Sermon Series: Getting to Know God 

Greed Just Doesn't Make Sense 

Luke 12:13-21 

PSBC 9/2/01 AM

In a nutshell: God won't tolerate greed on any level. We need to watch out for it, so it doesn't gain a foothold in our lives.

I. Introduction

A. First Time I Preached

I'll never forget the first time I preached in a worship service. It was a Sunday evening 22 years ago, at Wheaton Bible Church. At that time, I was the Pastor of Christian Education, so to preach was a rare opportunity. The title of my message was "Gideon-From Wimp to Warrior".

I remember spending weeks preparing for the message. When it came time to preach, I was as nervous as a cat. But I delivered the message pretty well. I was animated, funny, and Biblically accurate. I had good application, and I couldn't detect anyone falling asleep.

Throughout the message, I was running on pure spiritual and physical adrenaline. In fact, when I was all finished, instead of dismissing the service in a dignified way, I simply closed in prayer and said, "O.K., you can go home, now."

But after the service several people made their way to the front of the worship center to talk to me. I have to tell you that pleased me, because I thought that they wanted to talk about the theological depth and the practical application of what I had just shared from the Word of God. But, boy was I disappointed. -One man wanted to talk to me about how his son had been disciplined in Sunday School that morning. -Another person-a Hebrew professor from the college-wanted to correct my pronunciation of a Hebrew word. -Still another person wanted to tell me that they would not be there next Sunday morning to teach their class, and I'd have to get a substitute for them. -And another couple wanted to know if I'd perform their marriage ceremony. I have to tell you, I was crushed. I was thinking, didn't anyone hear the important and life-changing meat of the Word of God that I just taught? Had the word of God gotten through to anyone? Was I so inept that I was unable to communicate God's Word so it made a difference? Was I so heavenly minded that I was no earthly good? Or were the people of this church so earthly minded that they were no heavenly good?

The next day, I had a chance to talk with my Senior Pastor, Chris Lyons, about my feelings and the responses I had received. He assured me I had done a good job of preaching the message. Then he pointed me to the passage that we're going to be looking at this morning. If you have your Bibles, turn with me to Luke 12, and we're going to start at the 13th verse…

B. Jesus faced similar reactions

Chris' point was that Jesus faced similar circumstances in His ministry. One day when He was surrounded by a large crowd of people, He took the opportunity to teach His disciples some important theological "stuff". As He taught, not only did the disciples listen, but this huge crowd of people listened as well. He touched on some very important subjects-things like hypocrisy, hell, the intimate knowledge God has of every human being, the unpardonable sin, and what to do when you are persecuted for the faith. That's some pretty important "stuff".

But at least one fellow in the crowd wasn't even remotely interested in any of those important theological topics. Instead he was chomping at the bit, waiting until the sermon was done, so he could talk to Jesus about his own agenda. So, when Jesus took a breath, this man interjected a totally unrelated question…

Luke 12:13 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

We can surmise that a relative of this man had just passed away, and the brother of this man who was speaking to Jesus, had found a way to keep all of the inheritance for himself, and not share any of it with this brother. And this guy was ticked off at his brother. This issue so consumed this man, that instead of listening to a divine message from God, Himself…, this man tried to use Jesus to convince his brother to give him some of the goods, possessions or money that was part of the family inheritance.

His thinking probably went something like this… "I can't get my brother to give me my share of the inheritance. But if I bring it up in front of a crowd of people and get a famous Rabbi to tell him to pay up, then he'll be so ashamed that he'll have to pay me my fair share out of embarrassment, if nothing else." But, friends, was he ever going to be disappointed. Because look at how Jesus answered him…

Luke 12:14-15 14 Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" 15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Jesus saw the symptoms of a disease in this man-the disease was greed! In fact, both brothers had major cases of this illness. -The man who kept his brother's share of the inheritance was greedy; -and the man who had lost his share and was now talking to Jesus, was also greedy. Because he could think of nothing else, even in the light of hearing a sermon from God, Himself.

But instead of treating the symptoms, Jesus chose to treat the disease. Jesus seized the opportunity and turned this interruption into a teachable moment through the use of a parable-it's called, The Parable of the Rich Fool.

Now, as with all parables, this one focuses in on just one thing about God. If you get that one thing, then you can apply it to a whole host of areas in your life. So right at the beginning, let me give you the main focus-God won't tolerate greed!

II. A Close Look at the Parable

Luke 12:16-21 16 And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17 He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' 18 "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' 20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

A. Greed in Scripture

The idea of God's hatred of greed is expanded on in several places in the New Testament…

Mark 7:21-22 21 For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly.

Here, Jesus is saying here that greed comes from an evil heart-an evil inner core that's at the center of a human being.

The apostle Paul adds to that idea when he says that greed is a result of arrogantly refusing a knowledge of God and therefore developing a depraved mind…

Romans 1:28-29a 28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.

And Paul again addresses this issue of greed in…

Colossians 3:5 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Did you get that? He calls greed, idolatry.

Taking these teachings into account, one of my favorite preachers, Stuart Briscoe summarizes them in the paragraph on the front of your WIG's this morning…

"Careful consideration of these things will show that the greed that brings war and hate, murder and inequity to our world is not going to be cured through well-meaning programs or well-financed schemes… The real problem is a heart problem which is related to man's rejection of God and man's installation of self-gratification in the place of God."

B. Greed in the Parable

Friends, in this parable we see that the rich man used his three favorite words over and over again-I, my, and myself. He showed that he was first and foremost self-centered.

Like many people today, and maybe some of you, this guy lived a pretty good life. And he thoroughly enjoyed it. But his good life led him to a life of selfishness, greed and an earthbound and thing-focused existence. The "good life" caused him to ignore eternity and eternal values. And when it was time to leave this earth and this life, he was dead to what would really last.

And the great physician, Jesus, could see the same ravages of this greed-disease in the lives of the two brothers as they argued about an inheritance. In Jesus' eyes the squabble over "fair shares" was nowhere near as important as curing the disease of greed in both their lives. That's why Jesus gave such a stern warning, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed."

III. Watch Out

So, how do we "watch out"? How do you and I go about being on our guard against greed? We need to be serious about this issue. Because how we "watch out" touches on eternity and our place in it. So, let me give you 4 ways to watch out, so the disease of greed doesn't infect your life.

A. Wants can become confused with needs

The first way to watch out for greed is to be aware of the fact that it is very easy to confuse wants with needs.

I came across this poem this week, in my study of this passage…

Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray my new PC to keep. I pray my stocks are on the rise, and that my analyst is wise. That all the wine I sip is white, and that my hot tub's watertight. That tennis games won't get too tough, that all my sushi's fresh enough. I pray my cordless phone still works, that my career won't lose its perks. And my microwave won't radiate, or my condo won't depreciate. I pray my health club doesn't close, and that my money market grows. If I go broke before I wake, I pray my "Beemer" they won't take. (Steve Farrar)

We all like to be comfortable, happy and well-cared-for. But what can easily happen is that as we try to provide for and attain the good life, the line between needs and wants gets very blurry. And if we're not careful we can get consumed with providing for our wants, not just our needs.

And friends, the danger in providing for our wants, as if they were needs, is that this usually happens at the expense of neglecting the needs of others. And that neglect has some very serious, eternal consequences. Listen to these words…(only Bible reference on screen.)

Matt 25:31-46 31 "But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate them as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. 34 Then the King will say to those on the right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. 36 I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.' 37 "Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? 39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?' 40 And the King will tell them, 'I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!' 41 "Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, 'Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons! 42 For I was hungry, and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn't give me anything to drink. 43 I was a stranger, and you didn't invite me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me no clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn't visit me.' 44 "Then they will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?' 45 And he will answer, 'I assure you, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.' 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life."

When wants become needs, the resources we've been entrusted with to do works of eternal significance, get consumed inappropriately. They get used up on us, and that gets God very angry. Because His goal to use the people of His church to advance His Kingdom, His way, gets blocked. So be discerning about wants and needs.

B. Counter secularism

Here's a second way to watch out for greed-actively counter secularism.

Secularism is nothing more than a life view that excludes God. And that's the world we live in today. For the most part, people today are governed by secular considerations, and motivated by secular motivations. Let's face it… …You are bombarded with messages on the radio, in the newspaper, in magazines, from billboards, and on TV to buy, buy, buy-because you deserve it, or you are worth it, or you need it. …You are encouraged to use hair coloring products, not because the color of your hair honors God, but because "you're worth it." …You are encouraged to buy a certain brand of car because you deserve a life with "no boundaries", not because you need it to honor God. …You are encouraged to wear certain clothes because you need to be in style, not because the clothes you buy should honor God.

The philosophical center of the secular universe is YOU, not God, or anyone else. I think you can see how this can easily lead to greed.

Now, we know the Bible teaches…

Matthew 6:33 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

In other words, God-not you-is at the center of the universe. So how do we keep YOU off the throne of your life, and make sure God stays there?

Illustration: A classmate of mine from college grew up on the east coast. He used to love to go to the shore as a child and build sand castles. Whole cities would appear beneath his hands. He told the story of how one year, for several days in a row, he was accosted by bullies who smashed his creations. Finally he tried an experiment: he placed cinder blocks, rocks, and chunks of concrete in the base of his castles. Then he built the sand kingdoms on top of the rocks. When the local tough guys appeared and tried to kick his creations apart, their bare feet met the rocks. And they never tried to smash his sandcastles again.

Folks, it's really very simple. The way we actively combat secularism is to make sure our lives are built on the rock.

Matthew 16:16-18 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus replied, "… And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it."

The rock is a strong relationship with Jesus Christ-following what He says, how He wants you to respond, what He says is important, and so on. And you can only combat secularism if you start putting more of the ROCK, which is Jesus in you, to combat the secular around you. And the only way I know to make this happen is to spend time learning what Jesus has to say. That's how you actively combat secularism.

C. It's perfectly natural to be greedy

A third way to "watch out" for greed, is to come to understand and fear the fact that being greedy is perfectly natural. If you forget this fact, then it becomes very easy to slip into self-centeredness and not even recognize it. I mean you and I really need to view ourselves as being egotistical, self-centered, and materialistic individuals, and because of that, be on our guard for any evidences of those things that might come creeping into the forefront of our hearts and minds.

This ties into the last point I just made. If you are learning to live like Jesus wants, then when you aren't living that way, there's going to be a certain spiritual dissonance that takes place at your core and in your conscience when you are beginning to act greedily.

The point here is to not only know what Jesus says to do, but to take steps-intentional steps-to act the way He wants you to act. And the only way I know how to make this really happen is to hold each other accountable.

Several of our men and some of our women have entered into accountability relationships with others in our church, and have given each other permission to ask the tough questions about how they are living their lives. Friends, this is crucial to stopping our natural inclination to be greedy.

This can take place: husband to wife and wife to husband; friend to friend; within flock groups, or in Bible study groups. But somewhere along the way, you have to swallow your pride and give at least one other person the permission to tell you whether or not you are slipping into "what comes naturally."

And if you don't heed this advice of having an accountability partner, then what is the hedge you've set up in your own life to make sure you're not crossing the line and slipping into a pattern of greed? You need something, because being greedy is perfectly natural. And the consequences are serious…

Luke 12:20-21 20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' 21 "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

D. Inventory your possessions

Here's the final way to watch out for greed in your life… Inventory your possessions. This is what I mean…

-Take some time and go through your checkbook and see how much you spend on yourself and how much you've invested in God's Kingdom work and His Kingdom relationships. -Take some time and look through your garage and inventory what's there because you wanted it or because you needed it. -Take some time and walk through each room of your house and honestly evaluate… Did I buy this with a view of me or a view of God's Kingdom? - or Take some time and look at your budget. Is the Kingdom of God getting what it deserves, or are you shortchanging God on what rightfully belongs to Him.

Then after being honest with yourself, and if you find that you may have been greedy in the past, repent. Turn from that past and start fresh and new to make your expenditures from this point on, expenditures of Kingdom investment, not only personal investment.

IV. Conclusion

Illustration: Several years ago, construction workers were laying a foundation for a building outside the ancient city of Pompeii. In their digging they found the corpse of a woman who must have been fleeing from the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius but was caught in the rain of hot ashes, and killed. The woman's hands clutched jewels, which were preserved in the most excellent condition. The sad thing was she may have had the jewels, but death had her.

That's the bottom line of life, friends. Worldly treasure is not a wise investment because you can't take it with you. And that's why God won't tolerate greed from His followers. Because in the light of reality and eternity, it just doesn't make sense!

Amen.