WEBVTT 00:00:02.799 --> 00:00:05.820 Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for 00:00:05.820 --> 00:00:08.660 this Sabbath morning, for this time that we can 00:00:08.660 --> 00:00:11.619 be together. We thank you for showers of blessing. 00:00:13.220 --> 00:00:16.399 We know that the rain that falls helps things 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:19.300 to grow. And we know that the Holy Spirit falling 00:00:19.300 --> 00:00:21.679 in our life helps us to grow spiritually to be 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:24.339 more and more like you. Be with us as we open 00:00:24.339 --> 00:00:26.500 up your word this morning. In your name we pray. 00:00:26.780 --> 00:00:37.000 Amen. So the year was 1996. A new invention, 00:00:37.280 --> 00:00:42.619 a new medication, a new miracle drug was going 00:00:42.619 --> 00:00:46.479 to be released to help people, especially those 00:00:46.479 --> 00:00:52.320 who had debilitating pain and illnesses. And 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:55.119 the company Purdue Pharma said, you know what, 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:57.960 we've got this new wonder drug that's going to 00:00:57.960 --> 00:01:01.630 make all the difference, OxyContin. And they 00:01:01.630 --> 00:01:04.329 told doctors, they even rewarded doctors, if 00:01:04.329 --> 00:01:07.370 you give this out, the more you give out, the 00:01:07.370 --> 00:01:10.209 more you'll get a little kickback. You'll get 00:01:10.209 --> 00:01:13.310 a little reward if you prescribe this medication. 00:01:13.349 --> 00:01:15.769 And there's good news because this medication, 00:01:16.069 --> 00:01:19.870 this painkiller, it's not addictive. That's what 00:01:19.870 --> 00:01:22.170 they told doctors. And that's what the doctors 00:01:22.170 --> 00:01:25.950 told patients. And that's what they prescribed 00:01:25.950 --> 00:01:32.310 pill after pill. And soon, well, Well, Doc, that's 00:01:32.310 --> 00:01:34.450 not quite enough. I'm still hurting. Well, let's 00:01:34.450 --> 00:01:36.709 give you a little higher dose because there's 00:01:36.709 --> 00:01:41.629 good news. This isn't addictive. But the reality 00:01:41.629 --> 00:01:45.950 was it's extremely addictive. And I imagine that 00:01:45.950 --> 00:01:51.329 many of you know, like I know, people who got 00:01:51.329 --> 00:01:54.590 caught up in this so -called opioid epidemic, 00:01:54.750 --> 00:01:58.790 which led to more and more people being addicted. 00:01:59.420 --> 00:02:03.319 dying of overdoses, especially in the area of 00:02:03.319 --> 00:02:07.000 the Appalachian area, Kentucky, West Virginia, 00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:11.879 Virginia, and that region of our country. But 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:14.939 even here in North Georgia, we know that there 00:02:14.939 --> 00:02:18.560 are many people, and I would be shocked if you 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:21.199 don't know of at least one person or one family 00:02:21.199 --> 00:02:26.879 that was affected in some way by this so -called 00:02:26.879 --> 00:02:32.759 wonder drug. preying on people's needs of pain 00:02:32.759 --> 00:02:36.680 relief and medical relief, and yet it was twisted 00:02:36.680 --> 00:02:40.840 to cause something much worse. It was sacrificing 00:02:40.840 --> 00:02:45.840 others for the almighty dollar. We might refer 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:51.300 to that as greed, as the Sackler family was leading 00:02:51.300 --> 00:02:58.210 the Purdue Pharma in a greedy incident. We know 00:02:58.210 --> 00:03:01.729 of stories of greed in Scripture. The rich young 00:03:01.729 --> 00:03:04.150 ruler, we'll come back to him a little bit later. 00:03:04.370 --> 00:03:08.169 But if you just look up that word greed, what 00:03:08.169 --> 00:03:11.430 does that word mean? Now, if you look it up in 00:03:11.430 --> 00:03:15.189 Merriam -Webster dictionary, greed is a selfish 00:03:15.189 --> 00:03:19.490 and excessive desire for more of something than 00:03:19.490 --> 00:03:22.430 is needed, more of something usually referring 00:03:22.430 --> 00:03:26.569 to money. That's what greed is. You want more 00:03:26.569 --> 00:03:30.669 than is needed. It's an excessive desire. Or 00:03:30.669 --> 00:03:33.469 if you look it up in dictionary .com, it says 00:03:33.469 --> 00:03:37.590 it's an excessive or rapacious desire, especially 00:03:37.590 --> 00:03:41.030 for wealth or possessions. And I'll be honest, 00:03:41.110 --> 00:03:43.870 when I looked up that definition, I had to look 00:03:43.870 --> 00:03:47.090 up another definition because I wasn't sure what 00:03:47.090 --> 00:03:50.469 that rapacious word meant. And if you look that 00:03:50.469 --> 00:03:55.270 up, that means it is inordinately. greedy, predatory, 00:03:55.610 --> 00:04:01.710 extortionate, excessively greedy, wanting more 00:04:01.710 --> 00:04:04.490 and more and more. We're going to turn today 00:04:04.490 --> 00:04:08.550 to Luke chapter 12. We had our scripture reading 00:04:08.550 --> 00:04:10.789 today from Luke chapter 12, and we're going to 00:04:10.789 --> 00:04:13.909 look at that story as we continue our series 00:04:13.909 --> 00:04:16.750 on the parables. I think this is the third parable 00:04:16.750 --> 00:04:19.910 we've gotten to. But in Luke chapter 12, verse 00:04:19.910 --> 00:04:22.670 1, it says there was a great multitude that had 00:04:22.670 --> 00:04:25.569 gathered together. As Jesus was teaching, as 00:04:25.569 --> 00:04:29.149 he was preaching, the people wanted to come to 00:04:29.149 --> 00:04:32.209 be by him. And it even says in verse 1 that they 00:04:32.209 --> 00:04:35.649 trampled together. There were so many people 00:04:35.649 --> 00:04:37.889 gathered in that place to hear him that they 00:04:37.889 --> 00:04:41.470 began to trample each other. And as Jesus is 00:04:41.470 --> 00:04:45.009 teaching them, one of these people from the crowd 00:04:45.009 --> 00:04:48.389 shouted out and asked him a question. And we 00:04:48.389 --> 00:04:52.610 see that in verse 13. We start in verse 13. It 00:04:52.610 --> 00:05:07.910 says, Now, in the Bible, in the Old Testament, 00:05:08.110 --> 00:05:12.870 it specifically talks about passing on property 00:05:12.870 --> 00:05:16.009 and wealth from the head of the household to 00:05:16.009 --> 00:05:20.949 the next generation. And the firstborn son, had 00:05:20.949 --> 00:05:23.329 the best position you could have because he got 00:05:23.329 --> 00:05:26.810 a double portion of the inheritance. And then 00:05:26.810 --> 00:05:29.670 the rest of the property, the rest of the value, 00:05:29.810 --> 00:05:32.910 was divided among the remaining siblings, at 00:05:32.910 --> 00:05:36.009 least the remaining sons. And so we don't know 00:05:36.009 --> 00:05:38.649 this whole story, but maybe somebody was not 00:05:38.649 --> 00:05:42.310 acting the way that they should in some way or 00:05:42.310 --> 00:05:44.850 the other. And so the voice says, tell my brother 00:05:44.850 --> 00:05:48.589 to divide this inheritance with me. And Jesus 00:05:48.589 --> 00:05:51.230 is like, you know, I'm not the probate. I'm not 00:05:51.230 --> 00:05:55.490 the judge in this matter. I'm not the one to 00:05:55.490 --> 00:05:58.009 worry about that. But then he begins to give 00:05:58.009 --> 00:06:01.310 some instruction in verse 15. Notice what he 00:06:01.310 --> 00:06:06.209 says. He said to them, take heed and beware of 00:06:06.209 --> 00:06:10.110 covetousness. Covetousness. Now, some versions 00:06:10.110 --> 00:06:17.509 there say, beware of all covetousness. Beware 00:06:17.509 --> 00:06:21.389 of all greed, all kinds of greed, some versions 00:06:21.389 --> 00:06:26.170 will say. So what does that mean, all covetousness, 00:06:26.230 --> 00:06:30.050 all types of greed? What are some types of greed? 00:06:30.569 --> 00:06:33.290 Well, the one that generally pops to mind first 00:06:33.290 --> 00:06:37.850 would be that greed over money or wealth, some 00:06:37.850 --> 00:06:43.290 way in that area of greed. But there's also, 00:06:43.509 --> 00:06:47.220 you know, some might be greedy for fame. I want 00:06:47.220 --> 00:06:49.360 to be important. I want to be more important 00:06:49.360 --> 00:06:51.959 than somebody else. I want to have more friends 00:06:51.959 --> 00:06:55.079 than other people. I want people to notice me. 00:06:55.120 --> 00:06:57.899 I want to have more authority over the people 00:06:57.899 --> 00:07:00.939 I work with or the family members, whatever it 00:07:00.939 --> 00:07:03.500 might be. I want people to recognize who I am 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:07.620 or appreciate what I do. And the key here is 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:11.980 the excess because, you know, we need money. 00:07:12.139 --> 00:07:15.850 We need... different things. But the key here, 00:07:15.910 --> 00:07:18.170 like we read in those definitions, the key is 00:07:18.170 --> 00:07:23.170 the excessive greed, the excessive coveting of 00:07:23.170 --> 00:07:25.589 what others may have. In fact, if you turn over 00:07:25.589 --> 00:07:27.769 to Colossians, we're going to come right back 00:07:27.769 --> 00:07:31.050 to Luke chapter 12. But in Colossians chapter 00:07:31.050 --> 00:07:36.769 3, Paul gives us another definition. Colossians 00:07:36.769 --> 00:07:40.569 3 verse 5. Paul is talking about some of the 00:07:40.569 --> 00:07:43.470 different sins in our life. And he says, therefore, 00:07:43.569 --> 00:07:46.430 put to death your members which are on the earth. 00:07:46.529 --> 00:07:49.110 And he begins to list off some things. Fornication, 00:07:49.310 --> 00:07:54.050 uncleanness, passion, evil desire. And then he 00:07:54.050 --> 00:07:58.310 says, and covetousness, which is, what is that? 00:07:59.610 --> 00:08:03.230 Idolatry. We usually think of idolatry as bowing 00:08:03.230 --> 00:08:06.350 down before an image or a golden calf or something 00:08:06.350 --> 00:08:09.949 like this. But Paul says, no, idolatry can be, 00:08:10.029 --> 00:08:14.160 covetousness can be this. Greed can be putting 00:08:14.160 --> 00:08:17.699 anything before God. That can even mean putting 00:08:17.699 --> 00:08:21.579 ourself before God. So we need to beware of this 00:08:21.579 --> 00:08:26.100 covetousness, which is idolatry. So with that 00:08:26.100 --> 00:08:28.980 in mind, let's come back to Luke chapter 12. 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:33.340 Because Jesus says, take heed and beware of all 00:08:33.340 --> 00:08:37.080 covetousness or all kinds of greed. And then 00:08:37.080 --> 00:08:40.000 notice what Jesus says. As he goes on in verse 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:44.539 15, he says, For one's life does not consist 00:08:44.539 --> 00:08:48.559 in the abundance of the things they possess. 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:53.100 He or she possesses. One's life does not consist 00:08:53.100 --> 00:08:56.960 in the abundance of the things that you possess. 00:08:57.779 --> 00:09:01.960 That's pretty fascinating. Because in our society 00:09:01.960 --> 00:09:06.629 today, it seems like everywhere we look, Every 00:09:06.629 --> 00:09:10.350 advertisement, every billboard, every commercial 00:09:10.350 --> 00:09:14.549 we may see is trying to tell you and to tell 00:09:14.549 --> 00:09:19.049 me that you need something else. You need something 00:09:19.049 --> 00:09:22.710 that you don't have. You need the newest or the 00:09:22.710 --> 00:09:25.049 thing that's new and improved or the latest. 00:09:25.110 --> 00:09:27.529 Or if you just have this thing, it will make 00:09:27.529 --> 00:09:30.669 you smart. It will make you pretty. It will make 00:09:30.669 --> 00:09:34.450 you popular. It will make you important. If only 00:09:34.450 --> 00:09:38.549 you had that item, then your life would be changed 00:09:38.549 --> 00:09:42.009 and it would be changed for the better. But Jesus 00:09:42.009 --> 00:09:45.269 says life is more than the things that we have. 00:09:45.409 --> 00:09:48.990 Life does not consist in how much we have. Life 00:09:48.990 --> 00:09:53.570 is so much more than that. And then Jesus begins 00:09:53.570 --> 00:09:57.769 to tell a parable to them. Jesus begins to share. 00:09:58.029 --> 00:10:01.750 And the subtitle in my Bible says the parable. 00:10:03.440 --> 00:10:08.000 And so one of those things, one of those descriptors 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:10.799 might be good. We probably would all wish we 00:10:10.799 --> 00:10:14.360 had a little more financially. So sure, rich 00:10:14.360 --> 00:10:18.960 sounds good, but fool, that is not a good descriptor 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:22.039 there. But he goes on and it says, Remember, 00:10:23.460 --> 00:10:26.320 this is in the context of one's life does not 00:10:26.320 --> 00:10:33.200 consist in what you have. And it says, Yielded 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:36.940 plentifully. Now what yielded plentifully here? 00:10:38.080 --> 00:10:41.940 The ground. So I know many of you have gardens 00:10:41.940 --> 00:10:45.500 or farms that you're working on and you prepare 00:10:45.500 --> 00:10:47.679 the soil. We've talked about that the last couple 00:10:47.679 --> 00:10:50.679 weeks. And you put the seeds in and you fertilize 00:10:50.679 --> 00:10:55.259 and you may water it. But it says the ground 00:10:55.259 --> 00:11:00.799 of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:03.299 so as we're looking at this story, let's remember 00:11:03.299 --> 00:11:08.519 that it's the ground that's yielding. It's the 00:11:08.519 --> 00:11:12.080 ground that's doing the work, right? It's God 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:15.799 that makes something grow. You can prepare the 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:18.539 environment. You can get rid of the weeds and 00:11:18.539 --> 00:11:20.600 the rocks. You can make sure that the soil has 00:11:20.600 --> 00:11:23.539 the right fertilizer and enough water. But you're 00:11:23.539 --> 00:11:27.059 not making the seed grow. That happens naturally. 00:11:27.220 --> 00:11:30.440 That's God doing that through the things in the 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:33.960 ground. And it says the ground is yielding forth. 00:11:34.159 --> 00:11:37.279 And we need to remember that even our ability 00:11:37.279 --> 00:11:43.440 to work, to have a job, to have a garden or a 00:11:43.440 --> 00:11:46.440 farm or whatever it might be, that's not from 00:11:46.440 --> 00:11:50.659 us. All of that is from God. Notice in the Old 00:11:50.659 --> 00:11:54.019 Testament, Deuteronomy chapter 8, it reminds 00:11:54.019 --> 00:11:58.820 us that All of this capability, all of this knowledge 00:11:58.820 --> 00:12:01.759 that you might have, all of this skill that you 00:12:01.759 --> 00:12:06.240 might have in your job, it comes from God. Deuteronomy 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:09.980 8, verse 18, it says, You shall remember the 00:12:09.980 --> 00:12:13.919 Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the 00:12:13.919 --> 00:12:19.080 power to get wealth. Even the capability or the 00:12:19.080 --> 00:12:22.340 ability that we may have to have a job, to hold 00:12:22.340 --> 00:12:26.340 a job, That comes from God. That he may establish 00:12:26.340 --> 00:12:29.899 his covenant which he swore to your fathers as 00:12:29.899 --> 00:12:34.320 it is this day. That wisdom you have, that skill 00:12:34.320 --> 00:12:38.220 you have, that ability you have to gain wealth, 00:12:38.379 --> 00:12:42.480 that comes from God. And so this rich fool, it 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:47.340 says the ground yielded plentifully. And it's 00:12:47.340 --> 00:12:50.399 the ground that is doing the work. And so he's 00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:52.779 got all these crops. And we go back to chapter 00:12:52.779 --> 00:12:55.799 12, and we pick up the story, the next verse, 00:12:55.840 --> 00:12:59.639 in verse 17. It says, He thought within himself, 00:12:59.720 --> 00:13:04.840 saying, What shall I do, since I have no room 00:13:04.840 --> 00:13:11.779 to store my crops? I've got too much. I've got 00:13:11.779 --> 00:13:15.340 the ground yielded all these crops, and I've 00:13:15.340 --> 00:13:18.899 got too much of it. I don't have enough room. 00:13:19.389 --> 00:13:21.649 Have you ever said in your life, in your world, 00:13:21.710 --> 00:13:25.649 in your house, we've got too much of this? Have 00:13:25.649 --> 00:13:28.750 you or someone you love ever looked in a closet 00:13:28.750 --> 00:13:32.490 full of clothes and ever said, I just have nothing 00:13:32.490 --> 00:13:36.049 to wear? You've got all of this. You've got too 00:13:36.049 --> 00:13:41.409 much. And yet, it's not enough. Something else 00:13:41.409 --> 00:13:44.230 is needed. And that's what he says. What can 00:13:44.230 --> 00:13:47.029 I do? I've got no room. And he comes up with 00:13:47.029 --> 00:13:52.570 a solution. So he said, I will do this. I will 00:13:52.570 --> 00:13:56.789 pull down my barns and build greater barns. I'm 00:13:56.789 --> 00:13:59.110 going to build bigger barns. And there I will 00:13:59.110 --> 00:14:03.149 store all my crops and my goods. I've got too 00:14:03.149 --> 00:14:06.750 much stuff. What shall I do? I don't have enough 00:14:06.750 --> 00:14:10.110 room to store it all. So let me tear down the 00:14:10.110 --> 00:14:13.590 rooms that I have and let me build bigger rooms. 00:14:14.129 --> 00:14:16.509 I don't have enough room, so I'm going to make 00:14:16.509 --> 00:14:21.539 more room. Now, I imagine that many of you are 00:14:21.539 --> 00:14:25.299 like most of society, and no matter how much 00:14:25.299 --> 00:14:28.080 room you have in your house, you're going to 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:31.039 fill it up. You slowly expand. Maybe you move 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:33.259 to a bigger house, and it's not going to be long 00:14:33.259 --> 00:14:37.879 before you have filled up that space, and maybe 00:14:37.879 --> 00:14:39.799 you've filled up more. You've filled up an attic 00:14:39.799 --> 00:14:43.100 or a crawl space, or that guest bedroom is just 00:14:43.100 --> 00:14:46.179 full of things, or that second... Garage just 00:14:46.179 --> 00:14:50.539 has lots of things in it. And you can drive around 00:14:50.539 --> 00:14:53.740 almost any community, including this one, and 00:14:53.740 --> 00:14:55.899 like, oh, there's a new building being built. 00:14:55.980 --> 00:14:58.820 Is it going to be a new restaurant? Oh, maybe 00:14:58.820 --> 00:15:02.039 a new office? There's a good chance it's going 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:06.679 to be some storage units. You can drive anywhere, 00:15:06.759 --> 00:15:10.600 and our landscape is littered with storage units. 00:15:11.340 --> 00:15:13.960 So here's an idea. I'm just going to throw this 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:17.220 out. If you don't have enough room for your stuff, 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:23.000 the solution may not be to have more room. It 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:30.559 may be to have less stuff. Most of the time don't 00:15:30.559 --> 00:15:34.259 need storage units. Sometimes we do, but maybe 00:15:34.259 --> 00:15:37.039 we need less stuff. And if you don't have need 00:15:37.039 --> 00:15:39.139 of something, I guarantee there's people not 00:15:39.139 --> 00:15:42.179 far from you that probably do need the things 00:15:42.179 --> 00:15:45.549 that you have. So that was his solution. I'm 00:15:45.549 --> 00:15:47.830 going to tear down my barns and I'm going to 00:15:47.830 --> 00:15:51.389 build bigger barns. But look at verse 19. He 00:15:51.389 --> 00:15:55.049 says, I will say to my soul. And notice as we 00:15:55.049 --> 00:15:59.250 hear him having this self -talk that he likes 00:15:59.250 --> 00:16:02.169 to talk about himself. I'm going to do this. 00:16:02.269 --> 00:16:05.490 I have too much stuff. I don't have enough room. 00:16:05.710 --> 00:16:09.950 So he says, I will say to my soul. Soul, you 00:16:09.950 --> 00:16:14.009 have many goods laid up for many years. Take 00:16:14.009 --> 00:16:19.710 your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. I don't 00:16:19.710 --> 00:16:23.429 need to do anything else. I have enough. I don't 00:16:23.429 --> 00:16:26.409 need to count on God. I don't need to depend 00:16:26.409 --> 00:16:29.309 on the things that God gives me. I don't even 00:16:29.309 --> 00:16:32.389 need to work anymore. And yet, that's not how 00:16:32.389 --> 00:16:36.690 God has created us, is it? God created us for 00:16:36.690 --> 00:16:39.990 a day of rest. Praise the Lord for that. But 00:16:39.990 --> 00:16:42.700 if we have a day of rest, That also means we 00:16:42.700 --> 00:16:46.120 have days of work. It says six days you shall 00:16:46.120 --> 00:16:49.000 labor and do all your work. But we're grateful 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:51.600 we have the seventh day as the Sabbath of the 00:16:51.600 --> 00:16:55.120 Lord your God. And so yes, we appreciate a day 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:59.139 of rest, but what are we resting from? This gentleman 00:16:59.139 --> 00:17:02.899 didn't... have a need of working anymore. He 00:17:02.899 --> 00:17:05.920 didn't have a need of depending on God. And so 00:17:05.920 --> 00:17:09.859 his vision was skewed because he was only thinking 00:17:09.859 --> 00:17:12.700 of himself. And notice verse 20. It goes on. 00:17:13.220 --> 00:17:17.759 But God said to him, fool. I don't think you 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:20.599 ever want God to say that to you. God said to 00:17:20.599 --> 00:17:24.500 him, fool, this night your soul will be required 00:17:24.500 --> 00:17:28.500 of you. Then whose will those things be which 00:17:28.500 --> 00:17:32.369 you have provided? God says, okay, this is the 00:17:32.369 --> 00:17:35.349 end of your life. This is the day that you die. 00:17:35.490 --> 00:17:38.450 What then? This isn't what the sermon's about, 00:17:38.589 --> 00:17:40.750 but I'll just throw it out there. Everybody should 00:17:40.750 --> 00:17:44.509 have a will of some kind to determine what's 00:17:44.509 --> 00:17:46.269 going to happen with your stuff, but that's not 00:17:46.269 --> 00:17:48.910 really what this is about. But it says, when 00:17:48.910 --> 00:17:52.910 you die, what then? Notice it goes on in verse 00:17:52.910 --> 00:17:58.430 21. So is he who lays up treasure for himself. 00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:04.599 and is not rich toward God. Instead of depending 00:18:04.599 --> 00:18:07.400 and counting on the things that we have built 00:18:07.400 --> 00:18:11.279 up, on our bank accounts, on our storage units, 00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:14.319 we need to make sure that we are laying up treasure 00:18:14.319 --> 00:18:18.240 in heaven, that we are putting the most important 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:22.200 thing, and we are being rich towards God and 00:18:22.200 --> 00:18:26.640 not towards ourself. There's a story about Sam. 00:18:26.819 --> 00:18:32.849 Sam had left. Ohio. It was 100 years ago or more. 00:18:33.269 --> 00:18:36.490 And he was headed towards California because 00:18:36.490 --> 00:18:38.589 he heard that in California there was a gold 00:18:38.589 --> 00:18:42.509 rush going on. So probably 1850s or so, 1849. 00:18:43.269 --> 00:18:46.410 And he made his way across the United States 00:18:46.410 --> 00:18:50.970 in that era, maybe on a wagon. The railroad didn't 00:18:50.970 --> 00:18:53.450 make it all the way across. Across the plains. 00:18:54.220 --> 00:18:56.980 across the Rockies, the heat of the desert, the 00:18:56.980 --> 00:19:00.019 cold of the mountains, and finally he made his 00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:02.559 way to the gold fields of California, and he 00:19:02.559 --> 00:19:05.759 was able to stake his claim in a particular place. 00:19:05.940 --> 00:19:09.240 And as he was panning for gold, he was so excited 00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:13.140 because he found a nugget, a gold nugget. This 00:19:13.140 --> 00:19:16.079 is what I left home for. This is what I went 00:19:16.079 --> 00:19:18.559 through all those trials for. This is what it's 00:19:18.559 --> 00:19:21.440 all about. I have found this. piece of gold, 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:24.740 and he went to his friend, the neighbor who was 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:27.440 a much more experienced miner, and he showed 00:19:27.440 --> 00:19:31.519 him, look, I found gold. And his friend Thomas 00:19:31.519 --> 00:19:36.619 said, that's, sorry, that's not gold. That's 00:19:36.619 --> 00:19:41.880 fool's gold. That's a metal called pyrite. It's 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:46.119 shiny. It looks like gold. It's got some value 00:19:46.119 --> 00:19:49.119 in the industrial world today, but it's not. 00:19:49.690 --> 00:19:52.509 What you were looking for. It's not what you 00:19:52.509 --> 00:19:56.250 were seeking. So we have to ask ourselves, what 00:19:56.250 --> 00:19:59.470 are we seeking after? Are we seeking something 00:19:59.470 --> 00:20:03.549 that glitters? Something that's shiny? I think 00:20:03.549 --> 00:20:05.529 it's Shakespeare who said, all that glitters 00:20:05.529 --> 00:20:09.210 is not gold. We need to make sure that we're 00:20:09.210 --> 00:20:11.950 not seeking after gold. Fool's gold, because 00:20:11.950 --> 00:20:15.109 life does not consist in the abundance of things. 00:20:15.450 --> 00:20:19.230 So what could be a remedy for our personal greed 00:20:19.230 --> 00:20:22.250 that we might have, our personal covetousness 00:20:22.250 --> 00:20:25.210 as we are seeking things for ourselves? Well, 00:20:25.230 --> 00:20:27.250 right here in this chapter, we can go down to 00:20:27.250 --> 00:20:32.549 verse 31. Luke 12, verse 31, it says, but seek 00:20:32.549 --> 00:20:36.450 the kingdom of God. In Matthew, it says, seek 00:20:36.450 --> 00:20:40.509 first the kingdom of God. and all these things 00:20:40.509 --> 00:20:44.670 shall be added to you. So what can we do? We 00:20:44.670 --> 00:20:48.130 can make sure that we are seeking God's kingdom. 00:20:48.470 --> 00:20:50.710 And God's going to provide those other things, 00:20:50.769 --> 00:20:54.529 because believe it or not, we do have need of 00:20:54.529 --> 00:20:57.809 things. We need to have financial means. We need 00:20:57.809 --> 00:21:02.480 food. We need shelter. We need to care for family. 00:21:02.619 --> 00:21:05.519 We need all of these things. But the greed comes 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:08.920 in the excess, the putting it first in your life. 00:21:09.140 --> 00:21:12.279 And so I want you to think about your life plan. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:16.960 What is your life plan for the next month, the 00:21:16.960 --> 00:21:21.920 next year, the next five years? Is your life 00:21:21.920 --> 00:21:26.220 plan all about bank accounts and success and 00:21:26.220 --> 00:21:30.289 business plans? Or does it begin with seeking 00:21:30.289 --> 00:21:34.750 God every day? Yeah, make those plans for business. 00:21:34.829 --> 00:21:38.450 Make those plans for your job, what you're doing. 00:21:38.569 --> 00:21:41.170 But first and foremost, make sure that you are 00:21:41.170 --> 00:21:44.549 seeking God, that you are seeking His kingdom 00:21:44.549 --> 00:21:47.730 and allowing God to direct your path and show 00:21:47.730 --> 00:21:50.250 you where you should go. So first we need to 00:21:50.250 --> 00:21:53.630 be seeking God's kingdom. And then as we're doing 00:21:53.630 --> 00:21:58.319 that, we can make sure that we are serving. others. 00:21:58.500 --> 00:22:00.859 It's not just about you. It's not just about 00:22:00.859 --> 00:22:05.779 me. And verse 33 kind of hints at that. It says, 00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:09.660 sell what you have and give alms. Now what is 00:22:09.660 --> 00:22:13.720 alms? Alms is about giving to the poor, help 00:22:13.720 --> 00:22:17.599 providing for those in need, giving to somebody 00:22:17.599 --> 00:22:23.250 else so we can be serving others. And this echoes 00:22:23.250 --> 00:22:25.829 a little bit, we mentioned it earlier, that rich 00:22:25.829 --> 00:22:29.009 young ruler. You remember that story when a young, 00:22:29.049 --> 00:22:33.230 important, wealthy person came to Jesus? Turn 00:22:33.230 --> 00:22:35.250 over to Luke chapter 18, we're going to look 00:22:35.250 --> 00:22:38.509 at that real quickly. Luke chapter 18 and verse 00:22:38.509 --> 00:22:44.009 20. Luke 18 and verse 20. This young man said, 00:22:44.089 --> 00:22:48.250 what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And 00:22:48.250 --> 00:22:51.089 Jesus said in verse 20, you know the commandments. 00:22:51.950 --> 00:22:55.089 What shall I do to inherit eternal life? Do not 00:22:55.089 --> 00:22:57.569 commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. 00:22:57.829 --> 00:23:01.069 Do not bear false witness. Honor your father 00:23:01.069 --> 00:23:04.890 and mother. Jesus listed off some of the commandments. 00:23:05.049 --> 00:23:08.730 He didn't list all of them. He didn't say, thou 00:23:08.730 --> 00:23:12.950 shalt not covet. That's one of them. And perhaps 00:23:12.950 --> 00:23:16.849 the challenge with this young man. And the young 00:23:16.849 --> 00:23:18.869 man's like, I've done all those things. I've 00:23:18.869 --> 00:23:22.549 done that. Yay, I've checked those boxes. And 00:23:22.549 --> 00:23:26.769 then notice what Jesus said in verse 22. He said 00:23:26.769 --> 00:23:32.410 to him, you still lack one thing. Sell all you 00:23:32.410 --> 00:23:35.829 have and distribute to the poor and you will 00:23:35.829 --> 00:23:40.309 have treasure in heaven and come and follow me. 00:23:41.130 --> 00:23:44.289 Now, as far as I know, this is the only person. 00:23:45.130 --> 00:23:48.789 that I recognize in Scripture that Jesus instructed 00:23:48.789 --> 00:23:53.009 and told to sell all that you have. This is the 00:23:53.009 --> 00:23:55.730 only person Jesus told that to. So we need to 00:23:55.730 --> 00:23:57.490 be careful and not say, well, Jesus is telling 00:23:57.490 --> 00:24:00.809 me or telling you to sell everything. Maybe he 00:24:00.809 --> 00:24:04.349 is. I don't know. If you feel God's telling you 00:24:04.349 --> 00:24:07.150 that, well, that's between you and God. But maybe 00:24:07.150 --> 00:24:10.410 God is telling you that we need to make sure 00:24:10.410 --> 00:24:13.059 that we are serving. other people, that we are 00:24:13.059 --> 00:24:15.940 helping those that are in need, that we are caring 00:24:15.940 --> 00:24:20.279 about other people. If you lack that same thing, 00:24:20.339 --> 00:24:24.240 maybe Jesus is saying it to you. Most of us aren't 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:26.859 going to sell all that we have, but all of us 00:24:26.859 --> 00:24:31.220 can serve somebody else. That's what the early 00:24:31.220 --> 00:24:34.059 church did. That's what they did in the book 00:24:34.059 --> 00:24:37.460 of Acts. We studied Acts last year, but if you 00:24:37.460 --> 00:24:40.279 look at Acts chapter 2, we'll just remind ourselves, 00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:43.589 Acts chapter 2 and And verse 44, this is right 00:24:43.589 --> 00:24:46.809 after that day of Pentecost when 3 ,000 were 00:24:46.809 --> 00:24:50.210 baptized. It said, now all who believed were 00:24:50.210 --> 00:24:54.289 together and had all things in common and sold 00:24:54.289 --> 00:24:57.490 their possessions and good and divided them among 00:24:57.490 --> 00:25:01.349 all as anyone had need. The early church did 00:25:01.349 --> 00:25:04.130 that. They did the same thing in chapter 4. Barnabas 00:25:04.130 --> 00:25:07.630 did the same thing. Maybe God isn't calling you 00:25:07.630 --> 00:25:11.480 and me to sell all that we have. but can we open 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:15.359 our eyes to the people in need around us to help 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:19.619 them, to serve them as we are seeking first the 00:25:19.619 --> 00:25:23.539 kingdom of God so we can seek and we can serve. 00:25:24.019 --> 00:25:26.720 And then perhaps another way to make sure that 00:25:26.720 --> 00:25:30.220 we are overcoming this greed that we might have 00:25:30.220 --> 00:25:34.279 is to store our treasure in the right place. 00:25:34.900 --> 00:25:39.150 Back to Luke chapter 12. And verse 33, sell what 00:25:39.150 --> 00:25:42.670 you have and give alms. Provide yourselves money 00:25:42.670 --> 00:25:46.549 bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the 00:25:46.549 --> 00:25:50.329 heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches 00:25:50.329 --> 00:25:54.130 nor moth destroys, where the stock market doesn't 00:25:54.130 --> 00:25:56.630 matter, where tariffs don't matter, but store 00:25:56.630 --> 00:25:59.890 all of that in heaven. It says in verse 34, for 00:25:59.890 --> 00:26:04.730 where your treasure is, there your heart will 00:26:04.730 --> 00:26:08.210 also be. That's where we want our treasure to 00:26:08.210 --> 00:26:10.730 be. We want our heart to be stored in heaven. 00:26:10.829 --> 00:26:13.950 We want our treasure to be stored in heaven. 00:26:14.309 --> 00:26:17.970 Yes, we need to care for ourself. Yes, we need 00:26:17.970 --> 00:26:21.809 to care for our family. But let's also seek to 00:26:21.809 --> 00:26:26.690 let our heart be broken for those around us, 00:26:26.769 --> 00:26:30.150 for those who are in situations that breaks the 00:26:30.150 --> 00:26:34.460 heart of God, as those are in need. We can see 00:26:34.460 --> 00:26:37.859 that and we can help other people because life 00:26:37.859 --> 00:26:41.859 does not consist in the amount of things that 00:26:41.859 --> 00:26:44.779 we possess. So let's make sure we are seeking 00:26:44.779 --> 00:26:48.500 God. We are serving God and we are storing our 00:26:48.500 --> 00:26:51.259 treasure where it matters most. I want to tell 00:26:51.259 --> 00:26:54.740 you a story about San May, San May Ver. This 00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:59.700 happened back in about 2015. He was going through 00:26:59.700 --> 00:27:02.839 the internet. looking at different domain names, 00:27:03.059 --> 00:27:06.440 you know, internet sites. And he saw there was 00:27:06.440 --> 00:27:11.039 a site that was available for sale. And he placed 00:27:11.039 --> 00:27:14.819 it in his little cart there online, and he made 00:27:14.819 --> 00:27:17.940 the purchase for $12. He bought the domain name. 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:21.079 And it just so happened it was the domain name 00:27:21.079 --> 00:27:26.220 google .com. One of the most valuable and the 00:27:26.220 --> 00:27:30.200 biggest websites in the world somehow. That had 00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:35.579 come available for sale on this domain site, 00:27:35.700 --> 00:27:39.640 and he purchased it for $12 and basically got 00:27:39.640 --> 00:27:43.799 access to the webmaster -type things. He got 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:47.900 all that. What did he do with it? Now, he could 00:27:47.900 --> 00:27:51.359 have redirected it to a different site. He could 00:27:51.359 --> 00:27:54.359 have sold it back to Google for lots and lots 00:27:54.359 --> 00:27:57.400 of money, but he didn't do that. He had worked 00:27:57.400 --> 00:28:00.240 at Google a few years. before that, and he knew 00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:02.660 the person to contact, and he contacted the person 00:28:02.660 --> 00:28:04.539 and said, hey, I think there's been a mistake, 00:28:04.839 --> 00:28:10.299 and the site was returned to Google. Now Google 00:28:10.299 --> 00:28:12.640 wanted to reward him. They wanted to give him 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:15.799 money. Apparently they do that. If you find some 00:28:15.799 --> 00:28:19.819 loophole in their website and let them know, 00:28:19.900 --> 00:28:22.880 they'll fund a little bit. And so they wanted 00:28:22.880 --> 00:28:25.740 to give him a reward, kind of a strange amount, 00:28:26.400 --> 00:28:31.750 $6 ,600. dollars and 13 cents. Any ideas why 00:28:31.750 --> 00:28:34.589 it might be that? I see Kevin laughing over here. 00:28:35.089 --> 00:28:39.789 What? If you squint your eyes just right and 00:28:39.789 --> 00:28:43.690 turn the three around, that kind of spells Google. 00:28:44.230 --> 00:28:47.950 So they wanted to give him $6 ,000 in reward. 00:28:48.289 --> 00:28:51.750 But San May said, you know what? I don't want 00:28:51.750 --> 00:28:55.549 that money. Instead, I want you to donate that 00:28:55.549 --> 00:28:58.369 money. And there was an educational foundation 00:28:58.369 --> 00:29:02.849 which funded about 1 ,200 schools in India to 00:29:02.849 --> 00:29:05.950 provide education to young people in India. And 00:29:05.950 --> 00:29:08.509 he said, why don't you donate it to this foundation 00:29:08.509 --> 00:29:12.490 which funds education in India? And when Google 00:29:12.490 --> 00:29:15.630 heard that that was his plan, they actually doubled 00:29:15.630 --> 00:29:20.130 the amount. So $12 ,000 was donated to this foundation 00:29:20.130 --> 00:29:25.410 to educate young people in poor, rural India. 00:29:25.920 --> 00:29:29.519 Sanmei had the opportunity to be greedy, to ask 00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:32.000 for more, to try to get something for himself, 00:29:32.119 --> 00:29:36.319 to try to get something of value for himself. 00:29:36.380 --> 00:29:41.259 But instead, he used his opportunity to help 00:29:41.259 --> 00:29:45.480 somebody else. What do we do with our opportunity? 00:29:45.619 --> 00:29:49.859 Are we seeking first God's kingdom? Are we seeking 00:29:49.859 --> 00:29:53.059 to find ways that we can serve others around 00:29:53.059 --> 00:29:56.269 us? Are we making sure that we are storing up 00:29:56.269 --> 00:30:00.170 our treasure in heaven? I hope that will be the 00:30:00.170 --> 00:30:04.170 desire for you this week to seek first God's 00:30:04.170 --> 00:30:08.390 kingdom. Let's bow our heads. Dear God, thank 00:30:08.390 --> 00:30:13.630 you for this promise, a reminder that the things 00:30:13.630 --> 00:30:17.170 we have, the possessions, the ability to work, 00:30:17.230 --> 00:30:20.799 it's not our own. It's yours. And Lord, help 00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:23.319 us in all that we do to put you first, to seek 00:30:23.319 --> 00:30:26.259 you, to seek your desire. Help us to find ways 00:30:26.259 --> 00:30:29.640 that we can serve somebody else. And help us 00:30:29.640 --> 00:30:34.019 to store up our treasure in heaven as we live 00:30:34.019 --> 00:30:37.200 our life for you and find ways to help others. 00:30:37.599 --> 00:30:40.319 Be with each one of us here this week. May we 00:30:40.319 --> 00:30:42.980 live our life in a way that reflects your love 00:30:42.980 --> 00:30:45.700 and glory to someone else. In your name we pray.