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Content type: Sermon Poem / Prayer Service / Tribute Incomplete Biography
Body: - A barber in a small town was busy cutting hair one day when the local cop walked in to get a haircut. And the barber was feeling a bit generous that day, so he said to the cop... "Since you do such a good job protecting us and watching over us... today’s haircut is free." The cop said he appreciated that, and the next day when the barber showed up at his shop, there were a dozen donuts waiting for him. In walks a local florist. The barber tells him how much he appreciates all the work that he has done around town, planting bushes and flowers and making the town look really nice, so he gives him a free haircut. The next day, the barber shows up at his shop and there are a dozen flowers waiting for him. In walks the local preacher, the barber tells him how he is feeling generous that day, and how much he appreciates all his hard work with the children and taking care of the needs of the people, so the preacher gets a free haircut. Top of Form Bottom of Form The next day the barber shows up at his shop, and there are a dozen preachers waiting there for him. Isn’t that the mark of our society? The insatiable desire for more. When we get a little bit, we want a little bit more. When we get ahead, we want to get ahead a little bit more. Solomon describes us perfectly when he wrote... "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." That is us. We are never satisfied with our income. Instead, we desire more security, better investments, more hours on the job, more, more, more. But it’s all meaningless. If we know that it’s meaningless, then why do we still find ourselves struggling with that overwhelming desire to place all our worth in the money and wealth we acquire. What do we have to do to gain a life that is filled with contentment, instead of the burning desire to make more, to get more, to accumulate more? What will it take to be free, to have contentment in our life? To have that calmness in our mind and in our soul that is truly satisfied with what we have, with the portion that God has already given us. Well, for that answer let’s look at a parable that Jesus told which is recorded in the book of Luke 12:13-21. **The Parable of the Rich Fool** **13**Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” **14**Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” **15**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.” **16**And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. **17**He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ **18**“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. **19**And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ **20**“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?’ **21**“This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” When Jesus talks about money, He addresses the heart and motivation. The Christian life is not synonymous with poverty. It is also not about wealth. Being like Jesus has nothing to do with how much money you have. Being rich doesn’t make you a sinner. Being poor does not make you a saint. Sinners are people who put money before God. Saints are people who put God before money. Look at Barnabas in the book of Acts. The man had a lot of land. He was rich, and he was a Christian. When someone had a need Barnabas would sell his possessions and give the money to the apostles so they could meet the need. He had wealth and Jesus. A Biblical view of money is not about how much you have, but what you do with it. So, this guy in verse 13 has money issues, and he is like the world, he is blaming someone else for his issues. It’s not my fault Jesus, my brother is cheating me out of my inheritance, please make him stop. His cultural view of money is now affecting his connection to Jesus. Instead of hearing Jesus and learning to be like Him this guy wants Jesus to resolve his family dispute. It was common for rabbis to be asked to judge civil matters because the Jews didn’t separate church and state like we do. Having religious authority would be the same as having legal authority on civil matters. Jesus does not actually have legal authority on this matter. He is not officially a part of the religious-political system. He does, however, have divine authority and the power of popularity on His side. So, Jesus could very easily have weighed in on this situation and forced His decision on this family. This guy would have been given a bunch of money that he didn’t earn as his inheritance. But that is not enough for him because he is greedy. He wants more. He is asking Jesus to help him get more money. He could ask Jesus anything. He has this opportunity to talk to the Son of God and what does he want to talk about? Money. Money is on his mind, it’s his highest priority, it’s his first thought. He is not listening to what Jesus is saying because he is focused on something less important. Greed creates a desire for excess where enough is never enough. This man in the parable is trying to increase the quality of his life by increasing his possessions. Jesus responds; life is not found in what you own but in a relationship with the almighty God. Jesus is not concerned with how big this man can get his storehouses. He is concerned about this guy putting money before God, which we sometimes do. We labor and slave to get the next cool piece of technology, to be state of the art, and to fill our lives with things. We stop being content with what we have, and we constantly want more. We believe that our wants are needs and they dominate our thoughts. Greed comes from not being satisfied with what you have. The lie of the American dream is: if I can get this…then I will happy. Marketing promises that this new thing is what your life has been missing, you can’t be complete without it, and when you get it, you’ll never need anything else. Marketing is the art of making us slaves to greed. So many people live their lives from one credit card payment to another because we are greedy. We need to have it before we can afford it, we are not satisfied without it, so we spend money we don’t have on stuff that we don’t need. If you didn’t know you needed something before you saw it advertised, then you don’t need it. When we become discontented, we totally miss the point of what life is about. Our focus is on the comforts of the world and not on the kingdom of God or meeting the needs of others. Here is the danger: money desires to sit on the throne of your heart. It demands nothing less than your full devotion. Either money will be your treasure or your tool. How you use it, view it, treat it, and think about it determines which it will be. Money can help you live life, or it can choke the life out of you. Money wants to be your God. Either you will serve it, or you will use it to serve God. To show the man the problem of greed Jesus tells this story about a man who makes good financial decisions. He plans carefully, is effective, saves well, and as such is able to live a lavish life of luxury. This guy is able to retire early, to sit back, relax, and enjoy the fruits of his labor. The world says this guy is living the dream. Yet God calls him a fool. Why? The guy is wise. He makes good business decisions. He invested his earnings well and made lots of money. What makes this guy a fool is not his investment portfolio but his investment priorities. He invested in personal luxury instead of eternity. He may have worked hard and earned every penny but when he dies it will go to someone else. All that hard work is just going to be given to people who didn’t earn and may not deserve it. We live in a culture today that tells us there is always something more, something better, something we must have in order to be happy. Whether it is the latest PC or a Big Screen TV. Advertisers are paid big bucks to tell us we need something more. Greed is a sin. Greed even made God’s top ten list of laws. When we long for more stuff, for things we don’t need: bigger houses, fancier cars, technology, and so on, that is a sin. Living with a desire for more than what you have when you have everything you need is greed, and it is a sin. What we do in this life, the stuff we work so hard to gather will one day be packed into cardboard boxes and sold at a garage sale. The treasures we just couldn’t be happy without will be sold for spare change. Our investment in this life is an investment in a season. We live in North Carolina, the weather here is bi-polar, we should know better than anyone how fast seasons change. You will be forgotten. All the stuff you gained will be lost. It is all worthless but that doesn’t mean it is hopeless. Greed creates a love in our hearts for things that are not God. Greed creates desires in our hearts that are not Godly. Greed wants to replace God as the king of your life. More becomes your God. More becomes your worship, and you live dedicated to the pursuit of things rather than the pursuit of the kingdom of God. It is one thing for non-believers to give in to this lie but for Christians it is wrong. Greed is essentially saying: Jesus isn’t enough for me. Even when God gives us more than we need greed says enough, is never enough. We are God’s redeeming agents in the world. He gives us opportunities to share His love with people. So instead of giving everyone a dollar, God gives one person $2 and the other none. This way we, through relationships, can share the love of Jesus with people. That is the opportunity we have. Some people do not have enough. Some people have too much. So here is the solution: those who have excess should share. If you have something you don’t need, just pray that God will put you in contact with someone in need, so you can rid yourself of the excess while meeting another’s need. It’s a perfect system. You get to be blessed by sharing love in a practical way, and that person gets to be blessed by receiving God’s provision through you. God has given more to some so they can help others. What we have is a tool to express the love of Jesus. The righteous use what they have to glorify God, the unrighteous use what they have to serve themselves. What’s in your heart? In the depth of your heart, in the place that only God can see. What is it that you desire more than anything else? For many, the depths of our heart will reveal this desire for abundance. This desire to have bigger homes, fancier cars, better jobs, this desire to accumulate and obtain, and cling to the possessions of this world. A desire for just a little bit more. ILL. A boat was docked in a tiny Mexican village. An American tourist complimented the Mexican fisherman on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took him to catch them. - "Not very long," answered the Mexican. - "Well, then, why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more?" asked the American. The Mexican explained that his small catch was sufficient to meet his needs and those of his family. Then the American asked, - "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" - "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a siesta with my wife. In the evenings, I go into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, and sing a few songs. I have a full life." The American interrupted, - "I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you! You should start by fishing longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can then leave this little village and move to Mexico City, Los Angeles, or even New York City! From there you can direct your huge enterprise." - "How long would that take?" asked the Mexican. - "Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years," replied the American. - "And after that?" Asked the Mexican. - "Afterwards? That’s when it gets interesting," answered the American, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start selling stocks and make millions!" - "Millions? Really? And after that?" - "After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a tiny village near the coast, sleep late, play with your children, catch a few fish, take siestas with your wife, and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends." Ask yourself this morning, what is in the depths of your heart? What is your desire, your motive? What is it that you truly want in life? What is it that you want more of? The picture Jesus paints is that of a farmer. But the bigger picture is that of a person who in the desire of his heart wants financial and physical security. Who wants in the desire of his heart, more wealth, and more comfort? It is the picture of the person who has convinced themselves that just a little bit more money, just a little bit more security, just a little bit more comfort will make me happy, satisfied, and content. Just a little bit more, but never enough. Who is Jesus painting a picture of? Me. I am in this parable. My name may not be in there, but at times, my heart is. When the bills are crunching down on me, when the payments need to be made, why is it that I find it difficult to give a portion back to God. Back to his work, to his church. Or when I see someone in need, why do I deceive myself into thinking that I cannot afford to help them in their time of need. What do you want more of? What do you trust in? Is your money, your job, your house, your wealth more important than God? Have you forgotten that everything you have is not really yours, but God’s? And the one who gives is the one who can take in the blink of an eye. The fool of Jesus parable had forgotten God. But he would not forget for long. Because that very night, his life would be taken and as he stands before the great and powerful God, all the crops he had acquired would not be with him. All the wealth he accumulated; he could not take with him. And Solomon’s words would become reality, "Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand." A life of contentment is found only in things we can take with us when this life is over. If the desire of our heart is to gain more of this world, then we will never be satisfied and we will never be content. We will always want more but will never get enough. But true contentment, contentment in our heart and in our soul is found only in those things that do not perish but are eternal. A life of contentment can only be found when we live our life for the one who transcends this physical world, who can offer us eternal riches, and not merely physical riches. "When the barns are full (ironic in light of our passage) and everything is going our way, we never know when we are one breath away from eternity! We could be brushing our teeth, driving our car, eating our dinner." We never know when we are one breath away from eternity. The foolish farmer had forgotten this truth, but we mustn’t. And when that moment comes, what will you take with you. Your clothes, your money, your job, your wealth, your positions.... will you be able to take all those things that you want more, more, more of? NO! When that moment comes, all you can take with you is your relationship with Jesus Christ. And if you don’t have one this morning, then when that moment comes, you will have nothing. So, take it from a wealthy farmer who faced eternity with nothing... contentment is not found in more of this world... contentment is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. Are you content... or do you want more?
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