WEBVTT 00:00:01.960 --> 00:00:05.400 This is your daily reminder. God has not run 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:09.199 out of mercy, not for you, not today. Welcome 00:00:09.199 --> 00:00:12.339 to the New Mercies Podcast. Welcome back. Another 00:00:12.339 --> 00:00:16.179 episode of the New Mercies Podcast. Today's reading, 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:19.820 we find ourselves in Luke chapter 12. Now, if 00:00:19.820 --> 00:00:22.320 you've been following along this week, you started 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:25.600 in Titus 3 as we wrapped that up from the last 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:29.100 week and the last series. Then we went into Haggai 00:00:29.100 --> 00:00:31.440 1. This Sunday, we're going to be talking about 00:00:31.440 --> 00:00:34.979 Haggai 1 from the pulpit and just where we're 00:00:34.979 --> 00:00:37.299 going in this new series called Fill the House. 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:41.039 But we looked at Haggai 1 on Tuesday. And then 00:00:41.039 --> 00:00:44.899 Wednesday, we looked in Deuteronomy 8. And if 00:00:44.899 --> 00:00:47.299 you saw a little bit of a progression, Haggai 00:00:47.299 --> 00:00:51.679 1 dealt with misplaced priorities. And then Deuteronomy 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:56.479 8 warns us about forgetting God whenever there's 00:00:56.479 --> 00:00:59.369 comfort or prosperity that happens. We're going 00:00:59.369 --> 00:01:02.130 to look today in Luke chapter 12. Now, just to 00:01:02.130 --> 00:01:04.670 give you a little bit of a heads up, Luke 12 00:01:04.670 --> 00:01:07.730 is a big chapter. I hope you read it all today. 00:01:07.890 --> 00:01:10.349 I'm going to focus in on one part. I'm sure if 00:01:10.349 --> 00:01:11.709 you have read it, you probably know the part 00:01:11.709 --> 00:01:14.930 I am focusing in on. A lot of really good stuff 00:01:14.930 --> 00:01:18.109 happening here. Jesus is teaching within this 00:01:18.109 --> 00:01:21.569 context in Luke chapter 12. He's talking to his 00:01:21.569 --> 00:01:23.790 disciples. He talks to the crowds before it's 00:01:23.790 --> 00:01:26.150 all said and done. It's a really powerful text. 00:01:26.439 --> 00:01:28.400 encourage you to read it all. I want to read 00:01:28.400 --> 00:01:29.920 just a couple of verses, though, out of Luke 00:01:29.920 --> 00:01:33.040 12, down in verse number 13 and following. It 00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:36.840 is the parable of the rich fool. And this is 00:01:36.840 --> 00:01:39.219 not the rich young ruler, which sometimes we 00:01:39.219 --> 00:01:41.560 may get those two confused. This is the parable 00:01:41.560 --> 00:01:43.519 of the rich fool, and we'll see why he's foolish 00:01:43.519 --> 00:01:45.719 in just a moment. But let's go ahead and read 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:47.060 some scripture together, and then we'll talk 00:01:47.060 --> 00:01:48.980 about it for just a second. Luke chapter 12, 00:01:49.099 --> 00:01:52.019 beginning at verse 13. Someone in the crowd said 00:01:52.019 --> 00:01:55.400 to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the 00:01:55.400 --> 00:02:23.090 inheritance. But he said to him, For I have nowhere 00:02:23.090 --> 00:02:26.650 to store my crops. And he said, I will do this. 00:02:26.669 --> 00:02:29.449 I will tear down my barns and build larger ones. 00:02:29.669 --> 00:02:32.889 And there I will store all my grain and my goods. 00:02:33.189 --> 00:02:36.530 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample 00:02:36.530 --> 00:02:40.409 goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, 00:02:40.629 --> 00:02:44.569 be merry. But God said to him, Fool, this night 00:02:44.569 --> 00:02:47.389 your soul is required of you. And the things 00:02:47.389 --> 00:02:50.750 you have prepared, whose will they be? so is 00:02:50.750 --> 00:02:53.710 the one who lays up treasures for himself and 00:02:53.710 --> 00:02:58.030 is not rich toward God. Now that is a parable 00:02:58.030 --> 00:03:02.090 Jesus taught to convey a lesson or a message 00:03:02.090 --> 00:03:05.009 that is a really deep spiritual issue within, 00:03:05.150 --> 00:03:07.689 I believe, the heart of everybody, right? This 00:03:07.689 --> 00:03:10.849 is a powerful... Again, read all of Luke 12. 00:03:11.030 --> 00:03:13.590 It's really great. Jesus' teachings, brilliant, 00:03:13.770 --> 00:03:15.569 way better than this podcast is going to be. 00:03:15.689 --> 00:03:18.409 Go look at what he says. But I want us to look 00:03:18.409 --> 00:03:21.629 specifically, if Haggai 1 talks about misplaced 00:03:21.629 --> 00:03:25.669 priorities, if Deuteronomy 8 talks about warning 00:03:25.669 --> 00:03:28.750 us about not... forgetting God or neglecting 00:03:28.750 --> 00:03:31.090 God whenever there is prosperity or comfort that 00:03:31.090 --> 00:03:35.270 comes. Luke 12, this passage specifically, talks 00:03:35.270 --> 00:03:38.789 about hoarding up instead of stewarding. If God 00:03:38.789 --> 00:03:41.330 gives us something, he is stewarding us. He's 00:03:41.330 --> 00:03:43.909 giving it to us to steward for him. He's saying, 00:03:43.930 --> 00:03:47.590 I trust you with this resource. What are we doing 00:03:47.590 --> 00:03:49.830 then with the resource? This is a story of a 00:03:49.830 --> 00:03:53.810 man who he had a lot going on. His land was producing 00:03:53.810 --> 00:03:56.219 for him. meaning he had a pretty good head on 00:03:56.219 --> 00:03:57.659 his shoulders, means he probably prepared the 00:03:57.659 --> 00:04:01.000 land well. He probably had some pretty good knowledge 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:03.280 and understanding of what he needed to do and 00:04:03.280 --> 00:04:06.280 probably a pretty good farm man. But here's one 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:08.240 of the things I don't understand. So first off, 00:04:08.379 --> 00:04:11.620 this story kind of pops up out of nowhere. Jesus 00:04:11.620 --> 00:04:13.939 is with his disciples. Read the context of Luke 00:04:13.939 --> 00:04:16.319 12. There's a big crowd that's pushed in. There's 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:18.319 a lot going on. He warns about the Pharisees 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:21.480 and their hypocrisy. He warns about a couple 00:04:21.480 --> 00:04:23.160 of things. Don't be afraid of people that can 00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:24.660 take your life. Be afraid of the one that can 00:04:24.660 --> 00:04:26.540 destroy your soul. And he kind of gives these 00:04:26.540 --> 00:04:29.319 disciples warnings. And then this guy just comes 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:31.879 up and interrupts Jesus. As he's in the middle 00:04:31.879 --> 00:04:34.639 of a conversation, this guy comes up. Hey, teacher. 00:04:35.449 --> 00:04:37.410 Tell my brother to split this inheritance with 00:04:37.410 --> 00:04:40.629 me. And can you imagine Jesus in the middle of 00:04:40.629 --> 00:04:43.910 a lesson, teaching, and some guy come up and 00:04:43.910 --> 00:04:46.069 say, hey, I got this personal matter with my 00:04:46.069 --> 00:04:49.410 finances. I need you to help work this out with 00:04:49.410 --> 00:04:53.569 me. And Jesus is like, who made me the arbiter 00:04:53.569 --> 00:04:56.290 in your issue? I'm not the guy that's in charge 00:04:56.290 --> 00:04:58.370 of any estate. I'm not in charge of any of this 00:04:58.370 --> 00:05:00.750 stuff. Why are you even approaching me with this? 00:05:00.970 --> 00:05:04.769 This guy kind of interrupts. And Jesus, I think, 00:05:04.769 --> 00:05:08.129 is really important that we emphasize and understand 00:05:08.129 --> 00:05:14.670 Jesus refuses to referee greed. He's not going 00:05:14.670 --> 00:05:17.040 to referee greed. He's just not going to do it. 00:05:17.040 --> 00:05:19.220 It's a greedy heart. He doesn't want to be the 00:05:19.220 --> 00:05:21.199 one that referees that battle. He's not going 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:23.199 to do it. It's interesting to me whenever we 00:05:23.199 --> 00:05:25.800 get in a situation where we want something or 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:29.339 we need something or we have this desire to get 00:05:29.339 --> 00:05:30.740 something and we're like, we're going to pray 00:05:30.740 --> 00:05:33.660 Jesus would help us to work through this. Let 00:05:33.660 --> 00:05:35.079 me go ahead and tell you, according to the Scripture, 00:05:35.220 --> 00:05:37.550 Jesus does not referee greed. He's not going 00:05:37.550 --> 00:05:40.810 to do it. Don't even ask. Don't ask Jesus, hey, 00:05:40.970 --> 00:05:44.629 I'm in this business transaction deal. I'm trying 00:05:44.629 --> 00:05:46.230 to get this. This other client's trying to get 00:05:46.230 --> 00:05:48.509 this. I'm trying to get this. This is going on. 00:05:48.610 --> 00:05:51.610 Jesus, why don't you help me to get this that 00:05:51.610 --> 00:05:54.850 I want? Jesus doesn't referee greed. He doesn't 00:05:54.850 --> 00:05:57.829 do it. He says, in fact, to his disciples, hey, 00:05:57.949 --> 00:06:00.709 be careful. Be careful that you don't fall into 00:06:00.709 --> 00:06:03.329 this covetousness, meaning you're coveting what 00:06:03.329 --> 00:06:06.089 somebody has. You want to be wealthy because 00:06:06.089 --> 00:06:10.269 of certain reasons that don't grow the kingdom 00:06:10.269 --> 00:06:11.949 any. It's not like you're trying to invest in 00:06:11.949 --> 00:06:13.670 it. It wasn't like this guy was saying, hey, 00:06:13.709 --> 00:06:16.069 Jesus, listen, I want to give everything in this 00:06:16.069 --> 00:06:18.490 inheritance to the church. Is there any way you 00:06:18.490 --> 00:06:20.209 can help me kind of work through that? It's not 00:06:20.209 --> 00:06:22.350 what the guy says. He says, hey, tell my brother, 00:06:22.430 --> 00:06:23.889 come over here, tell my brother, we've got to 00:06:23.889 --> 00:06:26.889 split this up. I need it. I want it. Jesus, come 00:06:26.889 --> 00:06:28.550 help me do this. And he was like, let me just 00:06:28.550 --> 00:06:31.310 go ahead and warn everybody about this coveting 00:06:31.310 --> 00:06:34.269 spirit that's on you. You need to get rid of 00:06:34.269 --> 00:06:36.449 it. Be careful. Put some guardrails up. Make 00:06:36.449 --> 00:06:39.930 sure you don't have this spirit about you. And 00:06:39.930 --> 00:06:42.350 he says something in there. I want to read it 00:06:42.350 --> 00:06:45.410 again because it's a really powerful line that 00:06:45.410 --> 00:06:48.350 I think we miss a lot. And it's verse number 00:06:48.350 --> 00:06:50.410 15. He says, take care, be on your guard against 00:06:50.410 --> 00:06:54.259 all covetousness. For one's life does not consist 00:06:54.259 --> 00:06:58.699 in the abundance of his possessions. You know, 00:06:58.740 --> 00:07:03.300 I don't know who needs to hear this today. It 00:07:03.300 --> 00:07:07.160 does not matter what you have. It doesn't. Your 00:07:07.160 --> 00:07:10.519 life does not consist of what you have. It does 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:13.180 not consist of what you own. Let me rephrase 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:15.620 it. It does not consist on what you have purchased. 00:07:16.360 --> 00:07:19.480 It does not. How big your house is, how fancy 00:07:19.480 --> 00:07:23.319 your car is, how nice your wardrobe is, how much 00:07:23.319 --> 00:07:27.959 stuff you have, that's not what life is. That's 00:07:27.959 --> 00:07:31.500 not life. Jesus makes sure and helps us to understand 00:07:31.500 --> 00:07:37.279 that possessions have this quality to them that 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:40.579 a possession will promise you some type of security, 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:43.740 but the truth is it can't deliver that security. 00:07:44.329 --> 00:07:46.930 It can't. It can make you feel a little bit safe, 00:07:46.949 --> 00:07:49.769 but ultimately, when is enough enough? This man 00:07:49.769 --> 00:07:53.730 had a really profitable land. It kept building 00:07:53.730 --> 00:07:56.170 more and more and more and more. And he says, 00:07:56.230 --> 00:07:58.329 what I'm going to do, I've got so much, I can't 00:07:58.329 --> 00:08:00.620 even store it all. So he says, what I'm going 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:02.459 to do is I'm going to build bigger barns. I'm 00:08:02.459 --> 00:08:04.500 going to build bigger areas so I can store more. 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:07.600 Then when I have it stored up, I can take a year 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:10.240 off. I can take time off because I've earned 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:11.939 it, because I've done something. Well, first 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:14.600 off, the land produced it, not you. So the Lord 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:17.259 is the one who provided it. And now instead of 00:08:17.259 --> 00:08:19.399 you saying, what I want to do is distribute this. 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:21.800 I want to share it with somebody. I think it's 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:25.699 really important for us to understand that abundance 00:08:25.699 --> 00:08:30.649 is a terrible substitute for God. Terrible substitute. 00:08:30.970 --> 00:08:33.450 And here's why. This guy in this story, in this 00:08:33.450 --> 00:08:36.789 parable, he had a land that produced a lot. He 00:08:36.789 --> 00:08:40.090 had a problem. The problem was not the harvest, 00:08:40.309 --> 00:08:43.149 right? The problem was his heart. That was the 00:08:43.149 --> 00:08:45.629 problem. The problem isn't the amount of stuff 00:08:45.629 --> 00:08:47.629 coming into your life. The problem is how you 00:08:47.629 --> 00:08:49.990 are handling it within your heart. That's the 00:08:49.990 --> 00:08:53.750 issue. Jesus says, listen, this guy did not talk 00:08:53.750 --> 00:08:57.700 to God. He talked to himself. It says he reasoned 00:08:57.700 --> 00:09:00.659 with himself. He thought to himself. He didn't 00:09:00.659 --> 00:09:03.120 talk to God. He didn't talk to a neighbor. There 00:09:03.120 --> 00:09:06.379 was no gratitude in any of this. It wasn't, I'm 00:09:06.379 --> 00:09:09.179 so thankful that what the Lord's doing. I didn't 00:09:09.179 --> 00:09:11.100 even deserve this. I didn't realize this was 00:09:11.100 --> 00:09:14.159 going on. I had no idea. This is amazing. What 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:16.399 should I do with this, Lord? That's not what 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:20.299 he said. He said, I've got more, so now I need 00:09:20.299 --> 00:09:22.970 to hold more. That's what I need to do. I need 00:09:22.970 --> 00:09:25.710 to grow my capacity to hold more so I can have 00:09:25.710 --> 00:09:30.850 more. That's what's gone on. See, this man is 00:09:30.850 --> 00:09:34.210 called a fool, not because his land produced 00:09:34.210 --> 00:09:37.389 a lot, not because he was very productive. He 00:09:37.389 --> 00:09:41.129 was called a fool because he may have been ready 00:09:41.129 --> 00:09:43.970 on earth to have a lot of stuff, but he wasn't 00:09:43.970 --> 00:09:46.610 ready for eternity. He didn't have those eternal 00:09:46.610 --> 00:09:50.470 things ready and set and prepared in advance. 00:09:51.230 --> 00:09:55.450 All he had ready was more storage, more storage. 00:09:55.570 --> 00:09:58.769 Even the parable, Jesus says, this guy, he's 00:09:58.769 --> 00:10:00.750 got all this stuff, and he builds these barns, 00:10:00.750 --> 00:10:03.429 and God says, hey, it's time for you. All that's 00:10:03.429 --> 00:10:06.210 well and fine. I'm not against wealth. Jesus 00:10:06.210 --> 00:10:09.370 is not against wealth. He's not against resources 00:10:09.370 --> 00:10:12.809 and blessing and financial gain or anything. 00:10:12.909 --> 00:10:17.309 He's against wealth without God. Without knowing 00:10:17.309 --> 00:10:19.409 that I don't have to do anything for the Lord 00:10:19.409 --> 00:10:22.090 in this, Jesus says, I want you to steward this. 00:10:22.289 --> 00:10:24.450 I don't want you to hoard it. I want you to steward 00:10:24.450 --> 00:10:27.029 it. How can you share it? How can you invest 00:10:27.029 --> 00:10:29.750 it? How can you pour into the next generation? 00:10:29.929 --> 00:10:31.850 How can you let the gospel keep growing? It's 00:10:31.850 --> 00:10:34.169 what Jesus is trying to help us understand and 00:10:34.169 --> 00:10:37.549 see. Eternity does not consult your retirement 00:10:37.549 --> 00:10:42.889 plan. It just doesn't. There's no warning. There's 00:10:42.889 --> 00:10:46.019 no extension. God doesn't give this guy longer. 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:48.360 He doesn't say, you know what? Because you've 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:50.039 gotten so much stuff, I'm going to leave you 00:10:50.039 --> 00:10:53.059 here for another year so that you can really 00:10:53.059 --> 00:10:56.159 go out and do the mission work. See, we get our 00:10:56.159 --> 00:10:58.360 priorities out of whack, right? We get our priorities 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:00.500 out of order. So we say what we'll do is once 00:11:00.500 --> 00:11:04.539 we get enough money, then we will blank. What 00:11:04.539 --> 00:11:07.659 we're saying is, God, we're going to trust our 00:11:07.659 --> 00:11:11.259 abilities. We're going to trust our understanding 00:11:11.259 --> 00:11:14.950 of finances and resourcing. And then once we 00:11:14.950 --> 00:11:18.590 trust us, then we'll give you something. God 00:11:18.590 --> 00:11:21.309 says that's never how this works. Don't miss 00:11:21.309 --> 00:11:24.669 out on what the Lord is trying to do because 00:11:24.669 --> 00:11:27.129 you're so focused on trying to build bigger barns. 00:11:27.529 --> 00:11:30.269 Jesus makes sure that we understand this man 00:11:30.269 --> 00:11:33.389 was not ready for eternity. I want to read one 00:11:33.389 --> 00:11:36.570 more little spot again so that we understand 00:11:36.570 --> 00:11:39.909 the depths of this. Verse 17, he begins by saying, 00:11:39.909 --> 00:11:42.850 what shall I do? And then he says, I will do 00:11:42.850 --> 00:11:46.090 this. I will tear down barns. I will store my 00:11:46.090 --> 00:11:49.389 grain. I will say to my soul, soul, you've got 00:11:49.389 --> 00:11:52.350 plenty. Stay. This is great. You know, the first 00:11:52.350 --> 00:11:55.669 time God speaks to him in this, he calls him 00:11:55.669 --> 00:11:59.389 a fool. It says in verse 20, but God said to 00:11:59.389 --> 00:12:03.590 him, fool. The man never asked God a single thing. 00:12:04.750 --> 00:12:07.210 You may say, well, how do I know if I'm ready 00:12:07.210 --> 00:12:09.490 for eternity? How do I know if I'm ready for 00:12:09.490 --> 00:12:12.169 what's being required of me? Because God says, 00:12:12.309 --> 00:12:15.210 this night your soul is required of you. It's 00:12:15.210 --> 00:12:18.730 time for you to be brought into my presence and 00:12:18.730 --> 00:12:22.210 forever. Your life on earth is over. These people 00:12:22.210 --> 00:12:24.769 that you're leaving all this storage to, they're 00:12:24.769 --> 00:12:26.789 going to blow through it anyway. It's not going 00:12:26.789 --> 00:12:29.549 to matter. And he says, so this night your soul 00:12:29.549 --> 00:12:31.090 is ready. So how do you know when your soul is 00:12:31.090 --> 00:12:34.539 ready? Well, it's a pretty good indicator if 00:12:34.539 --> 00:12:37.299 you just start by talking to him first. So I'm 00:12:37.299 --> 00:12:39.759 not going to go any longer in this episode. What 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:41.480 I want you to do today is I want you to pray. 00:12:42.019 --> 00:12:43.980 Pray, God, what do you want me to do with what 00:12:43.980 --> 00:12:47.360 you've given me? It's that simple. Honestly, 00:12:48.240 --> 00:12:50.159 it's not rocket science. You don't have to be 00:12:50.159 --> 00:12:52.639 some Bible scholar. You don't have to be a deep 00:12:52.639 --> 00:12:55.080 theologian to understand that you can say, God, 00:12:55.279 --> 00:12:58.039 here's what I have. What do you want me to do 00:12:58.039 --> 00:13:01.700 with it? That's it. I promise you this. He's 00:13:01.700 --> 00:13:04.259 not going to say, you need to store up more for 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:06.659 yourself so that you can be more comfortable. 00:13:07.460 --> 00:13:10.419 If we understand the heart of God, this pursuing 00:13:10.419 --> 00:13:13.159 shepherd that loves us and cares for us and sent 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:17.080 his son to die for us and is trying to get the 00:13:17.080 --> 00:13:20.100 gospel to every person in the world, if we understood 00:13:20.100 --> 00:13:23.000 the heart of that God, we'll understand he's 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:25.200 not going to tell us, just build more for yourself 00:13:25.200 --> 00:13:27.139 and be sure you're real comfortable. It's not 00:13:27.139 --> 00:13:29.029 what he's going to do. He's going to say what 00:13:29.029 --> 00:13:30.590 you need to do with it. I don't know what you 00:13:30.590 --> 00:13:32.690 need to do with it today. I don't know what you 00:13:32.690 --> 00:13:34.649 need to do with what you have. You may be a person 00:13:34.649 --> 00:13:36.350 that's listening and says, you know what? I don't 00:13:36.350 --> 00:13:40.590 have a lot. Okay. What are you going to do with 00:13:40.590 --> 00:13:42.730 what you have? What are you going to do with 00:13:42.730 --> 00:13:44.570 what you have? Maybe the Lord's wanting you to 00:13:44.570 --> 00:13:47.470 invest what you have. Maybe your finances. It 00:13:47.470 --> 00:13:49.289 may be your talents. It may be your time. It 00:13:49.289 --> 00:13:51.389 may be your opportunity to serve. I don't know 00:13:51.389 --> 00:13:53.210 what it is, but I do know this. God's given you 00:13:53.210 --> 00:13:56.620 resources. He's provided something for you. What 00:13:56.620 --> 00:13:59.679 are you going to do to sew it back into eternity?