's not against you having things.

God's not against you having nice things

in your life. But I I want to remind you

this morning, that is not the primary

goal of life. That's not the purpose why

we're here. If God allows you to have a

little money and have some nice things

along the way, you ought to say thank

him for you ought to bless his name for

it because there's people all over the

world that's starving to death just

looking for their next meal because

they've got no way to make ends meet.

I'm saying you ought to lift your eyes

under the heavens and bless the Lord for

how good he's been to you. CUZ I CAN

TELL YOU THIS FOR MYSELF THIS MORNING. I

feel like this man, HE'S GIVEN ME SO

MUCH MORE THAN I EVER COULD HAVE ASKED

FOR. THE FIELD THAT HE PUT ME IN, IT'S

BROUGHT FORTH MORE THAN I EVER THOUGHT

IT WOULD. I BLESS HIS NAME FOR IT. HE'S

BEEN GOOD. AMEN.

>> But you see, none of that was the

problem. His supplement wasn't the

problem. His sentiment wanting to build

bigger barns, his development, doing the

doing the project, none of that's the

problem. But the problem comes in verse

number 19.

We've seen his development in verse

number 18, but notice his retirement

in verse 19. Look what he says. And I

will say to my soul,

soul, thou has much good laid up for

many years. Take thine knees, eat,

drink, and be merry. Now, the problem in

this text is, and there's a lot of

things we could allude to here in the

text, and I may some, but but what I

want to point out to you here in his

retirement, there's three things that he

miscalculates here in the text. You say,

'What do you mean he miscalculates? The

Bible says that it brought forth

plentifully and he has abundance. Well,

notice what the Bible says in verse 19.

And I will say to my soul, number one, I

will say this. He miscalculated his

treasure.

Look what the Bible says. Soul, thou

hast much goods. Now, you say, preacher,

well, the Bible says that he does have

much goods. Well, I would agree with you

with that. Amen. It does say that he has

much goods. But the problem is is the

emphasis

on those goods. You see, he

miscalculated what those goods was going

to do for him. You see, what you have is

not going to sustain you.

Amen. The truth is, you could sit you

could be locked in a supermarket for the

rest of your life and starve to death.

>> That's exactly right. if you don't have

the ability to partake.

Notice this. He didn't only miscalculate

his treasure, but he miscalculated his

time. Notice verse 19. Thou hast much

goods laid up for what?

Many years.

He's got all this abundance. And what

he's thinking is is, man, this is enough

to keep me just as long as I want to

live off of it. It's enough to do what I

want it to do for the rest of my life.

And I won't have to plant that field

again. I won't have to go back out there

and plow it. I won't have to weed it. I

won't have to water it. Amen. Take care

of it. It's enough for many years.

But here's where the real problem comes

in. He's miscalculated his treasure. Let

me say this. What we think is much in

this life is nothing to God.

>> Let me remind you that, okay? The reason

why his treasure was mis miscalculated

because what we think is big in the eyes

of God's nothing. And that can be gone

in just a moment. You could ask some of

those men that lived back in the

depression days how their millions

disappeared overnight. They would tell

you, "Don't matter how much you have, it

ain't enough."

>> And that's the truth in this day and

time. It's still true.

>> It don't matter how much you have, it

ain't enough.

>> I know we don't like to hear that. You

say, "Preacher, you you're not helping

me this morning. Preacher, I work hard

and it's just I know it's not enough.

You don't have to remind me of that."

Amen. Here's the truth about it this

morning. The mindset's the problem.

Notice the text. He miscalculated his

treasury. He miscalculated his time. He

thinks that he's got all these many

years left to live it out. But I tell

you what he really miscalculated. He

miscalculated his trust. Look what the

Bible said in verse 19. Thou is much

goods laid up for many years. Look what

he says. Take thine ease. Eat, drink,

and be merry. Now you say, "Preacher,

what does that have to do with his

miscalculating his trust?" Well, where

is his trust at?

What he's got stored up. He's looking at

them barns that's going up and he's

thinking about all the thousands of

thousands of dollars of crops that's

going to be stored in there. And I can

just put that over there and live off of

it the rest of my days and I've got all

these years and it's going to take care

of me for the rest of my life and that's

all I'm going to need.

The reason it's quiet this morning is

because that's the way a lot of people

are, their 401k. Amen. I've got it put

up over here and it's going to be just

enough for me to live off of. Now, I'm

not against retirement this morning. But

notice what happens in this text. He

said, "Take thine knees, eat, drink, and

be merry." You say, "Where is the

problem in this text?" Well, notice what

he says in the first part of the verse,

verse 19. and I will say to my soul, you

know, the problem was not the works that

he did to get the blessing. The problem

was not the wealth that he attained out

of that work. The problem was his will.

He was operating off what he wanted to

do. And the thing is, what you want,

what I want is inevitably going to fall

through one of these days. Your plans

are always going to have to take second

seat to God.

Sir, you may not ever live to see that

retirement come to pass.

>> Ma'am, you may not ever live to see that

retirement bless you in this life. And

I, like I said, I'm not against that. I

think you ought to prepare for the

future. You ought to take care of your

family if something happens to you and

you leave this world. Your family ought

to be taken care of when you're gone.

>> I'm all for that. But the problem is not

when you're gone. The problem is what

you do with it when you're here.

>> This man trusted in it. He said, "I

don't need nothing else." His will was

this. Well, I've got all that I need.

What can come at me now?

You know what? That's what sinners are

doing

every day of their life. They're saying,

"Well, I've got my good works piled up.

They're going to outweigh the bad. I'm

just going to trust that."

>> Those that know that they're not going

to make it. Well, I'm just going to live

out my life here and make the best I can

here and live to the best of my ability

and then I'll just die and go back to

the dust.

But the truth is what you're trusting in

makes a difference.

You better be careful about

miscalculating your trust. Notice this.

We see his retirement in verse 19, but

notice his announcement in verse 20. You

see, that very same day, he said to

himself, "Well, I've got a lifetime

supply of everything that I need." A

voice came to him

and spoke to him. And look what your

Bible says. But God said unto him, "Thou

fool,

this night

thy soul shall be required of thee." The

announcement comes from heaven. God

says, "You're a fool."

I don't know about you, but that's harsh

words from God.

YOU SAY, "PREACHER, BUT HOW COULD HE BE

A FOOL? HE'D WORKED HARD AND HE HAD

BUILT BARNS SO he could preserve

himself." Let me say this. People that

are doomsday prepping and building

bunkers and holes and hollers ACROSS

THIS LAND, THEY'RE FOOLS.

Why is that?

BECAUSE THIS LIFE'S INEVITABLY GOING TO

END.

YOU MIGHT be protected from World War

II, but let me tell you something. One

of these days, your heart's going to

quit beating, friend,

>> but a whole lot better than a bunker is

the will of God. Somebody say amen right

there. I'M SAYING YOU'RE WASTING YOUR

TIME LAYING UP THINGS in this life. You

got to understand something. The

announcement one of these days is GOING

TO COME. YOU SAY, "WHAT IS IT,

PREACHER?" WELL, GOD SAID, "Thou fool,

this night, tonight, your soul's going

to be required of you.

I want to give you three things right

here and I'm done.

This night,

you know, for this man,

this punishment was ours. This this

death, this this this event coming to

him was just hours away.

I wonder what's hours away from you.

I wonder what's minutes away from you,

>> from me.

>> You say, "Preacher, what is it?" Well,

let me just give you a a a u I guess a

three-point sermon

on what he lost. Notice this. First of

all, and the worst thing, verse number

20. This night, this night, number one,

that night he lost his soul.

Look what the Bible says. Thou fool,

this night, thy soul shall be required

of thee. What does this say? This means

this man was not saved. Number one, his

soul was going to be required of him.

What was that? has death coming to take

him away. You know what? Death's coming

for all of us.

>> Death. You say, "Preacher, well, I'm

saved." Well, you still going to die one

of these days

>> if the rapture don't take place.

>> You're still going to go to a grave. And

you SAY, "PREACHER, WHAT'S THE TRUTH?"

WELL, THIS MAN HAD invested his life in

his wealth and in his work. And and it

seemed as though he was blessed. HE HE'S

GOING TO BUILD HIS BIGGER BARNS. He's

developing. Things are happening. BUT

ALL IN ONE MOMENT, IT'S ALL GONE.

And you know what the thing that he

infailed to he failed to invest in was

the most expensive thing that he had.

What does the Bible say? What shall it

profit a man if he gain the whole world

>> and lose his own soul?

This man had spent a lifetime building

his wealth, a lifetime building his

repertoire, a lifetime building his

reputation amongst people in the

community as being a wealthy man and a

working man and a a man that HAS GIVEN

HIS LIFE to his labor.

But in a moment, you know what? He lost

the most valuable thing he had.

>> More valuable than his barns, more

valuable than his bread, more valuable

than anything he had around his table,

even his own family. He lost his soul.

HE SAID, "THOU FOOL, THIS NIGHT SHALL

THY SOUL be required of thee." Let me

say this. A man may voice his plans for

his life, but God's voice gave him life.

Oh, did you hear me, church? A man may

voice his plans for his life, but God's

voice gave him life and is the final

authority concerning his living.

You can say and do a lot of things in

this life, but there's only one that

determines WHEN IT'S ALL SAID AND DONE,

AND THAT'S GOD.

>> GOD SAID, "SON, you're this night your

soul IS GOING TO BE REQUIRED of thee."

OH FRIEND, I'D HATE to know that I'd

spent my life trying to get an

education, going to college for four,

six, eight, or 10 years AND GETTING A

DEGREE AND THEN SPENDING THE REST OF MY

LIFE WORKING hours upon hours upon HOURS

TO BUILD A REPUTATION AND BUILDING a

retirement. And we get to the end OF ONE

OF THESE DAYS AND REALIZE THAT I FAILED

TO INVEST IN THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN

THIS LIFE, AND THAT IS MY SOUL. MY NEVER

DYING SOUL.

WE'LL SPEND OUR LIFE AND SPEND OUR LAST

DOLLAR GIVING OURSELVES TO THE WORLD.

WHEN GOD SAYS, "IF YOU'LL JUST COME UNTO

ME, I'LL GIVE YOU RICHES ETERNAL AND

GRACEAL, THINGS THAT MONEY CANNOT BUY.

THINGS IN ETERNITY WILL NEVER EXPRESS TO

YOU AND I." GOD WANTS TO GIVE IT TO YOU,

BUT YOU'RE TOO BUSY.

>> AMEN.

>> Investing in yourself.

He lost his soul. Let me say this

this night.

Let me ask you, if

death was to come to your house tonight,

would you lose your soul?

You say, "Preacher, well, I'm saved."

Well,

comes on from there.

Notice also he didn't only lose his

soul, but he left his supply behind.

Look what the Bible said.

This night thy soul shall be required of

thee. Notice this. Then who shall those

things be?

All those things, all that supply, all

them barns and all that bread and all

that money AND ALL THAT WEALTH of wheat

AND CORN AND EVERYTHING ELSE THAT WAS

STORED UP. He lost his soul. Now you

know what he's doing? He's leaving all

of that stuff behind that he piled up.

Solomon knew very well about this.

Ecclesiastes chapter number three, he

talks about it. He says, "It's the

vanity of vanities that I'm going to

work my entire life to build up this

great wealth, and the man that's going

to come behind me is not even going to

care."

You say, "Preacher, well, I want to

leave my children something behind."

I'll tell you what you need to leave

them. You need to leave them a Bible

>> full of prayers and

>> prayers and notes in it. A a notebook

FULL OF PRAYER REQUESTS and and and and

THE DESIRE FOR THEIR SALVATION. You need

to LEAVE THEM SOMETHING THEY CAN TAKE

WITH THEM INTO ETERNITY. NOT WEALTH, NOT

A 401K, NOT MILLIONS IN THE BANK. You

need to LEAVE THEM SOMETHING THAT'S

BIGGER THAN ALL THAT. YOU NEED TO LEAVE

THEM A SUPPLY OF ETERNAL THINGS, NOT

earthly things.

You can leave them enough money for them

to live the rest of their life and live

it three or four times over. And you

know what they'll do? They'll blow it

within the next two years.

>> Well, it's funny, but it's the truth.

>> Nobody's going to appreciate what you

work for the way you do.

>> Here's what you need to remember this

morning. You need to leave them

something that they can't lose.

>> Oh, friend, hear the preacher this

morning. You need to leave them a

wealth, friend, that they cannot lose.

Amen. I'm thankful, bless his name, that

there is an eternal WEALTH FOR THE

CHILDREN OF GOD. And aren't you thankful

for mamas and daddies and grandmas AND

GRANDPAS AND CHURCH SAINTS THAT HAVE

LEFT US A WEALTH BEHIND SO THAT WE CAN

WORSHIP, SO THAT WE CAN KNOW THE

BLESSING OF KNOWING GOD AND FEELING THE

HOLY GHOST IN THIS DAY AND TIME. THOSE

PEOPLE WERE NOT CONCERNED ABOUT MONEY,

BUT THEY WERE CONCERNED ABOUT THE

MINISTRY. THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY

SPIRIT OF GOD IN YOUR LIFE AND MINE. I'M

SAYING FRIEND, THEY DIDN'T LEAVE A

SUPPLY OF MONEY, BUT THEY LEFT US TO

SUPPLY THE MASTER. BLESS HIS NAME. AMEN.

THEY LEFT US THE WORD OF GOD IN OUR

MEMORIES, IN OUR HEARTS, AND IN OUR

MINDS. THEY LEFT US THE SERVICE, THEIR

FAITHFULNESS TO THE HOUSE OF GOD. AND

THAT IS WHAT'S GOING TO MAKE THE

DIFFERENCE.

>> Hundred years after you're gone, ain't

nobody going to know you ever had any

money.

But they'll know what you did with

Jesus.

>> He left his supply. Then who shall those

things be?

Let me ask you, what are you hanging on

to?

Let me tell you who's it's going to be

after you leave. The devil.

You say, "How is that, preacher?" Well,

if you don't give it to the Lord now,

your kids ain't going to give it to the

Lord later. I've heard people say,

"Preacher, I'm going to leave my

inheritance to my children, and they are

commanded in my will to give it all to

the church.

Ain't going to happen.

I'm telling you truth this morning,

okay? You leave it behind if it's in

your hands to do it." The Bible says,

"To him know do good doeth not, to what?

Him it is sin."

Oh yes, friend. That's right. This

morning, notice this. Thirdly, this

night. But God said unto him, thou fool

this night, thy soul shall be required

of thee. Then who shall those things be?

Notice this last phrase.

Which thou hast

provided? You know, I don't want to miss

this. Okay, this is the one thing this

man had going for him.

He lost his soul. He left his supply

behind. But you know what? This was his

last shot.

Say, how is that, preacher? Well, notice

what it says. Which thou hast provided?

You know what this man had an

opportunity to do? He had an opportunity

to leave the eternal behind. But you

know what he did instead?

He wasted his opportunity

and used it to build wealth,

to build a world that centered around

him.

You know what happened when he was gone?

You know what happened? that world that

he had sent around him, you know what it

was going to do? It was just going to

crumble

because he wasted his only shot.

Let me remind you, you don't get another

chance at this thing.

>> You get one shot,

>> right?

>> And as the old adage says, you better

shoot straight.

Amen. We can't afford to miss

>> cuz here's the truth. The announcement

came and there was nothing he can do

about it. When the announcement comes in

your life, there's going to be nothing

you can do about it.

When your number's called, you've heard

it said before, it doesn't matter where

you are, what you're doing, or how good

of health you're in. I've watched people

Amen. The the healthiest man I ever

knew, I grew up beside of him, and and

he lived just down the road from me, a

mile away. He was 75 years old. And the

day before he died, he rode his bicycle

to his mailbox.

Rode his bic 75 years old. picture of

health. Nothing wrong with him. He goes

to bed that night and you know what? He

doesn't wake up the next day. And then

I've seen people, amen, that have smoked

and drank and and did all the other

stuff her entire life live to be a

hundred. I mean, I'm just telling you

the truth, okay? We don't know when

death's going to come.

>> But I'll tell you this, when God says

that's when it's going to happen.

>> And notice this.

this night he gave his last shot which

thou hast provided. Man, I tell you, I'd

hate to know my life's labor would be in

vain. When I get to the end of my days,

minutes before I'm about to make the

cross and brother Mike and I look back

and all I see is a bunch of waste.

You know how miserable that'd be to know

that I had spent it all up

to take the opportunity that I'd been

given to live a life for God and wasted

it on myself. And you know what it

looked like to him when he turned around

and looked at it? It just began to fall.

You know, it's like the domino effect.

When you build your life on yourself and

you're pulled out, you know what's going

to happen? Everything else is going to

fall down.

>> Notice verse 21.

Jesus gives the parable. Now he

describes the poverty in verse 21. So is

he that layeth up treasure for himself

and is not rich, notice this, toward

God.

>> Let me ask you, where's your investment

at?

What are you investing in?

If we were to look at your life this

morning and examine it from the inside

out, what are you investing in? What are

you giving your time to? What are you

giving your treasure to? What are you

giving your talent to? Man, I'll tell

you this. You look at people's church

attendance and that'll tell you what

they're investing in.

We'll miss church for everything. We'll

do anything. I know it's quiet, but I'll

be honest with you, I don't care.

The truth is this morning, if Jesus come

back this afternoon, every one of us

would be ashamed of the days and the

hours we missed. But I can tell you

this, from this day forward, you can be

different.

>> Amen.

You don't have to miss for everything

under the sun. And it's like I told him

in Sunday school this morning, the truth

is you shouldn't build church around

your life. You ought to build your life

around church. If there's something

going on at the house of God, you ought

to be there come hell or high water.

>> You say, "Preacher, but what about those

that are sick?" You know that I got more

common sense than that.

>> If you're sick and you can't get out of

bed,

>> stay at home.

But if you've got ability to get up and

go to the supermarket or go down to the

fast food joint, you can walk through

those doors and sit down on a pew and be

at church.

>> That's right.

>> I'm just being reasonable this morning.

And the thing about it is you show what

you're investing your life in. You say,

"Preacher, well, I'll send my tithe up

there through the mail." That ain't

That's not getting it done.

>> I told the church this this morning. I I

should have just preached it again. What

I should have done, preach Sunday school

again. But the truth is, God don't care

about what you give. God cares about how

you give.

>> Amen.

>> God cares. He loves a cheerful giver. He

would rather have that widow's might

>> then he have the millions OF THE

BILLIONAIRE THAT WOULD GIVE IT AND be

grudging

>> in that gift. God don't need your

millions. He don't need your thousands.

He don't NEED YOUR HUNDREDS. HE DON'T

NEED MY 10 CENTS. All he needs is a

heart that's WILLING AND WANTING TO

SERVE HIM.

>> And I'll tell you this, we'll know by

the end of this week revival meeting

comes to a close how invested you are in

the things of God.

>> You make an effort to get here maybe one

night.

You say, "Preacher, well, my work

schedule won't allow it." God knows I

understand that. Okay? But you listen to

me. If you can get here, you better be

here.

Let me tell you, one of these days you

get the judgment seats, you wish you had

them.

>> Amen. I'm not being ugly or mean this

morning, but I'm telling you, it could

be tonight could be the last night.

>> Let me ask you, if we go all week

through this revival meeting, you go out

on Friday night and you didn't show up

one night and you stand before God, what

are you going to say?

>> I don't know about you, but I wouldn't

want to waste my life doing the things

of this world.

When I know the only thing that matters,

hear me church, the only thing that

matters, the only thing that'll last is

what's done for Christ.

That's it.

>> That's it.

But this night,

what's going to happen this night?

Will you lose your soul?

I hope not. I hope you're saved.

But if you are saved, you going to leave

a supply behind that's useless.

You going to leave wealth built up that

ain't going to mean anything to anybody?

Are you going to leave him something

eternal?

And if tonight is the last night for

you, have you wasted your opportunity?

Have you missed it?

Every head bowed and every eye closed,

this altar's open.

I tell you this,

I'd hate to know I wasted the only shot

I ever got.

Cuz the truth is,

when we stand before him, all that's

going to matter is what we did for him.

You say, "Preacher, I

I got to support my family. I got to We

got to do things with them.

Why don't you come be at church with

them

instead of taking them to all the places

of the world,

letting them see everything the world

has to offer.

Then we what when they get grown up, we

wonder why they decided to go to the

world. while you've done their entire

childhoods, take them to the world and

show them everything it has to offer.

When Abraham and Lot went down into

Egypt

because Abraham's lapse of faith, Lot

never could get Egypt out of his mind.

And so, you know what? When Abraham

said, "Son, choose." You know what he

chose? Chose him all the plain of

Jordan.

What'd he do? He pitched his tent toward

Sodom.

Let me tell you, daddy,

mama,

if all you do is show them the world,

worldly music,

worldly dress,

worldly lifestyle.

Say, "Preacher, but I want my children

to be joyful, AND ALL I'LL TELL YOU,

THERE'S PLEASURE IN SIN FOR A SEASON."

But boy, I'd hate to know

I I wasted

my opportunity with them

trying to fulfill the lust of the flesh.

Let me ask you this this morning. You

say, "Preacher, I I'm here today. I

realize I'm lost.

Preacher, if I died tonight, I know that

I'd go to hell because I've never

trusted Christ.

be honest between you and God. Nobody's

looking around but me. You just slip

your hand up. I want to pray for you.

Preacher, I'm lost.

Anybody? Preacher, pray for me.

Preacher, I don't know I'm saved. Would

you pray for me? Somebody be honest

between you and God. Slip your hand up.

I want to pray for you. God's been

dealing with your heart. You know it.

Say, "Preacher, I'm saved, but preacher,

I've invested my life in the wrong

things.

Preacher, I'm not invested in the church

like I should be. I'm not invested in my

family like I should be.

Too busy. Preacher, would you pray for

me?

Anybody be honest?

God sees that.

Truth is, every hand in here ought to

went up on that.

We're all too busy.

When's the last time you spent 30

minutes in prayer?

If you can't remember, you're too busy.

When's the last time you sat down and

read your Bible for more than 10

minutes?

If you can't remember, you're too busy.

It takes more.

You can't live mediocre and get by.

It takes more, child of God.

I'm not worried about the ones that

raised their hand. I'm worried about the

ones that didn't.

You need help.

Father, I pray in Jesus name.

God, you put this message on my heart

cuz it's where we're living at. Lord,

I'm going into revival meeting. Lord, I

know there'll be people come this week

that won't be here because of everything

else.

Lord, I pray God you deal with their

heart.

Lord, they show where their investment

is when they're not here.

God, I pray please, Father, you'd deal

with their heart this morning. And God,

I pray you'd help all of us, Lord, to

re-evaluate our lives. God, we're too

busy.

Lord, I realize just from this challenge

I gave the church last week, how busy I

myself am.

Lord, you put me in neutral for a day.

And I thank you for that.

God, help me to sit at your feet more,

not to be so cumbered about much

serving.

Cuz Lord, service don't mean nothing if

I ain't spent time with the Savior.

Lord, I pray you'll help us to be

obedient. Help us to be faithful to

revival meeting this week, Lord. God, I

know these men of God's going to share

what you've put on them. And Lord,

they've studied fervently and prayed for

this meeting. And God, I pray that we'll

be faithful to be here and be in our

place. Lord, I sure love you and I ask

it all in Jesus name.

Amen.

Amen. Well, I appreciate the Lord. Don't

you?

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it if you'd join us in person

the next time you are able at Meadows

Baptist Church. Our physical address is

2988 Stewart Road in Walnut Cove, North

Carolina. Our service times are Sunday

school at 10:00 a.m., Sunday morning

worship at 11:00 a.m., Sunday evening

worship at 6:00 p.m., and Wednesday

evening Bible study at 700 p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.