You or I Could Lose Everything! Kelly Durant 6-1-08
Luke 12:16-21
16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:
17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
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.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then
whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?
21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.
In Caracas, Venezuela, we had a frightful experience one time in our apartment on the 4th floor. We started smelling smoke and we thought maybe someone was burning trash in the neighborhood next door, but it got worse and we decided to open the door and take a look and when we did the entire hallway was full of dark thick smoke! It was so thick, you could not see the stairs, and for sure we were not going to go on the elevator! We put wet rags on the bottom of the door and prayed! I thanked God that at least the kitchen window did not have bars on it so we could jump out but I thought I could throw out my kids one by one if need be! I thought it better to have a broken bone and yet survive, than to die by being burnt up! It turned out to be a car in the basement level that was on fire and the firemen arrived on time to control it. Later they said that if the fire in that car in the lower garage would have spread to all the cars, then there would have been no chance to save the whole building! It was a sobering experience and once again we were brought face to face with the reality we could all die at any moment! God has allowed me to be scared and in dire situations many times and I revert to this; I will honor God, thank God, and love Him for His mercy and salvation on me and those close to me!
This past week has been a difficult one for the community. I was contacted to see how to help a mother of 6 kids whose husband went to jail and is being deported. Many people have been deported and lost all they worked for, the few thousand dollars’ worth of furniture, and its left behind for another person often as trash! Regina also went to the hospital for 3 days straight to spend time with a family that lost their 18-year-old son due to a horrible traffic accident. She cried and prayed with them! Many people are suffering terribly in every community, but how are you and the people nearby responding?
I would like to invite you come with me to Sam’s club to shop sometime. On almost any given day you can come in and find shoppers with flatbed carts full of cases of beer, 10 cases, or even 20 cases! You would think by the attendance at the clubs and restaurants around the city that life in this country is one big party, but considering what I just told you about people suffering, you can conclude it is not!
So, what do we have in society? Bad behavior, partying, people living as if there is no judgment, gossiping, and all happening as if there is no tomorrow despite warnings!
The scripture today addresses how wrong any of us could be to think there is no tomorrow and no consequence for our actions! Some people get a little prosperity, an apartment, a car, a few electronic toys, and they think they have arrived! They are invincible! Compared to cousins in poor countries, many are folks here are considered to be rich!
What did the scripture say about the man who got a little prosperity and was rich? He wanted even more! When he had no problems, when God was good to Him, what was his attitude? Did he go to the temple and thank God for his prosperity? No! He became more and more selfish, he wanted to build bigger barns! And what provoked God’s wrath on his life? What caused God to decide to not only let Him lose everything but cut his life short?
Read 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.
He had a heart that only could think about himself, no one else! He wanted to enjoy life without the bother of seeking or thanking God who gave him his life and his prosperity!
He had no fear of God, but imagine now he has to face God; now he is in the predicament of having lost it all and losing his soul as a punishment!
Don’t you see everyone one of us should have a sense of urgency, we are in a crisis in the community! God is allowing tragedy, persecution, and suffering in our neighborhoods to sober people up so they will stop all their foolishness, their lack of respect to honor God, and stop their pride and arrogant mouths which offend God and others!
People who never let their heart be converted like the heart of Jesus, people who hear and know the Word of God but do not practice it, people who could come to church and worship but make accusing and exaggerated statements against people in the church, people who reject Biblical thinking and view all things from the carnal, selfish I got to put myself first attitude, are not spiritual and they are exposed to God’s wrath just like the person in these verses of focus today.
Where else does it talk in the scriptures about the sin of being shallow with God? Or another way to look at it, how does God deal with people who live life as if they are the powerful ones, calling the shots and in control? People who want their selves to appear to be a great somebody by attacking other people? Often people who believe that because they have a little more than others, they have the right to judge and put down others? What happens when in the church some people put others down? Our words bring serious consequences!
Luke 12:45-47 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.
47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
Always there will be people in the church who are drunk on their own pride despite all the horrible suffering of those in their own city nearby them! Why is it some people, and include yourself, always have their minds on their selves and they do not have the capacity to have compassion on others and love as Jesus did and they have to always tear down and attack others in order to make their selves look good? Sin brings death and suffering!
In the church what happens, some people benefit from our love, God’s love and mercy, and this may include material help, yet some have been known to say the most offensive and ugly things about others and church members. Why?
It is because they have unrepentant hearts and because they, with a false image, lie to others, they lie to their selves, and they tell themselves that people in the church are more hypocrite than they are as to way a justify themselves as righteous enough. A tragedy!
But the people who put others down, those who hurt others with their words are like the ones in the verse 45 who attack and beat others. And where do these people who do the works of unbelievers spend eternity? In the lake of fire!
Not everyone who comes to church will go to heaven but only those who repent and honor God and do his will! Only those who show love and compassion to others, only those who consider the poor and suffering, only those who sacrifice their pride and forgive and do the works that Jesus taught us will make it to heaven!
One cannot think one is a Christian and then live and speak in an unholy way!
Matt 12:36-37
36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
Who sees a need to repent today? Who wants to call their family and friends and warn them and tell them that they could lose everything at any moment? Get right with God! Be aware that God is angry with those who insult and harm good people, His people?
Warn the community! Wake people up that God’s wrath has been revealed on many cities. Catastrophe could fall on any one of us! We have no guarantee of tomorrow. Build your future plans on doing God’s will and don’t let yourself become greedy, arrogant insulting your brothers, or over indulging in life’s pleasures storing up too much for yourself while others are in need.
