Regrettably, it has become an all too common occurrence at a funeral service to see a family around a graveside which has become disjointed, oftentimes over some minor issue. You have some members of the grieving family on one side and then standing elsewhere in the graveyard, you find the rest. So great is the division or the schism that has arisen between them. In society today, there are all too many family disagreements and arguments. There can be differences of opinion over many things, but more often than not, these divisions are caused by the family inheritance. In verse 13 of this scripture that we have read together, We find one such person at odds with his brother in a quarrel over an inheritance. We see this individual asking Christ to come and to intervene and to judge in the matter and bring settlement to the dispute at hand. Some would suggest that this man had been wronged by his brother, and that which was rightfully his had been withheld from him. And he was the innocent party, and he was come seeking just that which was rightfully his, knowing that those who have been wronged have a God which they can go to, who will achieve judgment and justice for those who are burdened down. Others believe that this man had a desire to wrong his brother and he had the audacity to seek Christ, seek to enlist Christ to assist him. Perhaps his brother was older and was entitled to the double portion under the law of the firstborn that we read of back in Deuteronomy 21, 16 and 17. It seems regardless that his older brother was attending to the teaching of Christ. And therefore, he sought the Savior to overrule and to get him to share the inheritance out equally amongst them. And when we consider this parable in context, it appears that he was a man with a desire to get his hands on much more than what he was entitled to. The Savior quickly reminded him there in the verse 14, who made me a judge or a divider over you? Christ didn't have the legal authority to judge on matters of inheritance. His decisions would not have been legally binding then in that day. If he were to have interfered or intervened in matters of the law, it would have given an occasion even for Christ himself to be brought before the courts. But furthermore, men and women tonight and young people, Christ had not come into the world to handle such trivial matters. Rather, the purpose of his coming was to save sinful men. And folks, tonight, that is still his purpose. He would not be deflected from his great and glorious mission to divide some pitiful inheritance, regardless how great it might have been. Seeing the anxiety and apprehension, nonetheless, that the man had for earthly possessions, the Savior issued a warning to all that was present. As I present to you tonight, there in the verse 15, cast your eyes upon it. And he said unto them, take heed, and beware of covetousness, for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth. Take heed, beware of covetousness, for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth." Christ then proceeded to illustrate this important principle, as he often did in times past, by the use of parables. And tonight, I want to center your attention upon this parable of a rich man, for our remaining moments together tonight. And first of all, as we consider it, I want to draw your attention to his wealth. His wealth. In the verse 16, and he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully his wealth. This rich man was on the quest of the way, if we could say. Business was booming. He was very wealthy. He was a rich, he was a prosperous man. His business was running in a way that some could only dream of. the sun of prosperity, it was shining there upon him. And everything that he touched, it turned to gold. He was so successful. He had gained all that he had needed and much, much more. And this can be the case for those of the ungodly. Oftentimes they have great abundance of wealth, though little thought given to Christ or spiritual things. And therefore, tonight, we do well to remind ourselves that temporal prosperity should never ever be taken as an indicator of one who is devoted to Christ. This man was like many in the world today. He was more concerned about increasing his wealth than attending to the Word of God. We read in the parable of the sower in Luke 8 and the verse 14, and that seed which fell among the thorns are they which, when they have heard, they go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection. This man couldn't be satisfied. He couldn't get enough. He was a covetous man. What is covetousness? What does it mean? Well, covetous is that desire for having more than what God in his providence has granted us to have. Money doesn't necessarily solve problems, and in this instance before us, it created new problems for this man. It's often said, and it's true, that it's not a sin to be wealthy. Neither it is. But it is the sin to make wealth your God. Covetousness, therefore, is a sin. Turn over with me for a moment, if you would, to Colossians 3 and the verse 5. Colossians 3 and the verse 5. We read there, mortify, therefore, your members, which upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. And you know, as we read that verse, it should send the shivers down our spine when we see and consider the group of sins of which covetousness is listed amongst. You see, men and women tonight and young people, wealth can be a window through which we see God. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 6 and 17, charge them that are rich in this world that they be not high-minded nor trusting on certain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. And therefore I say, wealth can be a window through which we see God. Everything that we see, everything that we have, everything that the Lord has blessed us with, as we look upon it, we see God's hand in it. That promotion in our workplace, that opportunity to grow our business, we see the Lord's hand of blessing upon it. It can be that window through which we see God, but it can also be a mirror through which we just see ourselves. Oh, we are going well. All my hard work's paying off. Oh, look what I'm doing. Look what I'm achieving. Haven't I great? Haven't I done well for myself? All my hard work has paid off. And not a thought of God. Wealth can make us generous or selfish, depending on what is within our heart. We have considered his wealth tonight, but look with me also his worries. His worries, verse 17, and he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do? Because I have no room where to bestow my fruits. And you see, some people imagine that worry is only something that the poor battle with. Those who struggle, as it were, to make ends meet. However, the very opposite is the case. worries are generally found in proportion to the amount of one's earthly possessions that they own or they possess. And the two are inseparably linked. I remember a telephone engineer coming to the farm a number of years ago. I suppose, as I'm now almost out of college, it must be 10 or 11 years ago now, time has gone, time soon goes in. He came to the home one day, and he was just coming from the home of the late Lord Bally Edmund Edward Hawhey. Some of you, perhaps, who have links with agriculture will be familiar with Norbrook Laboratories, where the late Edward Hawhey would have been once the richest man in Northern Ireland. He has that Norbrook Laboratories there in Newry beside us. The engineer spoke. of how he had been joking with him with regard to all his wealth. He was a billionaire, he had so much money. But then, Lord, how he proceeded to recall how he threw his diaries down before this man and he says, that's my schedule for the next two years. Saying, there is my calendar. My life is no longer my own. His life was all mapped out for him, and he was under constant pressure. And it wasn't too long after that that the very same man the news came through, and he was going over for his tea one evening, if I remember right, flying across to France, just to have his evening tea in the helicopter, and down it went. And he was cast out into eternity. You see, the greater the wealth, the greater the worries. And this is why the rich man in this parable asked this question in verse 17, what shall I do? What shall I do? This question doesn't surprise us when it's asked by a widow or an orphan or someone who is unemployed, someone who has lost everything, someone who is in impoverished state. However, folks, this is the language which is used tonight of a man. with insurmountable affluence. What shall I do? He had lost sight of all those around him who were much less fortunate than himself. He either cared not or he knew not that the fruits of the earth were for the inhabitants of the earth. This thought had never entered his heart or mine to give some of his great bounty, some of his great wealth away to the poor, to the needy. And you know what this proves to us tonight as a people? That no degree of prosperity can satisfy or soften the heart of a selfish, sinful man or woman. Note the emphasis the farmer gave to himself, I. And my, these personal pronouns used 11 times in just a few short verses. He speaks as the proprietor of his possessions, rather than just the steward. Is this not so often? Will we go wrong today? Even as the people of God? You know, I look back to a time we were so busy. There was work to be done. I went out from the church. There was helpers needed, but I was too busy. Oh, I was too busy. I couldn't possibly go and spare an hour to help out in the Lord's work, to drive a bus for an hour, to bring in kids that were ready and willing to come, but no one to go. There was a need in the Sunday school. Perhaps we need a Sunday school teacher. We're too busy. Oh, I couldn't possibly commit our time. Too busy. How easy it is even for the people of God to get caught up with our things. Realizing that we're, or forgetting rather that we're only stewards of our possessions. We think of our success that is down to our personal achievements rather than God's blessing upon our efforts as steward of his possessions. And you know, whatever we attain in this life, it's all down to the blessing of God upon us. And we each do well to never forget it. Even those tonight who are unsaved, it's that grace of God upon you, even blessing you in that and what you do. With regard to our riches and wealth, we need always remember that it's only entrusted to us by God, and we are given clear instruction by Him to occupy till I come. And considering this rich man, we have noticed his wealth, his worries, but consider also with me tonight his willpower. His willpower, verse 18 and verse 19, and he said, this will I do. I will pull down my barns in Belgrade, and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods, and I will say to my soul, so thou hast much goods laid up for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. This man tonight, in our passage before us, he gave no thought to the will of God, what it was for him, he cared not. No, he had his own willpower. He had it all sorted out in his own mind. He proceeded on, then headlong doing what he was going to do when he was going to do it. He gave no thought to God or the things of God. He cared not. He had his own willpower. He was headstrong. He knew, this will I do. I will pull down my boards. There will I bestow all my goods. I will say to my soul, Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. Tell me tonight, men, women, and young people, is this a portrait of you? Is this a portrait of your thought? Your life, it's all about I, me, and my. Do you care not about God, about the teaching of Scripture? Or are you just so full to overflowing with your own willpower? And you care not for God or his perfect will for your life. This rich man was so confident in his own willpower, he didn't even hint at the suggestion that this was a plan. Nowhere there in these verses which we read that this was a plan. No, he was adamant. This was a matter of fact. I will do. I will pull down my barns on Belgrader. You know, he sincerely believed. that he had all that he needed. And you know, that's surely the sad reality of many today. They sincerely believe they've all that they need. Perhaps you're here tonight, you look around you and you say, well, I'm as good as any of the rest of them. And if I was to tell you about so-and-so, and they say they're a Christian here tonight, and if I was to tell you what I know that they're involved in, And I'm as good as any of the rest of them. I work hard, I give to charity. If you need anything, I'll be the first to be there. Oh, you have your own willpower. You think that you have all that you need. But friend, tonight I can remind you on the authority of God's word, unless you have Christ, you have nothing. You have nothing. Unless you come to Christ tonight, come to the foot of the old rugged cross, plunge beneath that precious blood, and have your sins washed away, and that you receive that pardon from sin, and have that assurance of peace with God within your heart tonight, you can look all around you, and you can point the finger at everyone else, but you need to look within tonight. Consider that without Christ, You have nothing. This man's affections were firmly fixed on the things of earth rather than the things of heaven. Earthly things rather than spiritual things. This man had no thought of dying. He had laid up in store for many years. I will say to my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease. Eat, drink, and be merry. He thought he had made it. He thought he was secure. He thought he was untouchable. He thought it was sorted. Yet what a fool. What a fool. You see, he forgot something. He forgot that the God of heaven held his very next breath in the palm of his hand. He forgot about God. To you say, as a man that I have witnessed too many times. I used to be working down the yard and I drove in. I can see him yet and you seek to witness it. He just cut me off. He says, tell me no more about it. He says, we're not here for a long time. We're here for a good time. I don't want to know anything about it. And it appears to me, you know, that men, women, and young people live in this land of ours now as if they're never gonna die. When the reality is this, that each one of us walk along, as it were, day by day, our life as if we're walking along the edge of an open grave. This man before us, we've considered his wealth, his worries, his willpower, but see also tonight with me his weakness. Verse 20, 21, but God said unto him, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee, and then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided? So he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God, Despite all this man's wealth and worries that came with it and the great willpower that he possessed, he had a weakness. And that weakness, men and women tonight, finally concluded in his demise, in his downfall, in his disaster that faced him. We see the way in which the conversation concluded. God said, thou fool, Maybe you're listening tonight to the lies of the devil and he's filling your head with all sorts of nonsense. Even as I'm speaking tonight, he's bringing before you the week ahead. He's bringing before you other things that's pressing tomorrow and on ahead into this week. He's bringing anything before you. He's bringing other things that's troubling you before you. Anything to stop you listening to what God's saying to you tonight. God said, Thou fool. He may have been the richest man for miles around. He may have appeared to be indestructible perhaps. As he had much of this world's goods, he may have been looked up to even by many in the community. As this successful entrepreneur, businessman. Yet folks, the Savior told us tonight of his weakness. He was a fool. It was often said, from a pulpit, your friends will laugh you into hell, but they'll not laugh you out. And how true it is. And you know, even pride, people tell you, oh, you're great. Oh, you don't need to be saved. Oh, you're a fine, upstanding member of this community. What have you to offer? You're a great attender in the church. God says, if you're not right for heaven and home, This was a night of heavy losses. How unexpected he hadn't planned for the great eternity. You see, riches cannot secure any man from the grave. Death can come upon us suddenly, unexpectedly, and in the midst of the brightest of anticipations, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, it can all come to an end. change camps, that shocking phone call. We've all heard of it. We've referred to this man already, went out, taken some downtime from a busy life, a wealthy millionaire. Life was over that evening. Death comes suddenly, unexpectedly. And it doesn't matter all the wealth that we may have accrued, accumulated, it cannot drive away death. The man who is trusting upon his riches and them alone is a fool in the sight of God. And soon he'll be a fool in his own sight. Go to hell with that consciousness that his life has been a waste. Wasted years. Wasted years, wasted opportunities. The path of true wisdom is to seek first the kingdom of God, be found ready to die. It matters not, you know, how little or how great our portion is here on earth. For our factions are fixed upon our riches. We are damned to hell. Nonetheless, if our actions are fixed not upon our riches, well then we shall leave them someday without regret. If our treasures are laid up there in heaven, we'll be going home as we were speaking of even this morning, happy for that moment and we'll be called to our eternal rest. Therefore, I urge you tonight, seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Oh, you might never be the richest man or woman in Northern Ireland, but you'll have what you need, the Lord Jesus Christ. We commenced our remarks tonight with regard to this dispute that had arisen between these two brothers. And you know, even if Christ had have stepped in, and solved that dispute with regard to the property, that would not have solved the problem. You may ask, why would that be? Well, it's simply this, the heart of every problem is the problem of the heart. And how the psalmist reminds us, what the fool said, the fool has said in his heart, there's no God. as we have seen from closer examination of this parable. Despite this man's wealth, his worries, his willpower, he had a weakness. He was a fool. His heart was not right. He was not prepared for the great eternity. And therefore tonight I asked you, Regardless of your age, regardless of your position, you're standing in the community. What about you tonight? Are you ready for heaven? Have you given any thought of the state of your heart before God tonight? Are you found rejoicing, ready for heaven, and home you're assured of heaven? As if you're already there, well I trust that is so. But I trust you're not found like this man. Nothing more than a fool. Trust the Lord will write his word upon your hearts tonight.