"POOR RICH MAN"

Look Up:     Luke 12:13-21

         Sermon preached by:   Dr. Wayne Poplin, Carmel Baptist Church    (Copyright 2006)       

INTRODUCTION:  I have never thought of myself as a fool.  Have you? [thought of yourself as one?]  What about God—any chance of Him thinking of you as one?  Somebody could call me a fool simply because he is upset with me.  But if God called me a fool, He would have reason to, wouldn’t He?  Any chance of that happening?  Well, to answer that question we have to know what God means by that word.  We find out in Luke 12. We can actually see if we qualify for the term.
            Jesus tells a story, a parable, about a man that God called a fool.  This man never thought of himself as a fool.  When we think of “fool,” I doubt if we have this kind of person in mind.  The shocker is that the one God called a fool we would call a success.  He was bright—industrious—affluent—quite the entrepreneur--a prime candidate for Time Man of the Year.  He is esteemed in the community.  In fact, he could have easily lived in Southeast Charlotte and served on a number of boards.  You see—God is not talking about a stupid person, an uneducated person, an unsuccessful person.  The guy was driven, excited about his next venture, able to travel widely, able to enjoy the good life, etc.  He is somebody we would envy.  But God said he was a fool.  We need to know why.
            Actually, the story we want to focus on begins in vs. 13, when a young man steps forward with a request of Jesus. Read Luke 12:13-15. 
            The young man wanted Jesus to settle a court-case for him. He and his brother were at odds over their inheritance.  Imagine that!  Jesus had been talking about hypocrisy, fearing the One who could throw you into hell, the worth of the individual, blaspheme against the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit’s assistance when God’s people have their faith challenged by the authorities.  Immediately after that, this young man steps forward and says:  “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”  He hadn’t been listening to a word Jesus said!  What kind of heart was that?  That is a path if I’ve ever seen one.  He has this burning inheritance issue!  In the presence of God, he is all caught up in getting his money.  Jesus refused his request, because He was not going to be reduced to a courthouse judge.  Instead He told this parable, hoping that this young guy would get it.  Get what?  That he was showing all the marks of being a fool. 
            Jesus tells this parable about a fool to keep us from being a fool.  Will we hear and see?
            Luke 12:16-21. 
And He told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop.  He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’  Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do.  I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.  And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years.  Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”

“But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your life will be demanded from you.  Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?” This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.”   
Who is a fool according to this parable?

THE PERSON WHO IS ONE-WAY RICH.  [e.g. of Pastor George Truitt—www.bible.org/illus/nt/nt-Luke 12:13 ] 

            If about 3 am tomorrow morning God taps you on the shoulder as your chest tightens and your right arm hurts and God and tells you it is time to go, will you have more assets here or there? Will you have any assets there? I know it is easier to add up our material assets here than to estimate them there, but what do you think the division is or what the ledger sheet says?
            God is not saying here that wealth is a sin and poverty is a virtue.  He is talking about being materially well-off but spiritually poor toward God.  Let’s assume that we are all wealthy—and we are.  Go home and reduce your house to at least the size of your garage.  Now get rid of all your furniture except for a small table and chairs. Use pads or quilts for beds.  Empty the pantry except for a small bag of flour, some sugar and salt, a few potatoes and a few dried beans.  Dismantle the bathroom, shut off the running water and remove all the electrical wiring in the house.  Relocate to a slum. Move the nearest medical facilities miles away—and make that a rough clinic.  Get rid of your stocks, pension plan and insurance policies and bank account. Lop off about 25 years in life expectancy.  Now you can live like a couple of billion people in our world [see Steve Williams, www.bible.org/illus/materialism].  So, we are materially wealthy.  We have an abundance.  We have houses, barns, cars and 401Ks and are looking to take life easy.  But are we fools according to God? 
            How do you wind up one-way rich--.i.e., a fool? 

1.  A fool believes that life is made up of and completed by his possessions. 

Jesus contradicts that.  He said:   A man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions [Lk. 12:15 ].  But we know it does. That’s how I am measured.  That is the sign of success.  It makes me who I am. To have more is to be more important, more respected, more believable.  It is what gives satisfaction—“if I had a little more, I know I would be happier.”  It takes away worry and gives peace of mind, because it provides security.  It makes life so much more fun.  If this is true, then I need more. If then that is true, I need more. All of a sudden I want more of what I already have enough of and greed is taking over.  It is so subtle.  Watch out—you’re bearing the marks of a fool.  How can we wind up one-way rich?  We actually believe the very opposite of what Jesus said. 

2.  A fool doesn’t acknowledge God’s part in his blessings and abundance. It is all about “I.”  “The certain man’s” dialogue and thoughts never got beyond himself.  The crops didn’t plant themselves.  They didn’t harvest themselves.  This man worked hard.  He deserved this.  We work hard too.  Don’t we deserve to enjoy the fruit of our success?  Sure—but we ought to check out the way we think and talk about our success.  Are there any references to the Lord? Do we acknowledge that all blessing are from Him?  As we prosper, do references to Him disappear?  Prosperity can persuade me that I no longer require Him.  We may be showing the marks of a fool and it will leave us one-way rich. 

3. A fool doesn’t consult God about how to use the abundance.  You have it because of your efforts, so you can use it as you see fit.  I will build bigger barns [I will get me some PODS on site] [not want to take up more space in the fields—hold the grain for a better price when the market is not glutted] and I will have plenty for years and take my ease.  He never considered why God gave him an abundance.  When is enough enough and how does God want us to use our abundance?  They are deep questions to consider and answer.  That is why we need to consult Him.  He will keep us from being one-way rich.

        4.  A fool believes that he has charge over his life and all his possessions. 
            “I will build.”  “I will store my grain and my goods.”  “I will have plenty for many years.”  “I will take life easy.” 
            God said:  “This very night your life will be demanded from you.” [this is a word suggesting a bank calling in/demanding a loan].   
                             “Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”  
            He didn’t have charge over his life nor his possessions.  
            He was found the next morning slumped over in his chair, where he had been late into the night excitedly going over the plans for the new barns.  I don’t know who took over ownership of his land and barns.  But he left them all behind. 

At his funeral, no one referred to him as a fool. But God knew that he was. And at that point, so did he.  He had become fully aware of what it meant to be one-way rich. 

Jesus told this parable about a man who died a fool.  He told the story so those who were living fools could be changed and not die as fools.  Did the young man wanting the inheritance get what Jesus was saying? I don’t know. We are not told.  Do we?  Do we get it?  Let’s spend some time this week answering “What have we got in this direction” [pointing up]?

What would it look like if we all became two-way rich?