Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
The Danger of Materialism (Luke 12:13-21)
11 Plays16 hours ago
Sunday Message recorded 15 March 2026
by Senior Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church - Columbus, TX, USA
1700 Milam St.
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
Recommended
Transcript
Dangers of Hypocrisy and Materialism
00:00:07
Speaker
Well, good morning. It's good to see you.
00:00:11
Speaker
If you would, turn with me to the Gospel of Luke, chapter 12. We're going to look at verses 13 through 21. Luke, chapter 12, verses 13 through 21.
00:00:23
Speaker
It's almost like over this chapter, you could put a sign up. And the sign would say, Beware Danger Ahead. We saw last time we were here, at Luke 12, verses 1 through 12,
00:00:36
Speaker
One danger is that we would be hypocritical in our walk with the Lord, not being truly who we are. And so that's one danger. But today we're going to see another danger that could invade a Christian's life, and that is the danger of
Upcoming Events and Sermon Themes
00:00:53
Speaker
materialism.
00:00:53
Speaker
We'll talk more about that as we go along. But there are other caution lights ahead. One of them, or the next one after this one, will be worry. So if you ever struggle with anxiety or worry, then maybe make sure that you're here. We will have the Bible conference, as Josh said, next Sunday.
00:01:12
Speaker
And then after that is Palm Sunday and then Easter Sunday. So on the other side of the resurrection, we're going to look at this and talk about the worry the danger of worry, then the danger of carelessness, and then the danger of dullness.
00:01:30
Speaker
So anyway, quite a few different things.
Metaphor of Electricity and Materialism
00:01:32
Speaker
But you ever like caution in your children about danger? You know, when our girls were little, we taught them not to play with an electric outlet, not to touch a hot stove, not to run into the street.
00:01:48
Speaker
We knew that true love warns of possible danger. When I was growing up, my parents taught me not to play with electric outlets, and I didn't listen. Here's what happened. No, I'm kidding. That's not me.
00:02:01
Speaker
But electricity, you know, it can be a good thing, right? Doesn't electricity power up our cell phones? They charge them back up. It turns on our lights.
00:02:13
Speaker
maintains cool temperature for a refrigerator, cool temperature for a room. It helps us to watch a show on television. But you know, electricity, as helpful as it is, as it can be harmful.
00:02:26
Speaker
It can be harmful, even fatal, if used in unsafe ways. That's when we have to learn to respect it and say, wait a minute, okay, I'm gonna make sure I don't get this out of balance.
00:02:40
Speaker
You see, material goods and money Those are fine if kept in proper balance with character, with the Lord, with relationships like family. But materialism, if allowed to become off balance in a life, what it can do is it can begin to define your identity.
00:03:04
Speaker
You define your identity by your income. Priorities in life can be attached to possessions. Like you're a nobody until you get this possession. It can also take the place of people.
Materialism's Impact on Anxiety and Debt
00:03:18
Speaker
Dave Ramsey Solutions said in early 2025 that the average American household is carrying a debt of $105,000. I wonder if we're living beyond our means.
00:03:32
Speaker
You know the credit card debt alone $7,000 per person on average. Student loan debts, 38,000. Half of the United States adults worry daily about finances, according to what his organization discovered. And also, one in three Americans say that in the last three months, they have worried and lost sleep at night because of finances.
00:04:00
Speaker
It's a big deal. But you see, here's what Jesus does.
Biblical Figures: Choices Between Materialism and Faith
00:04:04
Speaker
Jesus tells us the truth about materialism. And you know what he does? He calls us to something better, to something higher than just mere money and possessions and so forth. He knows what's ahead.
00:04:19
Speaker
So that's why in the scriptures, you'll find four case studies. Some of them, they got it right. Others, they didn't get it right. And I want you to get it right. And that's why we're going to look at a few brief verses in Luke 12, 13 to 21.
00:04:35
Speaker
But if you were to go to Luke chapter five, perhaps you remember when we went through this, but in Luke 5, 27 to 32, a man named Levi, he chose Jesus over a career in coins. He was a tax collector.
00:04:50
Speaker
In Luke 18, we'll see later that there was a rich young ruler who chose materialism over the master. Jesus invited him, come follow me. But in order to follow him, he was going to have to give up what he had. And he just simply couldn't do it because he was possessed by his possessions. They were in charge of his life.
00:05:11
Speaker
Are your possessions in charge of your life? If you were to go to Luke 19 verses 1 through 10, you would see a man named Zacchaeus. He embraced salvation and what it caused him to do was to share his silver with other people.
00:05:28
Speaker
In Luke 22, 47 to 53, perhaps the most tragic biblical case study of all, a man named Judas. See, Judas betrayed Jesus for a bag of money.
00:05:41
Speaker
I wonder if we ever betrayed Jesus. It's like we don't talk to him. We don't make time for him. He's not the center of our conversation. He's not the center of our life. And so there's something better, something higher that God's calling us to.
00:05:56
Speaker
So would you stand in honor of God's word and let me read through Luke 12, verses
Parable of Wealth and Spiritual Richness
00:06:02
Speaker
13 to 21. I hope you'll follow along. You can follow on the screen. There's a Bible in the pew. You can use your own Bible. I'm reading from the ESV translation.
00:06:12
Speaker
It may be a little bit different but just hang in there. We're going to begin in Luke 12, verse 13. Someone in the crowd said to him, this is to Jesus, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.
00:06:31
Speaker
But he said to him, man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you? And he said to them, take care and be on guard against all covetousness for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
00:06:51
Speaker
And he told them a parable saying the land of a rich man produced plentifully. And he thought to himself, what shall I do for? i have nowhere to store my crops.
00:07:05
Speaker
And he said, i will do this. I will tear down my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods.
00:07:19
Speaker
And I will say to my soul, soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, fool, this night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?
00:07:39
Speaker
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. That's all we're going to look at today. Let's go to
Dangers of Divisiveness and Covetousness
00:07:47
Speaker
the Father in prayer. Lord, speak to us.
00:07:49
Speaker
Because I feel like that our culture, it's trying to shape who we are. And you want to be a part of shaping who we are. You've got a nobler path for us.
00:08:01
Speaker
There's something you have for us that goes beyond all of our possessions and our incomes and and our saving accounts, and all of those kind of things. So Lord, speak to us from this passage.
00:08:13
Speaker
I want to step out of the way and allow your word to just speak, because it is so living. It can connect with anybody, anywhere. So bless us in this time. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
00:08:27
Speaker
Thank may be seated. You they say that an average runner can finish a 26.2 mile marathon in probably five hours or less.
00:08:38
Speaker
They might still be waiting on me if I was to try 26.2 miles. But what if there were obstacles in the way? What if they had to jump continually? They had to dodge continually. All these different things.
00:08:52
Speaker
You know, real life... presents challenges and obstacles that we each must face. But if we say, you know who I'm going to run for?
00:09:03
Speaker
I'm going to run for team materialism. That's whose team I'm going to run for because I believe it's worthy of my best. Then here's what I want to prepare you for. There's going to be some obstacles out there.
00:09:15
Speaker
So I want us to look at this passage at five dangers that are going to be in your path if you embrace materialism like so many around us do.
00:09:27
Speaker
The first danger that we see is found in verses 13 and 14. Divisiveness.
Family Discord and Inheritance Issues
00:09:32
Speaker
You know, our text opens with two brothers and one of them is upset because of the way the father's inheritance was being divided.
00:09:44
Speaker
You know, materialism can actually cause conflict, can it? Have you ever seen it cause conflict? It can generate friction in our relationships. But it can also cause someone to be so insensitive that they interrupt.
00:09:58
Speaker
For example, in verses 11 and 12, what had Jesus been saying to the crowd that day? He was trying to say, you know what? Even if you are persecuted for your faith, you know, he was saying the Holy Spirit will give you what you need to say when you need to say it That's what Jesus was talking about. And right in the middle of that...
00:10:19
Speaker
Some dude just interrupts him and says, teacher, tell my brother to defy the inheritance with me. And I wonder if he was like, excuse me? you know Thankfully he didn't say that, but I mean, he probably thought that.
00:10:32
Speaker
But what's really amazing is if you look at this in the original Greek language that the that the New Testament was written in, this word tell, it's in the imperative.
00:10:44
Speaker
In other words, he's commanding Jesus. I mean, this is the son of God. He's commanding Jesus. Tell my brother, you know, it's like an immediate, he's requiring immediate action. So this is not a request.
00:11:00
Speaker
This is a command. He's commanding the Lord. And so just think about that. But think about how there's an inversion that happens. Something gets upside down in our lives.
00:11:12
Speaker
Whenever we begin to say, I care more about money than I do about my brother. Probably, we don't know for sure, but probably what's happened here. The older brother, according to the Old Testament in verses like Numbers 27, 1 through 11 says,
00:11:30
Speaker
or Deuteronomy 21, 15 through 17, there was something called primogeniture. And it meant the firstborn gets extra. And so the firstborn could get two thirds of the inheritance Let me hear an amen from all the firstborn out there. I'm firstborn. I'm kidding about that. But anyway, but then the the youngest one was going to get a third.
00:11:51
Speaker
But what might have happened is maybe the older brother took it all. And the younger brother's upset. And so he's saying to Jesus, look, this isn't right. You need to tell him to give me my fair share of this.
00:12:05
Speaker
But the younger one, he's angry. And he's also greedy. he's saying He's saying, I deserve this. This ought to be. So think about what he's giving up here. He's giving up. He's calling out his older brother in front of the public and saying, look at what he's done.
00:12:21
Speaker
How terrible was this whole scenario? This whole divisiveness. A family is dividing over this kind of thing. And notice that Jesus' response seems on the surface very unsympathetic, very unsympathetic.
00:12:38
Speaker
But it's there's a reason. Because Jesus' mission was not to settle family squabbles. Jesus' mission was to save souls.
00:12:49
Speaker
But this guy doesn't seem to be too interested interested in his soul. And so Jesus, when he addresses him, notice that he doesn't call him friend like he does in other places, even within this chapter. We would talk to his disciples and call them friends, you know, and so forth. He calls him man.
00:13:08
Speaker
In English, sometimes when you see a stranger and you're trying to get him, you're not going to say friend. You're probably going to say mister. And that's what he called him, mister or man.
00:13:19
Speaker
But you see, he wanted Jesus to solve his problems, not save his soul. And so Jesus refuses to be drawn in to something like that.
00:13:31
Speaker
What he's trying to say is, no, you know what? That strife, there's something deeper that you need to be addressing. Do you remember in Genesis 13, Abraham and his nephew Lot, God blessed their cattle operation.
00:13:47
Speaker
And it just began to expand so much. And they had to hire all these hired workers to come and help them with the cattle. But before long, Abraham's hired men and Lot's hired men, they didn't have their character. And so they began to argue with one another.
00:14:06
Speaker
And Abraham and Lot, they didn't like it, especially Abraham. So Abraham says, Lot, here's what we're going to do. We need to separate. And you can look out there in any place you want to go.
00:14:19
Speaker
Go ahead and pick out where you want to take your cattle. And wherever you don't go, that's where I'll go. And then he said something very important that lets you know what Abraham valued most.
00:14:31
Speaker
In Genesis 13, verse eight, he says, for we are kinsmen. See, sometimes whenever money is involved, you forget family time, you forget relationships, or you don't even care. It's like it means more.
00:14:49
Speaker
And so what I'm saying is, That beneath danger number one, divisiveness, or you could even call it bitterness, laid buried another danger that we need to look at with the materialism.
00:15:03
Speaker
If you're on team materialism's team, then you need to say, wait a minute, maybe I should take that jersey off and be on team Jesus. Because look at the second danger.
Covetousness vs. Contentment
00:15:14
Speaker
Covetousness.
00:15:15
Speaker
Do you understand what covetousness is? Do you know how unsatisfying it is when someone embraces covetousness? You see, covetousness is an insatiable desire for more.
00:15:30
Speaker
It's like someone who is so thirsty, they're willing to drink salt water. But the more salt water they drink, the thirstier they become. And the more salt water they consume and imbibe,
00:15:43
Speaker
It's gonna kill them eventually. It's deadly for you to keep on drinking that. That's why in Exodus 20, verse 17,
00:15:53
Speaker
That the Lord said in the Ten Commandments, I don't want you to spend your life driven by covetousness. And so he makes it real plain. There's all these different kinds of covetousness. He said, I don't want you coveting someone else's house, someone else's wife, someone else's servant, someone else's ox, someone else's donkey.
00:16:14
Speaker
And it's something like that that Jesus is addressing in verse 15. So let's read it through one more time and let me make three comments about it. This danger of covetousness.
00:16:26
Speaker
And Jesus said to them, take care and be on your guard against all covetousness. For one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
00:16:40
Speaker
So let's break it down with these comments first. He gives a caution regarding covetousness. How serious is it? Jesus used two different verbs here, didn't he?
00:16:51
Speaker
Take care and be on your guard. Take care and be on your guard. How do they differ? Well, take care is when you believe that danger exists.
00:17:02
Speaker
So you're thinking, you know what? I believe there is danger with covetousness. I don't want to be a greedy person. It'll eat me from the inside out. It'll tear away my heart. I won't care about anybody and anything.
00:17:14
Speaker
And so you begin to say, I know that danger really exists. So I'm going to be careful as I go through life. But there's also the own guard. Kind of like fencing on guard.
00:17:26
Speaker
Well, on guard means vigilance to resist the evil. So it's like sometimes we actually need to do more than just that mental preparedness. We need to say, you know what? I'm going to actually make some some concrete actions that would prevent me from becoming way too covetous.
00:17:46
Speaker
And you know what I think the Lord came up with? Tithes and offerings. That's why. That's why he says, I want you to share with my kingdom, with my kingdom's work. So that's that's one way of saying, you know what? I'm going to actually be on guard against all covetousness.
00:18:02
Speaker
But did you notice that little word all right there in front of covetousness? It tells me that there are categories of covetousness. You know, he said, be be careful against all covetousness.
00:18:16
Speaker
You know, if you were to read 1 Timothy 6, verses 6 through 11, there's something very similar that Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said we need to be careful that we never fall in love with money.
00:18:31
Speaker
It's okay to work for money. It's okay to save money. But you definitely don't want to love money. Because he said, for people who love money,
00:18:42
Speaker
what's gonna happen is they're gonna wander away into all kinds of evil. People who want to have money as the greatest driving force in their life, they'll do anything.
00:18:55
Speaker
And so just think, oh, I don't want to go into all kinds of evil, so I'm gonna recognize there are categories of covetousness. But notice the core of covetousness.
00:19:07
Speaker
The core is when he says, for one's life, What is life anyway? Jesus says, one's life, your life is not the sum total of all of your possessions.
00:19:21
Speaker
That's what he's trying to get at. Don't you know you're worth more? You're worth more. Your soul, your heart, your character, your love that you share with your family, your for the love you have for your parents, the love you have for other people.
00:19:36
Speaker
It's way more than all the accumulation of stuff that you have in your life. And that's what the Lord is saying. At the core of it, of materialism, is when someone says, no, I believe it's all about the amount of stuff.
00:19:51
Speaker
And I believe at the end, the one who has the most toys wins. It's not true. It's not true. So what is the opposite then of covetousness? Wouldn't it be contentment?
00:20:05
Speaker
where you say, you know, it's okay to work hard, it's okay to save, but you know what? I need to be content with where I am. If I'm not content, then there's gonna be a tendency for me to overspend.
00:20:18
Speaker
There's gonna be a tendency for me to over overreact and to say, you know what? I'm going to get that money and I don't care what I have to do to get it. That's scary. That is really scary.
00:20:30
Speaker
You see, greed makes one insensitive to people. When we no longer care about others, then that's where divisiveness is waiting. Divisiveness will take over your life.
00:20:41
Speaker
Beneath covetousness is confusion over what life is really all about. But at the base of covetousness, we're acquainted with yet a third danger.
00:20:54
Speaker
So I'm telling you, it's like hurdles. I'll never forget when my oldest daughter ran hurdles. And I told her one day, I said, you're going to go to the track and practice? She said, yeah, dad. I said, well, let me go. I'll run with you. I got there and I saw how high those hurdles were. And I said, you know what? I'm going to cheer you from over here on the side. it's It's more important for me to cheer you from the side than to run beside you, you know, because I thought I'm going to break a leg. She'll be trying to take me the doctor, you know.
00:21:20
Speaker
But I think the third danger is ungratefulness. You see, Jesus was such a good communicator. He thought maybe I need to explain on a very practical level So that everybody that ever hears this would understand what was going on in the young man's life who was saying, I need my share of the inheritance.
00:21:43
Speaker
Go and tell my brother to give it to me. So Jesus says, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to give a parable. I'm going to give a parable. And so Luke records 24 of Jesus' parables. This is just one.
00:21:59
Speaker
And what's amazing about Luke's 24 parables is 18 of those that are listed in Luke, 18 parables
Examples of Ingratitude and Generosity
00:22:07
Speaker
out of the 24, they're not found in Matthew, Mark.
00:22:11
Speaker
They're only found Luke. So I'm just thinking, wow, there's something here, you know. But he tells a parable of a hardworking farmer. There's nothing wrong with him working hard.
00:22:23
Speaker
There's nothing wrong with him having a bountiful crop. There's nothing immoral. There's nothing illegal that he even mentions here. We're only told two things about the farmer in the parable.
00:22:37
Speaker
The one thing we're told is he was wealthy. He was a good farmer. He did a good job, but also his land produced plentifully. Oh, wait a minute. Okay.
00:22:48
Speaker
He was hardworking and But what about the land? You know, don't write farmers off. I learned this when I was in Alberta, Canada. We were up there for six years.
00:23:01
Speaker
And I remember one time the guy that was over all of the Baptist churches all across Canada, he came to my house and he was such a wise man, so smart and intelligent. And I remember Alan Smith said to me, he said, Victor, I know that up here in Fairview, Alberta, that you're working with a lot of farmers.
00:23:19
Speaker
And I said, yes, that's right. He said, never underestimate the intelligence that it takes to make a so ah crop be successful. There's so many variables that go beyond the man.
00:23:32
Speaker
Even his hardest efforts, the wrong rain, the wrong cold snap, all of these things can make such a difference. So I never forgot him saying that. And so what is it that was that was missing here?
00:23:47
Speaker
Well, what I find missing is even though his land was plentiful, he never expresses any gratitude God, nothing. Yet the source was obviously God when it says that the land produced plentifully.
00:24:04
Speaker
There's no reference to stewardship of God's ownership. Do you notice, did you hear how often this guy said, I will or my? It's 11 times.
00:24:15
Speaker
And so it's like, he's really stuck on himself. Whereas Deuteronomy 8 verse 18 says this to anybody in any career, not just farmers, any career.
00:24:28
Speaker
It says that God gives us the power to make wealth. So to go back to God and say, thank you for making me effective in what I do. Thank you for making me fruitful in what I do.
00:24:41
Speaker
You see, his harvest surpassed available storage. And so it was a good kind of dilemma. And he says, what shall I do? But there's no mention of a thank offering.
00:24:53
Speaker
There is no note of a prayer for guidance. There is no impulse toward generosity toward God. So even though he was showered with blessings that overflowed his barns, I'm just warning when you drink,
00:25:09
Speaker
from that old salty water of materialism, there's never enough for you. You don't care about other people. Sometimes you don't even care about your family. You don't even care about your brother. you don't care about your sister. you don't even care about your kids, your wife, your husband.
00:25:24
Speaker
You'll only be concerned about your stuff. And that's definitely what he was saying. But there was a fourth danger. What's beneath the ungratefulness?
00:25:36
Speaker
Well, I think you'll be able to see it. And that is that selfishness. You see 11 times he says that I and my. And so Jesus recaps this whole thing. And he says, the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.
00:25:56
Speaker
That's the heart of the problem. This man's mistake was not that he worked hard. It was not that he was going to go into a building project. No, it was not that he was saving. The issue was 100% was for him.
00:26:13
Speaker
Zero percent, as far as we know from the parable, was for God. Who in the world can ever cause somebody to stop being selfish in their life? You know, parents, this is a reason why I'm so glad you have kids here today.
00:26:29
Speaker
Because there's only one person that I've ever read about who can change lives that way from the inside out. You know what, Galatians 2.20, thankfully our youth pastor, that's his favorite verse, right?
00:26:41
Speaker
So our our youth pastor says, my favorite verse is that i would I'm crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.
00:26:54
Speaker
You see, that's the only person I know of that can do it. Christ. Christ can change us. No wonder the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5 15, and Christ died for all, that those who live, now get this real close, might no longer live for themselves, but for him who for their sake died and was raised.
00:27:22
Speaker
When I was a student at Union University, one day I was reading the following verse from, ah I think it's found in Philippians.
Selflessness Over Material Pursuits
00:27:30
Speaker
When I read that verse, just like that, the Holy Spirit said, I want you to drive to Lexington, Tennessee, and I want you to see your younger brother run track.
00:27:39
Speaker
And I was like, but I've got studies, you know, and he said, ah want you to run to i want you to go to Lexington, and I want you to see your younger brother run track. What verse did I read?
00:27:50
Speaker
that the Holy Spirit used in my life. Here it is. Do nothing from self selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
00:28:13
Speaker
And when I read that, it's like the Lord said, you've never gone to see your brother run track, ever. So I go and I'm sitting in the stands and my brother, he runs and he gets done and he's over talking to the coach at the side at beside the track.
00:28:28
Speaker
And he looks up and he sees me and he says, what are you doing here? And I said, I came to see you run. And he said, why? And I said, because I care about you. I love you.
00:28:38
Speaker
You're my brother. isn't that Wouldn't that make life way better than materialism? When was the last time you ever followed the Lord's impulse to do something that wasn't about you?
00:28:55
Speaker
You see, materialism is so dangerous because it makes idols out of possessions rather than instruments of possessions. Nothing wrong with having possessions, but just remember it's an instrument.
00:29:08
Speaker
It's not an idol. So let me recap because we got one more that we need to finish with. Divisiveness into relationships is one hurdle you will have to face if you're going to run for team materialism because everybody's not going to be excited that you're getting more and more stuff.
00:29:27
Speaker
Secondly, covetousness. Covetousness displaces contentment. It not only displaces contentment, I'll tell you what else covetousness will displace. It'll take satisfaction right out of your life.
00:29:39
Speaker
you'll never be satisfied. You'll never be satisfied with the car you have, with the home you live in, with the clothes you wear. You'll never be satisfied with anything else if you ever imbibe it and say, no, materialism, it's where it's at.
00:29:54
Speaker
Covetousness is where it's at. Along with that, I would say ungratefulness causes us to forget God. Who cares about God? I'm doing good. man the the the ah Man, the doors are open for me and it is so exciting.
00:30:11
Speaker
But ungratefulness forgets that God helped you to reach where you are. You ever just say, thank you, God. Thank you for everything you've done for me.
00:30:21
Speaker
Selfishness also, it invades and infects our character. So that really lurking behind every decision we make is self. I gotta to see the angle that's in it for me.
00:30:35
Speaker
And so what that makes us do is it makes us make foolish decisions. And that's where I end with danger number five.
Investing in God's Kingdom
00:30:42
Speaker
That's where the text ends. We'll look together at this verse.
00:30:46
Speaker
But you know, it's like there's an assessment that God makes. I'm not calling this guy a fool. God calls this guy a fool. Wouldn't it be tragic for the Lord God when you get to heaven and God say, you were foolish.
00:31:03
Speaker
What were you thinking? Living for all that money, living for possessions only. I gave you those possessions so you would honor me, so you would glorify me. But my name was never on your lips.
00:31:16
Speaker
My work was never shared by your prophets. And so that's why this ah whole parable here is staggering. You know, when God says, fool, then he says this, and he says, but God said to him, and I thought about that, but God, you know, for some people that are living for material things only, that right there, but God, it's gonna be like a freight train that's gonna come at you someday.
00:31:45
Speaker
If you forget all about God, someday you're gonna say, why did I not turn to my creator? Why did I not trust Jesus as my savior? You're not going to understand when he comes because you see, this is foolishness right here.
00:32:04
Speaker
Foolishness is ignoring faith in God. I'd say foolishness is also imagining a future without the Lord. You see, where is the Lord in his in his perfect description here?
00:32:18
Speaker
So you have ample goods laid up for many years. Relax, eat, drink, and be merry. He doesn't say anything about worship in there. Doesn't say anything about serving God in there, glorifying God in there.
00:32:32
Speaker
It's just all about him. He's just imagining a future without God. Is God in your future? What about investing his fortune apart from the Lord?
00:32:44
Speaker
He's going to build new barns. That's great. But has he ever considered also investing not only in his farming operation, but investing in God's kingdom? It doesn't say.
00:32:55
Speaker
you see, the fatal flaw is that he left God out of his plans, out of his priorities. He also failed to prepare for eternity. And God's calling him out on it.
00:33:07
Speaker
God says, you fool. You fooled this night, this night. Time's up, game's over. Life is done. We don't know when that would be. That's why we have to say, oh Lord, I want to be ready.
00:33:20
Speaker
That's why James 4 verses 13 through 17. We don't like to hear this, but I'm just telling you it's real, right? We don't like to hear what James 4 verses 13 and 17 cause us.
00:33:32
Speaker
It causes us a vapor, like a mist. It says you're here one day you're gone the next day. We want to know, no, no i will always be in this position. I will always be on this earth. I will always be able to make a difference.
00:33:47
Speaker
No, that's not what it says. You are a mist appears for a little while and then vanishes. That's what the word of God tries to prepare us for. So are you preparing?
00:33:59
Speaker
You know, Jesus reminds us why our labor is important to him. Let's wrap it up. Why is it so important? Why? that you honor God with your career, that you honor God with the the fruits from your career.
00:34:15
Speaker
It's not about the labor. It's about the love. You see, God wants you to love him. God wants you to thank him. God wants you to do your work as unto him.
00:34:26
Speaker
and so that's why it's so important. And he says, no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one love the other or he'll be devoted to the one and despise the other.
00:34:40
Speaker
You cannot serve God and money. I'm so glad you're here today because what it says is that you are saying, I'm not going to get so busy that I don't have time to show my love to God.
00:34:54
Speaker
And God, I think notes that you see we're created to love our creator more than a career, certainly more than cash and cars and clothes and on and on it goes.
00:35:06
Speaker
The Holy Spirit gave the Apostle Paul spiritual insight into the problem with material oversight. See, when materialism is in charge and it's running your life, man, is that ever dangerous.
00:35:19
Speaker
For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
00:35:33
Speaker
You know why God says don't let materialism drive your life? He don't want you to get hurt. And he knows you're going to hurt yourself. And going to hurt other people. And a lot of times the ones that get hurt the most are family, spouse, children.
00:35:48
Speaker
And God says, i don't want that.
00:35:52
Speaker
You know, in Matthew 26, verse 15, it's a sad story of Judas when he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. But you might want to go and check out how did it work out for Judas giving in to materialism? giving in to covetousness, being willing to trade away the master, being willing to trade it all.
00:36:13
Speaker
Well, it it was painful. His end was very painful. The Lord doesn't want your end to be painful. The Lord offers us in Christ a glorious end.
00:36:25
Speaker
This is not the end. So that's why he's saying, come to me, come to me.
Invitation to Embrace Faith and Redemption
00:36:32
Speaker
So let's rewind the tape. And let me close with this last thing.
00:36:37
Speaker
What should the younger brother have requested from Jesus rather than demanding that he force his older brother to give him some of the inheritance? Well, I was looking in Ephesians 1, and the word inheritance in Christ, it's mentioned three times.
00:36:54
Speaker
Ephesians 1.11, Ephesians 1.14, Ephesians 1.18. It refers to the spiritual inheritance that's available to every Christian in Christ.
00:37:07
Speaker
So what should that guy have said? He should have raised his hand. And here's what I wrote down. I think he should have said, Lord, please show me how to be adopted into God's family.
00:37:20
Speaker
Would you please show me how you came to redeem me from my sins? Would you please show me how to find hope beyond this broken world? Would you please show me how to be sealed with your Holy Spirit for the assurance of my salvation.
00:37:38
Speaker
Oh Lord, and most important of all, would you please, please show me the riches of your grace. That's what I'm trying to say.
00:37:49
Speaker
There's something far better than anything this world offers. So that's why we have an invitation at the end because we never know when someone says, that was for me.
00:38:00
Speaker
It's my time. it's It's me and Jesus right now. That's what I'd love to help you with that. Because Jesus gave up all of heaven to come to this earth, to die on the cross for my sins and for your sins, because he cares about us.
00:38:18
Speaker
So when he says, I wouldn't go down that road toward materialism, I'd go down this road toward redemption. He knows what he's talking about. Go his way. It's far better.
00:38:29
Speaker
He died on a cross. They placed him in a tomb. Three days later, he rose from the dead. Would you come to Christ today? That's what this invitation is all about. Would you stand with me? want to ask our musicians if they would come.
00:38:43
Speaker
This song makes a great statement to God. And what it says is, wherever he leads, I'll go. Sometimes wherever is is to talk to somebody.
00:38:58
Speaker
who can help you put your faith in Christ. You may not come forward in this service to talk to me or to talk to Josh or to talk to a deacon, but you know what? You can talk to your mom, your dad.
00:39:10
Speaker
You can talk to someone in your Sunday school class, a Sunday school teacher. There are many people in this congregation who know how to lead someone to Christ. So why don't you say, you know what? This was meant for me, so I'm gonna act on it.
00:39:24
Speaker
So during this time of invitation, you say, I may not go down there, but I'm going to Christ today. Let's pray. Lord, thank you so much for this time to look into your word. You speak to us, Lord. Sometimes you hit a nerve and sometimes what you hit, it's it's what's happening in our lives.
00:39:44
Speaker
And I just pray that God, if you did, that they would know the reason that you're getting our attention is because you don't want us to go down a painful road. And so help us realize that, Lord, you created us.
00:39:58
Speaker
You gave us all those incredible gifts and skills and abilities that we have. And so all you want us to do is love you. All you want us to do is surrender to All you want us to do is want to glorify you and honor you in all things.
00:40:11
Speaker
So help us do that, Lord. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.
00:40:21
Speaker
This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.