So we're not going to read now, we're going to pray together and then we're going to read as we get into the message this morning. So let's go ahead and pray with our Bibles open at Luke's Gospel, chapter number 12. Our Father, we thank you for the word that's before us and that's open. Lord, it's our desire this morning to hear from you. It's our desire to understand why you taught in parables and why you taught this parable. We know, Lord, that you spoke this so many years ago, but we believe that it is as alive today and addresses needs as alive today as it did when it was first delivered. I thank you that it's not just the sentiments of a man who had wisdom, but it is the voice of the eternal God in Jesus Christ. And I pray that as we take a moment to consider a very simple narrative, and a simple story told that, Lord, the spiritual truth would be profound. Let not the simplicity of the peril will be lost upon our desire to find things that are more elaborate, more in-depth. But, Lord, I know, and you would teach us so many times, that the most important things are oftentimes the simplest things, and the things that we trip up on most often are the things that we need to go back and learn over and over again. So Lord, give us grace this morning as we come to this portion for we ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. I read this past week that the average American worker faces 50 interruptions a day. Maybe that's you. Maybe it's a lot less. Maybe it's a lot more. 70% of those interruptions have got nothing to do with work. So that might be a problem. Maybe that's the reason why there is so much workplace inefficiency. So interruptions are something we all deal with, and probably most of us are not really too fussed on them. Ironically, however, many of Christ's best and choicest teachings were given in response to some kind of interruption. And in other words, interruption never stole away from Christ's effectiveness as a teaching, But many times, interruption enhanced it. I want you to notice, then, the context here. Let's notice the teaching of the Savior, and notice the type of things He is addressing in Luke's Gospel 12. Speaking of interruptions, right? How appropriate. Luke's Gospel 12. Let's notice exactly what the Lord is saying here. I want you to pay attention to the gravity. Imagine you're sitting, listening to this type of dialogue, not just coming from any preacher, but coming from Christ Himself. In the meantime, when they were gathered together, an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trod one upon another, He began to say unto His disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. for there's nothing covered that shall not be revealed neither hid that shall not be known therefore whatsoever you have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light and that which you have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops now if you heard that coming from Christ himself just saying look Everything, one day, will be seen as it really is. What a devastating word to those who are practicing false religion, right? It was all external, but nothing internal. And Christ warns these people, be careful of that type of a religion, because there's nothing that right now is hidden that's not going to be uncovered. And that's a reminder for us all, all right? False religion is hypocrisy. And remember the one who's speaking now, the Bible says of him that all things are open and naked before him. And so here is the incarnate God who knows their thoughts and he's saying to him, look, I'm warning you, do not have a religion that is one thing in the heart and something outside. So that's a solid warning for us. Then he continues, verse four, and I say unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body. And after that have no more that they can do, but I will forewarn you whom you shall fear. Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say unto you, fear him. So you're sitting there, right? He's told you about hypocrisy, and now he's reminding these disciples of the reality that they may be killed for their faith. And he's warning them not to fear that type of person. This is a sobering language, and again, coming from the Lord himself. Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. Also I say unto you, whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess before the angels of God." This is a heavy sermon. Fearing God, warning of hypocrisy. Now, if you deny me, I will deny you. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him. But unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven. Now he's dealing with the unpardonable sin. And 11, and when they bring you unto the synagogues and unto the magistrates, And powers take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer or what ye shall say. I can imagine if I'm a disciple, I'm shaking right now. For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye shall say. So these are important themes. These are very sobering themes. Verse 13 is the interruption. Let's read verse 13. And one of the company said unto him, Master, Speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me Doesn't even match like which one of these doesn't belong hypocrisy The reality that I might lose my body but not lose my soul the unpardonable sin and Lord would you would you help this guy because? He's ripping me off in the family and inheritance so apparently this guy heard nothing of what went before and You know, in his mind, he is sitting under the ministry of the incarnate God, and the only thing he can think about is getting a fair share of the family estate. He's convinced that he's getting cheated, and it reminds me of how the Lord said in another place, how the carers of this world, what did they do? They choked the word, so this guy didn't hear a thing. You know, sometimes we think that if we listened to better preaching, we'd listen a lot more attentively than we do. Right? That's your excuse. You know, if he preached better, I would listen better. There's probably a lot of truth in that. But here's a man sitting under the ministry of the incarnate God, and his mind is on the family inheritance, that he is going to lose some portion of it. J.C. Ryle said, the ministers of Christ in the present day must never be surprised to see worldliness and inattention in the midst of his congregation. The servant must not expect his sermons to be more valued than his master's. How many find this sermon time a good opportunity for thinking about investments and business? Now, be honest. Be honest. Which of you has ever sat in a sermon and not thought about something that relates to your finances? Right? If you put your hand up, I'm going to call you a liar from the pulpit, because I know you have. We all have. Right? That's the limitation of flesh. That is the depravity of the human heart, that we're listening to things of eternal significance, and what we're thinking about Master, speak to my brother that he divide the inheritance with me." And so this man rudely interrupts the Lord with a question that's totally out of place. One minister said, what a gulf between the thoughts of Jesus and those of this unmannerly interrupter. Well, the Lord's response to this guy was intentionally abrupt and short. Look at verse 14. Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? It's not my business to settle controversies between you and your brother. Why? Because the kingdom of Christ was not about dealing with earthly things. It was dealing with spiritual things. And the Lord had not come to settle disputes between people, but he had come to settle a dispute between men and God. And so Jesus could have settled that dispute like that. And he could have given wisdom and skill but he refused to come to this man's aid. And you know that's an important thing even in that, because there's many people who want Jesus to solve their problems, but they do not want to change their hearts. And this guy could have, in an instant, had his problem solved by the Lord. But that wouldn't have been the real problem, because the Lord is going to uncover the real problem now is actually his heart. And Jesus knew that the family feud was only a symptom of a greater problem, And behind the family feud then was a deep-seated greet. You know, people sometimes get troubled by the fact that the Lord doesn't answer their prayers. Lord, help me with this problem. Solve this problem. And God doesn't solve the problem. Because the Lord is not about solving our symptoms. He is about solving the cause of the symptoms. So depravity manifests itself in many symptoms. And these are the symptoms that cause us a lot of frustration in life. And we're praying, Lord, deliver me from this problem. And the Lord says, look, that's not your real problem. Underneath it all, this is the problem. And so what a warning then the Lord gives as he begins to expose the real problem here in verse 15. And he said unto them, take heed. And the verb tense here is be guarding yourself. Beware of covetousness, every kind of greedy desire for more. For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesses. So here is a very strong warning against materialism. And the Lord saw fit to bring a warning against materialism in first century Palestine. Imagine if the Lord was present here today in 2016 in America. These words would seem to make even more sense because we are drowning in possessions. We're drowning in materialism. We bring stuff into our home and then six months later we're carrying it out of our home. We are drowning in stuff and we're not learning because we keep on accumulating more stuff and we're falling prey to the very thing Lord warns, be careful because your life is not just about the accumulation of stuff but we keep accumulating stuff. And so that's when he then follows up with a parable of this rich fool. And my theme this morning is, is your soul as full as your barn? We're gonna read about a farmer here who had a barn that was big, but it was not big enough to adequately house all his resources, so he had to build a bigger barn. And this looks to be like incredible success, but the Lord comes and he essentially, through the parable, presents this question to us. Is your soul as full as your barn? So I want you to answer that question this morning, is your soul as full as your barn? And that you might answer the question that I might consider it. We're going to look at four other questions regarding our attitude toward material possessions. Because as we answer these questions, I think what it's going to do is help us answer this question, is your soul as full as your barn? So what's your attitude toward material possessions? Question number one, do you see God or do you see yourself? in your material possessions. Do you see God or do you see yourself? Notice verse 16 as he tells the parable here. The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. So we'll just end right there. Here's a man who had a wonderful piece of property. It was very fertile, produced even beyond his expectations, as the word indicates, and so he's got way more than he needs. So what's wrong with this guy? Well, was it the problem that he was successful? I mean, are we just going to be hating people in this life because they are successful? Many people do hate successful people. Well, that's not the problem. The problem is not that he's successful. Nowhere in the Bible is success or riches condemned. God never rebuked Abraham. Abraham was probably the wealthiest man in that time. Solomon. Solomon was a very wise man, and God blessed him with material possessions in an incredible way. Job was a wealthy man. Joseph of Arimathea, the very one who gave the tomb wherein Christ was buried, was a wealthy man, and the Scripture pays attention to that fact, so success is not the problem. Maybe it was the way he got his success that he acquired it by dishonest means. I think if you look at the simple parable in the language here, it would seem that no, he gained what he had by honest labor. Notice the ground of a certain man, rich man brought forth plentifully. If you have any knowledge of farming, you know that there's a lot of hard work gone into this. At the ground, the ground indicates that it was an honest labor. And remember what Ecclesiastes 5 9 reads, moreover the prophet of the earth is for all the king himself is served by the field. So this man was served by the field. So what was wrong with this man? Wasn't that he was successful? Wasn't that he was ripping people off to get what he had? The problem was that in all that he had he didn't see the hand of God, he only saw himself. So let's read then in verse 17 through 19. about this man, and I want you to pay attention to the personal pronoun, I, because this guy had an I problem. And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do? because I have no room where to bestow my fruits. And he said, This will I do. I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there will I bestow my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. Do you think that the Lord just put all those personal pronouns in there by accident? No, there is clearly an emphasis here that this man, his life consisted of what he thought. He thinks within himself, right? That's where his business acumen comes from, his mind. And then he's got this plan as to what he would do and he's obviously consumed with his abilities. What I will do and what I will receive and what I, it's all about me. And so what this man had was great, but the problem is he didn't see God in it, he only saw himself. And the problem then is that the material blessings that we have in this life have come not from us, but they have come from the Lord. Genesis chapter 1 and 31 teaches us that God made all things, and that God made all things good, and he knows that we need things, he knows that we need certain possessions, and he provides for us all things richly to enjoy. The Bible says that God makes the sun to shine upon the good and the evil. Notice how he gives indiscriminately. The Bible says that the rain falls upon the just and the unjust. And so again, the fact that this farmer had a rich harvest doesn't mean that he had some unusual blessing of heaven, doesn't mean that he was actually a better man than the man who had very little. It just means that God was very kind and very gracious to him. And so let's remember then that in the eyes of God, wealth is no measure of worth. If the Lord gives to the wicked and to the righteous alike, then wealth is no measure of worth. Having a lot does not make a person worthy. Having little does not make a person unworthy. And don't you ever struggle with what seems to be unfair. Sometimes the nicest people that you meet in life actually have very little, and sometimes the people who've got the most are some of the most despicable people. That was what Asaph was wrestling with, and he describes it in Psalm 73, "'For I was envious at the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.' And so Moses reminded God's people in Deuteronomy, "'But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth.'" So the fruitfulness, one man said, of the earth is a great blessing. But it is a blessing which God often gives plentifully to the wicked men, to whom it becomes a snare. The prosperity that appears to be a blessing is often more like a curse. So there's lots of people in this world today, and they've got much, but they don't see God in it. The only thing they can see is how they've worked so hard, how they have labored so wisely, how they have saved so frugally, and today they have incredible blessing, but they don't see the hand of God and they forget God because of the pride of their heart. Well, do you remember the attitude then of a true believer in Peter? Remember when Peter caught that miraculous catch of fish? Look what I did. No. Depart from me. For I am a sinful man. Lord, I didn't deserve what you gave me. It's like Jacob. Jacob realized, Jacob knew that he was a scoundrel. Grace had taught him that If he had anything, it was God's mercy. And he says, I am not worthy of the least of thy mercies, and of all of the truth which thou hast showed unto thy servant. For with my staff I passed over this Jordan, and now I am become two bands. God had blessed Jacob so much that it was not what Jacob had done, but it was what God had done in spite of Jacob. You see, Jacob saw God. David was the same way. David was a wealthy man. Then went King David in and sat before the Lord, and he said, Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house that Thou hast brought me hitherto? He was absolutely humbled to the dust by the goodness of God. Lord, I don't even deserve this. So one man said the material blessings of life are either a mirror in which we see ourselves or a window through which we see God. So as you think of your material blessings, are they a mirror, are they a window? Do you see yourself, what you've done? Or do you see the hand of God in what you have? As you answer this question this morning, are your barns full or is your heart full? The question that needs to be asked before that is, in your material blessings, do you see God or do you see yourself? And for that matter, we ought to see the hand of God then in a piece of bread as much as in a field of grain. When's the last time you made your breakfast and you actually thanked God sincerely for the provision of that day? It's beyond us. Remember what Moses said when they were coming into the promised land that was going to be a very wealthy place? And he shall be that when the Lord thy God has brought you into the land which he swear unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you great and goodly cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, and wells that were digged, which thou diggest not, vineyards, and olive trees, which thou plantest not, when thou shalt have eaten, and be full, then beware, lest thou forget the Lord which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage." So the Israelites were given so much, but they lost sight of the hand of God in them, and now all of a sudden their barns are full, but their souls are empty. So let's step back and reflect, and when you look at the blessings of life, do you instinctively think of God or do you think of yourself? Is it an opportunity to inflate your ego? Or is it an opportunity to feel humbled by God that he's chosen you to receive such mercy? See, that's what it means to be rich toward God. Notice in verse 21, so is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. What does it mean to be rich toward God? Does it mean to have nothing? No, it means to see God through what you have. It means the material blessings of life enrich us spiritually instead of robbing us spiritually. When you see God in them, what you have can enrich you. When you fail to see God, the things then rob you. And so we can enjoy great material blessings even more because those are the things that God uses to bring us to Him. So is your soul as full as your barn? I'm not sure. Well, here's the first question then. Do you see God or do you see yourself in terms of material possessions? Question number two. Do you think, and we're talking about your material possessions, do you think of enjoyment or investment? Do you think of enjoyment or investment? The self-centered person immediately thinks of enjoyment when he's blessed with material things. Notice in verse 19, And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease. Eat, drink, and be merry." So on the mind of this man here, enjoyment's number one. Sit back, take it easy. You've worked hard, now just relax and enjoy the fruit of your labor. The spiritually minded man, he does not think of enjoyment merely. But he thinks of investment, how can I use what I have been given to help other people and to glorify God? Now let me just say there's nothing wrong with enjoyment. Like Christ says in many places, enjoyment is a God-given gift. Paul said to Timothy, charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. The Lord hasn't given you what He's given you for you to go through life not enjoying them. I've often said, the Lord has given you 10,000 taste buds on your tongue, not for you to just eat plain fare and never appreciate anything that tastes better than cardboard. No, He's given you taste buds to appreciate. He's given you eyes to see, ears to hear, hands to touch, and a tongue to taste. He's given us things to enjoy. Why? So that through the enjoyment of these things, they become a window to see the hand that has provided them. but selfish enjoyment. That's the type of enjoyment that ignores God, that ignores other people. That becomes a great test of spiritual maturity. And so imagine tomorrow you go into the office and you're told that there's a bonus coming that you had no idea about. Where does your mind instinctively go? Right? I don't need to tell you because I know in my mind where it's going to go. Where's it going to go? Is it going to go towards you or Is there something that's going to enrich the life of maybe your spouse or your children or somebody you know who's in need? It's a test of spiritual maturity as to where the things we're given go to. Jesus made it clear that an abundance of things is no guarantee of true life. Now, things are necessary. We need things. The Lord makes reference to that. But things cannot satisfy a deeper spiritual life within. And one man said this, he said, there's a vast difference between making a living and making a life. And so many people are making a living, but not so many people making a life. So what's your attitude toward, then, material possessions? Do you think of enjoyment or investment? Through this parable, the Lord's teaching a couple things. One, things of themselves cannot give depth to our lives. The more you have doesn't deepen who you are as a person. No, the opposite is actually often true, that some of those who are living for stuff are very shallow people. They don't see beyond the things that are right lying on the surface. So things don't give depth to life. Things do not give length to life. You might be able to afford a better health plan, and you might be able to get better health attention when you need it, but you know that you can die with a gold plan, and you can live with no health insurance at all. The possession of material things cannot add to the depth of our lives, doesn't add to the length of our lives, doesn't add to the breadth of our lives. Imagine being able to put your life into a barn because that's what this man's doing. His entire life is in one barn. And that doesn't seem to be a very enriched life. The Bible teaches that The experience of many people through the ages has been that people who lust for these types of things actually don't become greater in life, but they become smaller. I've seen this many times on vacation. I've been blessed with an opportunity to go to a very wealthy place and enjoy a couple of weeks of vacation every year. And on one end of the island, there's homes $20 million. And my wife and I have many times walked past there and taken a look at them and thought, and you know, there's never anybody outside them, ever. You never see people. But then you go to the public access part of the beach, and here's this little guy, he's got a little tent, he's got a little cooler, and he's having a ball. His kids are there, his wife's there, they're in and out, they're intermingling with one another and having a lot of fun. That may just be a very superficial observation, but it appears to me, and many times in life, that sometimes people who have very little actually live much happier than those who have so much. I wonder if you could go into the homes and find out, yeah, that guy, he's got a 20 million dollar home, but what did it cost him to get it? Right? What did he lose on the way on the climb on that social ladder? So things don't give depth to life, they don't give length to life, they don't give breadth to life. And verse 25 here says they don't give height to life. Notice verse 25 talks about our stature or our reputation, and which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cupid. So when people are esteemed, Now, where does character come from? Does character come from what you have? And the Lord says, no, character doesn't come from what you have. Character comes from the sacrifice and decision to do the will of God. Abraham was a very wealthy man, but he walked with God and lived a life of faith. So when you get to Hebrews chapter 11, it wasn't that Abraham had this, this, this, and this. No, Abraham had faith. That's what brought dignity to his life. And we read of Lot. Lot also had a lot of things. lost many things in his pursuit to find what he had. And so consider then what this man might have done had he been a man of dedication and faith because we read about him here and he has so much that he's got to tear down the barns he has and rebuild new ones so that he can just stockpile. Now imagine how the story might have gone if he had been a man of dedication and a man of faith. We must think of life in terms of investment. In your bulletin this morning, you'll see an update from Praveel down in Haiti. I put his updates in the bulletin as is. The spell check on my computer goes crazy, but that's okay. He speaks in a second language better than some of us speak in our own language. But I think it's just, this is who he is, this is how he speaks, this is how he's communicating to his needs. So he's talking about finishing the work there, and he's, you know, $40,000 or $50,000 probably would accomplish what, put another couple of zeros on the end of it, that's what it would be for us to do. So $40,000 or $50,000 to finish a church in the middle of a slum, to accomplish an eternally significant work. It's really not a lot of money. Can you imagine if The people of God all had the dedication and faith to do what they could do with what God has blessed them with. Church history is filled with people who have been blessed. but they use the blessing of God to enhance. You go to the schools of America, the different educational institutes, the hospitals of America, and you realize way beyond any type of philanthropy, there are people who have had a dedication and a vision toward God and have given of what they've been given so that the Lord could enhance and bless the lives of other people and ultimately bring to the glory of God or to God's name great glory. Jim Elliott's little famous line can't be repeated enough, he is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose. So has God blessed you? Has He blessed you and here you are stockpiling? May the Lord give us the ability to see as we try to answer this question, is your soul as full as your barn? Do you think of enjoyment or do you think of investment? Eternal investment. Question three. In terms of material possessions, do you experience anxiety or peace? People have a strange notion that things can give them peace when, in reality, things can actually create worry. I know some of you who have, you know, enhanced your portfolio with certain things and wish right now you'd get rid of some of these things because there's actually sometimes more peace when you have less. But maybe the reason why this man here ignorantly interrupts the Savior and says, look, would you help me with my inheritance? It's because he thinks that if he can just get a hold of what's his, he's going to have some type of greater security. We're not going to get into all the details of what follows here, but notice how right after the parable, the Lord follows it up with a sermon on worry. I don't think there is any coincidence. The poor think the rich never worry. That's how really they think. Go talk to a rich person. They've got worries on top of worries on top of worries. Worries you couldn't even conceive exist because their portfolio is large. And whether rich or poor, then I think if we find ourselves worrying, it's a sign that we have a wrong attitude toward our things. And so I want you to consider here very briefly what Jesus taught about worry. Notice in verse 23, he tells us that it is unreasonable The life is more than meat and the body is more than raiment or clothing. So what is it that fascinates Americans in their life? It's what they wear, what they eat. And what's the Lord saying? Look, your life is much more than these things. When you think of the fashion industry in America, it dominates the lives of so many people. We're all so worried about these things. We're worried that we look good in this, we look bad in this, we look skinny in this, we look fat in this, we look short in this, we look tall, and we're worried. And we're worried if we eat this, and if we don't eat that, and we can get into healthy lifestyles that are good, but healthy living can be as addictive as poor living. And we can make a god out of the things that we wear, And we can make a god out of the things that we eat or the things that we don't eat. And what's the Lord saying? Your life is so much more. I wonder if you've fallen into the trap where your life is dominated by things that are external. What you wear, what you eat, what you don't eat. This type of worry, Christ says, is unreasonable because there's so much more to life. He goes on to say that worrying over material things is unnatural. Look at verse 24. Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which neither have storehouse nor barn, and God feedeth them. How much more are ye better than the fowls? Verse 27. Consider the lilies, how they grow, they toil not, they spin not, yet I say unto you that Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Creation speaks day after day, night after night, what lessons there is in God's creation. The birds, the animals of the field, they don't think, they don't worry. And yet we actually, in the fashion industry, we look at God's creation and try to emulate the colors and the textures But they're not worried about any of that. Yet they look better than all of us. Because instinctively they do what God has told them to do in their mind, not that they think the way we think, but an instinct. And how do they know where to go to get food? How is it that when you sit on the beach and you watch some birds have beaks this long, some this long, some this long, they just know that at 3.1 inches I'm gonna find this to eat. They don't sit and study it because God has instinctively put it in them and from the beginnings of their days they just know where to go to do what they do. Why? They illustrate to us every day that there's a confidence in the Creator. What does it say about the depravity of our hearts? We can't have confidence in the Creator. They don't have the ability to think. We have the ability to think, and we are more poor off than they because we live in an unnatural way. Sin has made us unnatural. Natural is depending upon the Creator. Unnatural is trying to figure this out on our own. Christ goes on to say that worrying over material things is unavailing. Look at 25 and 26. And which of you, with taking thought, can add to his stature one cupid, or 18 inches? And if ye then be not able to do that thing, which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Worrying doesn't do anything. It's like a rocking chair. It creates a lot of energy, but you don't go anywhere, and so what's the point? Have you ever worried something into success? So the Lord is drawing attention, material things create worry. Not only are they unavailing, but they're unnecessary. Look at verse 28. If then God so clothed the grass which is today in the field And tomorrow is cast into the oven. How much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? And so here is the grass, how insignificant. It rises up one day, it's gone the next. And the comparison is, look, if I care for something that is so insignificant, will I not care for you? So is your soul as full as your barn? You experience anxiety or peace with regard to what you have or what you don't have? This worry is unreasonable. It's unnatural. It's unavailing. It's unnecessary. And notice in verse 29-30, it's unscriptural. And seek not ye what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of a doubtful mind, for all these things do the nations of the world seek after. And your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. So now he draws attention between the rest of the world and the believer. Every nation in the world is looking after these things. But what is the difference? The difference is the relationship we have to God. He's our Father. He cares for us as His children. Do you have a desire to help your children? Do you have a desire to bless them? Don't you have a desire to give them every conceivable step up in life? You will go to the ends of your world to provide for them. And where did this instinct come from, if I can call it that? Where did this loving desire come from? Well, it comes from the Lord, and so what is the cure to worry? Look at 31, but rather seek ye the kingdom of God, And all these things shall be added unto you. What's the cure? Stop living for things and start living for God. You know, this is a simple parable, but it's a parable, the truth of which we lose sight of all the time. Stop living for things. Start living for the Lord. Nothing simplifies life like putting God first and letting the priorities fall into place. Life is so complex. It's so difficult. I got so many things to do. Stop living for things and start living for God. It will simplify. Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all of these things. And so it is the abundance or lack of things that robs us of our peace. We either have too much or we have too little. But if we stop living for things and start living for God, we're going to find peace and not the anxiety that so many people struggle with. Let's come to the fourth question, then, helping us to understand. The bigger question is your soul as full as your barn. Do you think of security or insecurity? A worldly-minded person looks at material things and immediately thinks of security, right? I've worked hard, and now I have enough to pay my bills, and I can enjoy life. That's what this man in the parable is thinking. He's done his work. He's thought ahead, I need X amount of dollars to retire comfortably, and so he's going to rest. But there's no security in things. In fact, things are deceptive because they appear to be satisfying and lasting when actually they're temporary and unable to satisfy the deepest needs of life. I want you to notice that this farmer, he is basking in false success. So as you read about him here, 17, and he thinks within himself, what shall I do? Because I have no room to bestow my fruits, this will I do. I will pull down my barns and I'll build greater. Did you see such-and-such? See them down the street? They're building a new home. They're building a new this here. We take notice of this. And I will say to my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat and drink. And Mary, there he is. He's in the Gulf of Mexico, and he's sitting on that fishing boat that you want and you don't have. He's got it. And he's got rods off the back, and he's just taking it easy. And there's the American dream. Here's what we're working towards. This is what we want. Or maybe it's a cabin in the woods, whatever it looks like to you. This is success. The apostles and Christ would never have been in Forbes magazine. They wouldn't even have made the advertisements. No, because that's not success. This is success. But it's false success because the Lord says, this guy's a total fool. Right? In common language, he's an idiot. He's an idiot because he's focused upon something that can be taken from him like that. Are you successful in the eyes of the world and a fool in the eyes of God? That's the reality. He's basking not only false success, but false satisfaction. Notice how he defines retirement. Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. Do you know eating and drinking and being merry is actually a very rewarding thing when you've worked really hard? But when your life is defined by eating, drinking, and being merry, you're going to find what Solomon found. Solomon didn't have financial constraints that allowed him to work all week and then to eat, drink, and be merry like people do. No, Solomon said, I'm going to eat, drink, and marry Monday through, following Monday through the following. That's what I'm going to do. It's going to define my existence, eating, and drinking, and being merry. That's my life. And you know, sometimes we think that if I could just get to that, it would be wonderful. Do you know how many times people get to even retirement and they hate it when they get there? Because God has designed us in rhythms, and he's designed us to work and then to rest, and even after we've worked hard, and I'm not undermining retirement anymore, I think Freedom 45 is a wonderful thing. Everybody should retire at 45, right? The point is, is that when our lives are defined, By thinking these things are gonna bring us satisfaction, we're gonna end up the same place Solomon ended. So he had an unlimited budget to give himself to unlimited things and he ended up saying, I hate it at all. It's vanity, it's vexation of heart, because there's no satisfaction. There's no satisfaction. Again, the vacation that we've gone to, we've interacted with some of the locals there and we've seen it. Because they're there, that's what they do, this is what they do day in, day out, and they're not happy people, they're miserable people. It's a false success, false satisfaction, and then false security. Notice what he says in verse 19, And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years. So I want you to notice that many years. And then verse 20, But God said to him, Thou fool this night. So contrast many years with this night. Alexander McLaren said, the divine decree comes, crashing into the abode of human plans like a thunderclap into a forest of singing birds. And they're all stricken silent. Death will come to the ungodly suddenly, unexpectedly, and awfully. Many years. I know of one man who was a good man, a faithful man, and had made good and wise preparation, which is a good thing and a healthy thing and a biblical thing. But the Monday after he retired, the Monday after he retired at a lakeside cottage, beautiful place, the Monday after he retired, he enjoyed three hours of his retirement, and then he dropped dead of a massive heart attack right in the lazy boy reclining chair that he had provided beside the lake. It was a tragic story. So we think of many years, that's how we think. Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. You know not what shall be the morrow, for what is your life? It's as a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanishes away. And so, can you imagine attending the funeral of this rich fool, and people know that he was a man of exceeding wealth, and so, you know, one guy asks, well, how much did he leave behind? Somebody else says, well, everything. Because that's what we all leave behind and now his family are gonna be struggling over his inheritance And you see how the Lord has come full circle in his teaching because he's interrupted by this ignorant man Who's not listen to a word? He's saying but a saying look Would you help me to divide my inheritance and the Lord takes this opportunity and he uses it to benefit us and he tells of a greed and he comes full circle back around to this man now who's gained everything and he's left and his family are fighting over what he's got. Well, it sounds so pessimistic, right? The Lord is not a pessimist. The Lord is a realist. He presents things as they really are. And the Lord wants you to know that the only security, the only real security you have is by doing the will of God. That's the only security you have. What's the will of God? The will of God, reduced, is repent of your sin and trust in Jesus Christ. That's the will of God. He commands it. Have you repented of your sin? Have you realized that you are the center of your life and not God? Then you need to repent. He's calling you today to repent. Lord, I'm sorry that I've been so delusional, thinking that I'm the center. And then trust in Christ. Why trust in Christ? Because He's come to Die for your sin, right? The sin that you're guilty of, He has assumed that guilt and that debt and will die in the place of those who trust Him, so that you can realign your life, seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, so that in due time all things will be added unto you. I don't want you to get me wrong at all. There's nothing wrong with providing for the future Paul said to the Corinthians that children ought not to lay up for their parents, but parents for the children. That's a biblical concept. Joseph, he didn't lay up for the future. He would have been guilty of impoverishing a nation. There's nothing wrong with laying up in the future, but there's a difference between preparing for tomorrow and presuming upon tomorrow. And there's nothing wrong with enjoying what you have, but there's a difference between delighting in what you have and depending on what you have. And so as we think then of this man, notice that success is not found in material things, but success is found in spiritual things. What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and he loses his soul? He's a failure. Success then is not in material things, it's in eternal things. What about satisfaction? It's not in material things, it's in spiritual things. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good. There is no want or there is no lack in them who trust in Him, right? Have you lost sight of that? You're trying to find satisfaction in material things. It's not gonna come. You're just gonna keep learning the same lesson over and over again and maybe not learning it at all. And security is not found in material things. This is a battle over an inheritance that one day will be divided, will be separated. The Bible talks about salvation as an internal or eternal inheritance, something that cannot be taken away, one that never fades. So is your soul as full as your barn? Think of your barn. Think of all that you have. Think of all that you're aspiring toward. Think of your financial portfolio. Think of your barn. And then think of your soul. And is your soul as full as your barn. How do I know? Do you see God or do you see yourself and what you have? Do you think of enjoyment or do you think of investment? Do you experience anxiety or do you experience peace? Do you think of security or do you think of insecurity? Maybe when you answer those four questions, you realize that your soul is not as full as you want to believe it is. God blessed you with a full barn. It's nothing to despise. I'm not asking you, inviting you toward Christian communism where you empty out your barn. But are you glorifying God and what he's blessed you with? Is what he's given you has become Is it a mirror that you just see yourself or is it a window through which you see Him? These are searching things to take home tonight or this morning. Think about them through the day. May the Lord give us whatever kind of barn He blesses us with, big barns, little barns. We can all have big souls, fat souls, liberal souls, flourishing souls. May the Lord make us spiritually healthy and may we be thankful for whatever amount of temporal blessings he has blessed us with along the way. Let's pray. Father, thank you for your love and kindness, for your mercy and for your patience. Thank you for the simplicity of your teaching. Thank you, Lord, that you didn't just dismiss the rude interruption. but you capitalized on that moment to give a warning to your disciples and by extension to us of something that we struggle with every day. Especially in this age, Lord, we can be so materialistic, it can consume us, and we go through life not a lot different than the ungodly, where we're on a pursuit to find stuff to bring to us what we know it will never bring. Thank you for the grace that has taught us that to be rich in this world and not rich toward God is foolishness. But Lord, we lapse back into that foolishness more often than we want to admit, so we ask for your forgiveness. And we pray for grace to seek first the kingdom of God, to put things in order in our homes and in our hearts. Thank you for every reminder. Thank you for every disappointment, because it brings us back again to reevaluate. So we pray for grace to reevaluate even now our lives. Help us, Lord, to give as you have prospered us. And use us, we pray, for we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.