Introduction
Let me begin with a discipleship question: how will you follow Jesus in prayer and dependence on God this week?
Main Points
In this lesson shaped by Calvary Boise's teaching on PARABLES OF JESUS: The Rich Fool, Christ invites us to receive truth with humility, practice repentance, and walk in faithful obedience.
Identity in Christ
This week we're gonna be talking about a parable called the rich fool and the importance of understanding what our treasure is how we. Use our money what that tells us about us and many times we come to this parable it's like well that's probably not me.
- Not so fast this is a parable I think is completely universal and it might be the most impactful parable for living out a.
- Peaceful and joyful life so we're in Luke chapter 12 we're gonna start right in the first quarter of the book verse 13 and.
- Like many of the parables of Jesus is teaching a big crowd a big multitude of people in this context it says in the.
- Beginning of the chapter that an entire multitude is kind of pushing in and actually trampling one another they want to hear the words.
Hear the teaching of Jesus when you hear Jesus you realize that he drew people to himself the things that he says are impactful. To life they give you direction for your life and everywhere he went he crowds drew to him and oftentimes in the middle of.
Faith and Obedience
Provision and family members or relationships and oftentimes we come to Jesus or we come to a spiritual need and we look for answers. That are beyond ourselves for the minut details of our lives and what we have to learn about Jesus as it principle for following.
- Him and even seeking him is that he is oftentimes dismissing the details of the case to get to the symptoms and that's exactly.
- What he'll do here what this man needs is not a judge to divide the herand the inheritance rightly what he needs is to.
- Shift his perspective as to why this is a problem in his life in the first place and that's the answer that Jesus will.
- Start with I'm not your judge but I'll tell you this verse 15 says take heed and beware of covetousness for one's life does.
Not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses pay very intent close attention to this verse because it's going to be one. Of the themes of why Jesus now begins to tell this parable of the rich fool your life is not made up of what.
Life in the Church
Us against that and here's the warning that comes just when that man settles in to enjoy all the fruit of his labor his. Hard work and his diligent planning there is something that is so far beyond his control that we all need to be reminded of. The plan is about to fail the plan to enjoy the possessions of his life the plan to enjoy a life that is abundant. Because of possessions has one small problem that the one thing he doesn't possess is the rights to his own life and here's the. Warning on that day God said to him fool this night your soul will be required of you then whose will those things be. Which you have provided the parables of Jesus are really tricky to study and here's why there are concepts that are given to us. In the parables of Jesus that are so important and they come in such a warm delivery by Jesus it's a certain rich man. And the rich man consider the illustration he's got crops a friendly farmer almost and now he's building things that this story could fit. So beautifully on a felt board that children could see it and it comes so gently to you but every parable comes with such. A serious warning on your life and it's this there is a possibility that some of us are living our lives so the day. That we meet our Creator face to face and instead of hearing well done enter into eternity you may hear you fool what were. You living for that's something that should be a weight on every one of our hearts this morning to say is my life of. Any value what is the direction of my life pointing me to there's this warning of scripture that says you may meet God and. He looks at the inventory of your life and he says foolish person you've wasted your life because it wasn't what you possessed it. Was something much more than that and that's what we're gonna stress this morning this parable comes with almost in a direct teaching right. After he's gonna tell us exactly what he said the warning is verse 21 this rich man anybody can relate to him in verse. 21 it says so is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God when you lay up the treasures. Of your life for yourself the riches of this world there is.
Family Discipleship
A warning that it is foolishness and now the rest of the teaching of Jesus and this section of Scripture will be a contrast. He's gonna say this is how you live so that you don't end in foolishness and failure and will pick up the beginning as. He closes this in verse 31 this is the contrast now Jesus says Kingdom people listen up you want to know how my kingdom. Works in contrast to a rich fool seek the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added to you do not fear. Little flock for it is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom sell what you have and give alms or charity to. The poor provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old treasure in heaven that does not fail where no thief approaches nor moth. Destroys here's something so important for where your treasure is there your heart will be also we believe in a God that searches the. Heart we believe in a God that looks into the depths of the reality of who you are in your inward person and how. Is that revealed where your treasure is that's where your heart is you find your treasure and you find who you really are you. Find what you are really living for put it this way your heart if you think about that expression of your heart not the. Anatomy of the heart but that artistic view of the heart the heart is what you care about more than anything else what. Is your heart given towards when you fall in love it's like you're giving someone your heart what do you care about that's your. Heart and revealed by your treasure and second your heart is what you do about us why you say it's like heart and soul. Like it's my life work I'll give it my heart your heart is the aim of your life and your heart is the action. Of your life you want to know what motivates you want to know what you're passionate about find your treasure and you've just found. Your heart and that's what Jesus is trying to teach this man who's so concerned with the finances that it's dividing his family so. The question of the hour is what is your treasure tell you about yourself so you want to find out what your treasure is. You want to find out what your cares.
Faith and Obedience
Of this world are do you want to find out what you're doing with your life and the motivation behind it find the treasure. And you've located that now how do you do that it's real simple follow the money that's what Jesus is giving this story about. Riches your money tells you a lot about yourself and Jesus teaches a lot about money he uses it as a tool to help. People understand the depths of his kingdom if I talk about money as much as Jesus did you probably wouldn't be interested in listening. To me almost all the parables that we've studied has a turning point the parable where money comes into the situation and people react. Think about the prodigal son most famous parable there is what happens a son comes to his father says give me my inheritance I. Want my money and this what I'm gonna do with my money think about the parable the unmerciful servant what happens a man is. Owed a great debt and he goes out he shows no mercy on the man who owes it to him money reveals something there. And the same is true as that of this there is a man who's listening to the teachers of Jesus but all he's thinking. About is his inheritance and this rich fool what's he doing with his life he's spending his money to get where he wants to. Go so you want to know what your treasure is let's just do a little exercise here follow the money follow the way. That you spend your money if someone looked at the 30-day use of your expenses or expense chart and they saw all the ways. That you use your disposable income your baseline is paid for and if I saw that and just looked at what it represented about. Your life I could give you a pretty good idea of what you love I could give you a pretty good idea of what. Your treasure in fact I can do that even in the survey of my own household receipts if I looked at the spending habits. Of my wife and just added up her receipts and look for a theme I actually do find things that she loves in fact. Maybe the number-one thing she loves which is true based off the way she spends her money and the way that she lives her. Life is coffee if you look at her receipts she's.
Faith and Obedience
Always figuring out a way to get her next cup of coffee she loves it and because she loves it she spends her money. You want to know if she likes follow the money now the good news is I've really processed this I believe that she loves. Coffee because we have three kids ages four and under and that's her way of loving them if you know what I mean that's. A that's a job so she's basically getting geared up for life guard on duty and coffee really helps with that so that takes. Me down another rabbit trail so but I'm seeing what she loves here's another story for you this week I was talking to my. Parents I went and visited in my childhood home and spent some time just visiting with them I said how are you doing this. It's been an interesting week why we got home we out running errands we get home and there's a there's a there's three or. Four packages from Amazon on our steps and so we brought it inside we thought we'd look into it later but before we could. The next day same thing happens we get home three or four packages from Amazon happens a third day in a row and finally. They look into it they open it up and the boxes are filled with Legos so what's going on well you do some reverse. Engineering and they figured out based off the date that this order was placed and the order itself that during a party that they. Were hosting one of the grandchildren had found an iPad that was logged into Amazon and you give a child an iPad that is. Logged into Amazon with a credit card attached to it and you're gonna find out what that child loves real quick it'll show up. On your doorstep to the tune of eight hundred dollars the grandchild remains nameless because that's I think it's a really amazing kind of. Testament to his love of Legos but they're now going through the steps of returning all those boxes so please do pray for my. Family that's uh and that's what we see here he's got his money and he's investing it for a certain cause what's the cause. It says once all this building project is complete in verse nineteen I'm gonna say to my soul you have many goods laid up. For many years there's another quantity here many go there's.
Faith and Obedience
Your money many years that's your time you wanna know what else you're invested in you want to us you love you follow the. Money and you follow the time the way you spend your time the expose abou income of your time will tell me what you. Love so you give me a pie chart the breakdown of your or your time the stuff that available to you after you've worked. Hard you've slept you're eight hours and you're taking care of feeding yourself you show me your pie chart and I'll show you what. You love and this is exactly what we see in our culture we see a culture that if you really wanted to know what. We love if you want an exercise in this a dangerous exercise this is actually very trackable nowadays because we all have smartphones that. Play as little analytical devices and every one of you could go home tonight download an app that tracks the time of your phone. At the end of the week it would give you a pie chart for what you're doing on your phone and if you're like. The average American you'd log about three and a half hours on your phone so what does this tell us it tells me two. Things one just like this rich fool the reason we value time is for leisure and me time if the rich fool has some. Time to invest many years what's he gonna do with it ease that's pleasure eats just relaxing drink and merriment basically he's gonna carve. Out some of that time for himself and we can see that in the way that we use our time we want to get. Alone to our quiet place to do nothing but just ease and entertainment that's one thing that it tells me the second thing that. It tells me and this is this is something that we should think through about three-and-a-half hours a day on a phone it tells. Me that people are searching for their cause they're searching for their aim they're searching for what all of this is getting at is. That there's something that you should be treasuring and some of us just don't know what it is because most people don't dedicate three. And a half hours on their phone of leisure time to one specific Kindle book specifically what's happening is a lot of different things. Coming in all at once you're looking at the newsfeed.
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.
Conclusion
We return to the opening teaching: discipleship is not just information, it is transformation through faith and obedience to Jesus. If we receive His Word and walk it out, He will shape us into people who endure and bear fruit.
Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me hear Your Word, obey it with faith, and grow as Your disciple. Amen.