Luke's Gospel

Luke chapter 12 and verses 13 to 34. Someone in the crowd said to him, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. Jesus replied, man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you. Then he said to them, watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.

Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions, and he told them this parable. The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. 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'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. And there I will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, you have plenty of grain 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 whoever stores up things for themselves, but is not rich towards god. Then Jesus said to his disciples, Therefore, I tell you.

Do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the Ravens. Do they not sow or reap, yet they have no store or more barn. Yet god feeds them and how much more valuable you are than birds, Who of you, by worrying, can add a single hour to your life.

Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin, yet I tell you, not even solomon in all his splendor was dressed like 1 of these. If that is how god clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, How much more will he clothe you, you of little faith. And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink.

Do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things. And your father knows that you need them, but seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little flock for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom, sell your possessions and give to the poor provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out a treasure in heaven that will never fail where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Thank you very much, Chris. And, as usual, if you could keep, that bible passage open in front of you, that would be that would be really good. As Chris mentioned, we've been going through this Gospel of Luke, for several months now. And, all of our sermons, are put up online, and, you can download them or stream them and listen to the series on there and share them and things that would be great if you wanted to catch up. Worth saying as well that a few of us went down to, south end on sea this morning.

Because Hannah Diaz, 1 of the members of our congregation was was being baptized. I know she was going to try to make it back this evening, but I can't see her. But it was it it was it was a glorious morning. It was wonderful. There was 14 people actually being baptized.

And they managed to get the whole service done in an hour and a half, which was quite an accomplishment. We didn't hear every single testimony, but we did see every baptism. And, it was just wonderful. And she she, by god's grace, was outstanding. She was up the front.

It was packed in there, and she gave a clear honest, personal, warm testimony, which just magnified the greatness of Christ. And she was drawing all the attention and the glory Christ, and it was just it was just a stand out testimony. And wonderfully her mum and her brother have also been converted in the last year. And they were standing up there with her and then went into the baptism Paul as well after her. And so god has just been incredibly, good and gracious to that family.

And, when you go to events like that and you hear that and you see that, you just think, that's that's why we do this, isn't it? That that's what this is about. Seeing people like her and her family come to Jesus. So, I just thought I would encourage you with that. It was a great great joy to be there.

Let's pray together, show as we as we turn to god's word. The law of the lord is perfect, refreshing soul, The statutes of the lord are trustworthy, making wise, the simple. The precepts of the lord are right. Giving joy to the heart. The commands of the lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.

Father, we want to thank you for your perfect trustworthy right, righteous laws. We thank you for this word, which we can open together and read, and we pray that it would do what you have promised that it will do. For us this evening, that it would refresh the souls of those who are weary, that you would make wise, the simple that you would give joy to our hearts that you would give light to our eyes that we might love you and follow you. We pray that you would help us to understand this passage and to see the implications for our lives, and we pray that we would delight in you. And we ask all of this in Jesus' name.

Oh, men. Amen. Apparently, in in times gone by Indian farmers, and we've heard a bit about India today, had had a had a very clever way of of catching monkeys who would come often in order to steal their crops. This is a little picture of the kind of thing they would do. They would they would hollow out a coconut.

And they would chain it to a stake in the ground. And then inside the coconut, they would place something like peanuts or or rice. And it was genius because they would only make a small hole that was big enough to take an outstretched monkey hand But when the monkey grabbed the rice or the peanuts, it clenched its fist and could not get it out again. So, of course, if the monkey would simply release the bounty inside the coconut, it would be free. Just shrink up its hand again, pull it out, and it could go about its day, but it never would.

It would just hold on to the rice or the peanuts refusing to let them go. And it's interesting, isn't it? That little picture, that proverb? Because In reality, those monkeys are not trapped by anything physical, not really. They're trapped by an idea.

If I can get more, then I must get more. They're trapped by that idea. And that idea is gonna kill the monkey. From then on, it is gonna have a miserable life that is so close to satisfaction so close that it can even touch and smell the prize inside, but so far. And then when the farmer turns up to check his traps, He would meet a sudden death.

Misurable life, sudden death, not really trapped by anything physical, but trapped by a desire. Now I don't know whether that is actually true and whether they really did or whether it's just a a proverb, but but I think it is helpful as an illustration, isn't it? Because as you might have noted, in our reading tonight, we meet a man who found himself in a very similar predicament. He was trapped not by anything physical, but by the desires of his own heart. He has come to Jesus with his fingers on the prize.

He's about to get rich. There's an inheritance up for grabs And in that inheritance, he thinks he's gonna find life and satisfaction, but he doesn't realize how much danger He's in. Should we meet him? This is the first heading. A greedy interruption.

Teacher, tell my brother. Now we know from verse 1, and if you were here last week, you might remember that Jesus is surrounded by a big dangerous crowd. Luke tells us in verse 1 that a crowd of many thousands had gathered so that they were trampling on 1 another. But after that, rather interesting comment about the crowd, he turns away from this riot that is playing out in front of them and he takes us into a very important sermon. In verses 1 to 12, Jesus is talking not to the crowd, but to his disciples.

And as we saw last week, he was teaching them about hell. He was teaching them about the judgment day, He was teaching them about the god who loves them and the spirit who was sent to help them, big, big, important truths in order to help them keep proclaiming Jesus, even in the face of persecution. But then, right in the middle of that sermon, we have this interruption. Teacher? Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me, and it feels so sudden that we're supposed to be asking, who is this guy?

I mean, was he listening to that sermon? Was he contemplating some of the eternal issues that Jesus has just been teaching on or has he only just arrived to the party? Is he shouting this from the back of the crowd as loud as he can or as he pushed his way to the front in order to get Jesus, was it him who caused the riot? And what of his family Is his brother with him or is he alone? So many questions we might have about this man lots.

We don't know. But 1 thing is obvious about him. He hasn't come to listen to Jesus or even to ask him for a favor. He's come with an order. That's the irony of this man, isn't it?

What does he call Jesus? Teacher? But he hasn't come to be taught, has he? He's come to teach Jesus what his ministry priorities ought to be. And as we can see, he was in for something of a shock.

So the first heading a greedy interruption teacher tell my brother the second heading, a word of warning, be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Have a look at verse 13 with me again. Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you? Then he said to them, watch out. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed.

Life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. Now apparently, it wasn't uncommon for rabbis to help people with these kind of situations. They would sometimes go from town to town and village to village in order to sort out these kind of disputes and help people with financial and legal matters. But you notice Jesus doesn't really go anywhere near the situation, does he? He has the right 2.

He could do and he certainly possesses the wisdom in order to sort it out. But he doesn't think that is the biggest problem in this situation. If he just sorts out the inheritance feud, it's not gonna help this man. Because the big problem with him is not his inheritance or his brother, but his heart and his greed. And to make that crystal clear, Jesus tells 1 of his most sobering and famous parables.

I used to have a a lecturer at university called, mister Berry, who was, who was an interesting is an interesting man. He was a good he was a good teacher, but he was quite quite a grumpy sort of bloke. And, he was rather old fashioned in his methods. So he refused to use PowerPoint. He wouldn't put any of his lectures on PowerPoint to be viewed at a later date.

He insisted that no technology, computers, tablets, were to be used in his classroom. You had to use pen and paper or even I think paper and pencil, he actually preferred. Calculators were banned when you were having to do mathematic things, he he he used to use an OHP, which I hadn't seen since primary school, and he had a term's worth of lectures just on 1 giant acetate role. Which he would just roll across the projector as he was teaching. So he was an interesting interesting kind of guy.

And, When I finished, my last year was was going to be his last year. After that, he was going to take early retirement. And 1 of the things that prompted his retirement was something that had happened to 1 of his fellow lecturer friends. He knew a man at another university who was in a similar field, And for decades, this man had been wanting to buy a farm in Scotland and then to move up to the farm and to retire on it. And for much of his life, he'd been saving and saving until eventually he had enough money, and he retired up to Scotland and bought a small holding and a farm.

And apparently within 3 months of moving up there, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. And within 18 months, he was dead. And although he was quite a hard man, mister Berry, I think that that really affected him. Here was a man who would put everything into his future. He had saved for it.

He had set aside money monthly, I guess, for it. He had moved over to the other side of the country for it, but it never came. And look, in reality, I know nothing about that man. I don't know what he believed or what he was living for or what his motivations were. But this parable always reminds me of that story, living for a future that never comes.

Verse 16, and he told them this parable. The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest, He thought to himself, what shall I do? I've no place to store my crops. Then he said, this is what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and I'll build bigger ones.

There, I'll store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, you have plenty of grain 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? It's tragic, isn't it? This man in the parable and by extension, the man who has interrupted Jesus, is just like the monkey with his hand on the rice. He he has lost touch with reality.

And that is what greed and covetousness does to a person, doesn't it? It actually disconnects us from reality And it makes us think that the only things that matter in life are me and more. You see that in verse 17? He thought to who 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 my surplus grain, and I'll say to myself You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Only 2 realities, me, and more. Greed had disconnected him from reality.

Instead of being grateful to god, who had sent the sun and the rain in order to bless his crops. He really thanked himself. Instead of asking, how can I be maximally generous with this extra grain? What causes would be most worthy of my generosity. He thought to himself, what can I do to ensure that I do not lose a single of my grains?

Instead of being humbled by his future, feeling fragile about his life, He was so confident how things would pan out. But in every way, he was wrong. He was wrong about life. He was wrong about death. He was disconnected from reality.

And twisted by all kinds of greed. And we're supposed to see the irony of it. There's quite a lot of detail given to his cunning plan, isn't there? He obviously considers himself to be quite worldly wise. But god simply says you fool.

Or in another version, it's just fool. This night, your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared. Whose will they be? It is a double sadness, isn't it? All that he has worked for in this life has become like a large handful of dust, which at the moment of his death is thrown up into a breeze scattered and gone to the wind.

That's sad, but the greatest tragedy is not what he left behind, but what lay ahead of him. His soul was required of him. He would go to stand before the son of man and he would have to give an account of his soul. And he would discover in the twinkling of an eye that it is no good for a man to gain the whole world. If in the end, he must forfeit his soul.

And when you reflect on this this tragic story, It is remarkable, isn't it that even as Christians, we would look at his life, and we would still covet him. That is what doesn't make sense about mister Berry. He was stunned into early retirement because his friend had his dreams cut short, but he retired in order to do the same thing. And can't we be like that? Often we hear stories like this, we know the plain meaning of them But then deep down, we think, no, no, life really does consist in the abundance of possessions.

That we were in a sense created for that, that the chief end of man is not to know god to glorify god and enjoy him forever the chief end of man is bigger bonds, bigger reputations, bigger bank balances, bigger successes, and in them, we will find life. It could be 1 of the greatest sins of our culture, but 1 we are almost blind to because in a middle class aspirational culture, it is so normal. Greed, all kinds of greed. But Jesus says, how utterly foolish. So I don't know what this man was expecting when he interrupted Jesus.

He was expecting Jesus to do, and we don't really know how he responded, but in 1 sense, we don't need to. Because then Jesus turns from the story to the crowd, and he says, This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves, but is not rich toward god. Matthew Henry and his commentary simply describes him. As foolish in life and miserable in death. And at this point, there are some questions that disciples of the lord Jesus ought to be asking.

If that is true, Then how can I make sure that I am rich toward god? If that is true, then how can I avoid being like that monkey trapped by an idea if I can get more, I must? And thirdly, if stuff is not gonna bring me peace in this life and security and death, then what will. The answers are in the next the next section. We had a rude interruption, secondly a word of warning, Thirdly, Jesus continues his lesson.

Do not worry about your life. Have a look at verse 22. Then Jesus said to his disciples, therefore, in other words, these are to be taken together these sections. They are very, very much connected. I tell you, do not worry about your life what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.

And although on the surface, it feels like a bit of a jump, doesn't it? How does that shocking story relate to these wonderful words of comfort which many Christians will know so well? They don't seem to relate that closely, do they? But in reality, they are very much connected. Here's a, a quote are put on the screen from a a commentator called Arkent Hughes.

The preceding parable about the folly of the rich fool's greed is intimately connected with the following text, which deals with worry. Greed can never get enough. Worry is afraid it may not have enough. Wor is the emotional reward of material preoccupation. That is quite a sentence, isn't it?

Just look at that last sentence again. Wor. Is the emotional reward of material preoccupation. Now we might want to nuance that in all kinds of ways. But don't let that take away the challenge of what is being said here.

The question is Why does Jesus put greed and worry together? Why does he do that? Because very often if there's worry on the outside, there is greed on the inside. It's interesting you might remember in chapter 11, which we looked at a couple of weeks ago. Jesus is preaching against the hypocrisy of the pharisees, But then in chapter 12 verse 1, he turns to his disciples, and he says, by the way, you guys are not immune.

You also need to be on guard against the East of the Faracies, which is hypocrisy. And it's the same kind of relationship in this section. Jesus says to the crowds beware all kinds of covetousness. And then he turns to the disciples and he says, and you guys are not immune. It just might look a little bit different.

Therefore, I tell you, do not worry. About these kind of things. So as you can see, these lovely tender words, of which there are many fear not little flock. Don't worry my children. You are servants in his kingdom.

These words of great comforts are also supposed to be a mirror. In our worrying, are we more like the rich fool than we've realized? In our anxieties about the things of this life, Are we more like the pagans than the children of god? Tough questions, with beautiful comforts. That is what we find here and they work together.

They must work together to show us our father to realign our hearts, to free us to be generous, and to help us in the war against worry. Let's see that in the Bible together. Fourth point after Jesus continues the lesson, He says, here's how to fight it. In the war against worry, remember your creator. Remember your creator.

Have a look at verse 22 with me. Then Jesus said to his disciples, therefore I tell you do not worry about your life what you will eat or about your body, what you will wear, for life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the Ravens. They do not sow or reap. They have no storeroom or barn, yet god feeds them.

And how much more valuable you are than birds? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not label or spin, and yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor, was dressed like 1 of these.

And if that is how god closed the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow, is thrown into the fire. How much more will he clothe you? You of little faith. So that is the first step in the war against worry. All around us, Jesus says, are these little sermons in the garden, in the field walking along the street, little sermons, little sermons everywhere, which preach to us day after day That god does not abandon the work of his hands.

Look at the Ravens, he says. And in the old testament, they were actually considered to be unclean birds. So Jesus is saying, look at the lowest of the low bird. God cares for it. And if that is true of the Ravens, if god cares that much for unclean birds, How much more will he care for you?

If god addresses the plants of the field, which are here 1 day and gone tomorrow, how much more will he provide for you who are covered by the blood of his son. Will he not cover you as he looks after the lilies? Martin Luther, German reformer said this in his characteristically humorous way. It seems that the flowers stand there and make us blush and become our teachers. Thank you, Flowers.

You are to be devoured by the cows. God has exalted you very highly that you become our masters and our teachers. Creation is preaching. You are more precious than the birds. You are more than a passing decoration of the field.

You don't have to fret like the world. You don't have to be anxious like the man in verse 13. You don't have to be anxious like the rich fool. You see, if only he'd gone out and looked at his harvest, I know he's just a character, but if only he'd gone out and looked to his harvest and said, Look at how god cares for my harvest. Look at all the birds of my field.

Look how god provides for them. I'm going to trust and know that god. If only he had learned that lesson, He wouldn't have spent so much time worrying about this life. In the war against worry, remember that god is our creator. Fifth point.

In the war against worry, remember that the creator is also your father. Verse 29, and do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it. For the pagan world, really means the non non Christian world, runs after all such things, and you're here's the family word and your father knows that you need them, but seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. So again, just cast your mind back to that man in verse 13.

He was he was wrong, wasn't he in many ways? But to be fair on him, he was acting according to his worldview, wasn't he? It makes sense for unbelievers to worry about food and inheritance and clothes and the things of this life. It makes sense. It fits their worldview because they don't know the heavenly father.

They don't have this promise that the god of heaven is a father who will provide for his children. But Christians do. And isn't that just liberating? Does it mean no suffering? No.

It doesn't. Does it mean we'll always have the big bonds that we want? No. It doesn't. It might mean we die for him with no extra bonds.

But in every stage, he will provide what we need to live and to die for his glory. That is the promise. Our god is not like a deist god. He's not 1 who exists somewhere out there probably but not 1 who knows you. He's not like the gods we were hearing about in the slot.

The wish the wish goddess. The genie god, who is totally oblivious to your needs, and therefore must be summoned in order to do stuff for you. That is pagan as pagan religion. That is the man in verse 13. That is not that is not the heavenly father.

And so again, this is the thing about worrying greed, isn't it? We do it all the time. But in the end, we ought to ask, does it reveal a false god in the heart? Not the heavenly father, some other 1 who doesn't know me or my needs. Some other thing who can't provide for me Because with that theology, we will become the rich fall.

We will start to believe that the burden of provision is where? The burden of provision is is here. Tear on my shoulders. God doesn't know. He's not involved.

He's down to me. I must do. I must build future is in my hands. I gotta take care of myself. If I don't get bigger bonds, I'm not gonna throw it.

The burden of provision falls to us. When we replace this heavenly father with another. Jesus says my little flock has not that's not it. That's not it. Your god is the god of creation.

But know that your god of creation is also your father. Listen to him. He will provide Not everything that you want, maybe, but everything that you need to live and to die. For his glory. Lastly, in the war against worry, treasure the right things.

In the war against worry and greed, treasure the right things. Verse 30, For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid little flock for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor.

Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out a treasure in heaven that will never fail where no fee comes near and no moth destroys for where your treasure is. There your heart will be also. It's interesting, isn't it how this passage begins and ends with treasure? The man in verse 13 is looking for treasures on earth, But Jesus finishes by saying that our treasure should be in heaven. And what does our treasure have to do with the subject of greed and worry.

That's the question. Have a look at this quote, from an American writer called Paul Tripp. He says very helpfully. Worry and rest always reveal the true treasures of your heart. That's the connection.

You will rest the most when what you treasure the most is secure. And you will worry the most when what you treasure the most is at risk. That was the problem with the rich fool, wasn't it? His treasure was on earth, and therefore, it would never be safe. Never.

I need bigger barns. But, okay, let's say I get them. What if they burned down? And and will they in the end be big enough? And will I get the right carpenter to make them?

I don't want a shoddy job And what if I get robbed? I couldn't give any away because if I gave some away and then I got robbed, then I would have nothing. The problems and the anxieties would not end because treasure on earth is treasure at risk. And treasure at risk means worry and greed. Treasure on earth is treasure at risk.

And treasure at risk means worry and greed. But treasure in heaven is safe forever. With the father. In 1 peter 1, we find these amazing words praise be to the god and father of our lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy, he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and here's the safety words, here's the safety words, an into an inheritance that can never perish spoil or fade safe.

This inheritance is kept in heaven. For you. You see the difference? Through faith in the lord Jesus Christ, Peter is saying, We have come into god's kingdom. We have been given an inheritance in Christ eternal life fullness of life with Jesus forever.

He is the greatest of all treasures, and 1 day the little flock is going to heret the earth and reign with him forever. He is our inheritance, the risen Jesus. Him and his kingdom and his glory. He is our inheritance, and can he perish, spoil, or fade? Instead, he's waiting to be revealed.

And the more that we can look to him, the more we begin to feel anxious about his glory and more coming to partake of this great inheritance We will we will suddenly hear a sound. We will hear the sound of snapping as the chains of worry and greed. Begins to fall away. And then, oh, look, we're free to be generous. We're free to give in this radical way which Jesus describes.

That is only possible when we know this lord Jesus, who has given us the kingdom, who died to bring to the father, who died to bring us this eternal treasure in heaven only by his grace, can we take the fight to anxiety and greed and live a god centered generous life. Brothers and sisters, where is our treasure? And what does that reveal about our hearts and the god we worship. Fear not Little flock. It was the father's good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

Let's be anxious about his glory. And trust our father to provide all else that we need. Let's bow our heads and pray together. Father, we're sorry that often we are so blinded by covetousness and greed of all kinds that we hardly even notice it in ourselves anymore. We thank you that by your spirit and through your word, you have shown us the dangers of greed.

How foolish it is to live this way. Forgive us for it. We pray father that you would help us to remember that you are the god of this passage, you are our creator, As we look at this world, we see you tenderly caring for all that you have made. And if you care even for the birds of the air, how much more would it be true that you would care for your children? We thank you lord that we can trust you, and we thank you that you'd like to take the burden of our provision upon yourself.

We pray that you would help us to seek first the kingdom of god to store up for ourselves treasures in heaven. We thank you that through Jesus, you have already purchased for us a great inheritance that will never perish, spoil, or fade, help us to meditate on it and so find freedom to live this generous life. And we ask all of these things in Jesus' name. Omen. Oh, man.