Luke 12:13-15
Life Is Not Measured by Possessions
Luke 12:13 And one of the company said unto
him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide
the inheritance with me.
14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a
judge or a divider over you?
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware
of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not
in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth.
What are you living for? What is the reason for your existence?
Someone has said, Some live to get all they can, they can all they
get, and then they sit on the can. Hopefully, our lives are more than
that.
I. Setting
Luke 12:1 In the mean time, when there were
gathered together an innumerable multitude of
people, insomuch that they trode one upon
another, he began to say unto his disciples
first of all…
A. \\#12:1\\ Jesus was teaching His disciples with the background
of an innumerable host.
1. What a delightful problem to have! So many people wanting
to hear the Word of God that they step on one another
trying to get close enough to hear.
2. It is interesting that in the midst of that huge crowd,
Jesus wanted to teach His disciples.
a. That suggests Jesus’ goal was not evangelism.
b. Souls must be reached.
(1) This is the command of Jesus to the disciples and
through the disciples to the church and through
the church to the individual Christian.
(2) Any church and Christian who is not sharing their
Savior with the lost is not right.
c. However, the saved must be taught how to live.
(1) This is the primary calling of the pastor.
(2) The pastor is take worldly sheep and teach then
the Word of God so that they become godly
shepherds.
d. That appears to be what Jesus was doing that day.
B. \\#12:13\\ When Jesus paused, a man stepped out of the crowd
with a request that Jesus might settle a family fuss.
C. \\#12:14\\ It might appear that Jesus refused to help this
man.
1. The bland title by which Jesus called him, "Man," along
with Jesus’ question help make it sound like Jesus was
refusing and perhaps even rebuking the man.
2. I am not convinced that He was.
a. Perhaps Jesus did not give to the younger brother what
he came seeking, but Jesus was going to help him.
b. Preacher, what makes you think it was the younger
brother asking for help?
(1) Because the Law tells us how this was to work.
(2) The older brother received a double portion and
become the new leader of the home.
(3) The fact that this man did not have control over
the inheritance means he was the younger
brother.
c. Was Jesus interested in this younger brother and his
dilemma?
(1) Yes.
(2) While there are two sides to every story, if this
man was telling the truth, his older brother had
cut him short on in his inheritance.
(3) How could the God of the Law not care about that.
d. However, Jesus did not make His first trip to the
earth to judge disputes between siblings.
e. Instead, Jesus came to devote His attention to man’s
spiritual problems.
3. So Jesus helps the younger brother, and potentially the
older brother as well, by teaching him a spiritual
truth.
4. The truth Jesus taught him is given in verse 15 and is the
essence of the message title.
Luke 12:15 …life consisteth not in the
abundance of the things which he possesseth.
5. Jesus did that with a parable.
II. Notice the parable.
A. Jesus gave a parable to shew the foolishness of measuring our
lives by our things.
Luke 12:16 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.
1. A man is described.
a. \\#16\\ His wealth - He is rich.
b. \\#16-18\\ blessed
(1) \\#16\\ got plenty,
(2) \\#17\\ already has "barns" full,
(3) \\#18\\ has the where-with-all to pull down those
full barns and build bigger barns.
c. \\#16-18\\ industrious - Not afraid of work, planning,
prosperity
2. God adds to that description one more word - \\#20\\ FOOL
a. He was not a fool for being rich, blessed, or
industrious.
b. These are all qualities that, if used appropriately,
make a better person.
c. He was a fool because he had a pre-determined
appointment with death and not planned for it.
(1) We may not know the day of our deaths, but we
know with certainly it is set.
(2) The man or woman who does not prepare for it is a
fool!
(3) If the man in this parable had given a fraction
of the attention to eternal things that he gave
to carnal things, he would have been in good
shape!
B. The text doesn’t deal with it, but what should we measure life
by?
1. First, I would say that wealth, riches, and a hard working
character are not BAD measurements for life, they are
just the least important.
a. Some would disagree with me, and I understand.
b. However, I don’t think anyone will either five minutes
before their death or five minutes after.
c. In between those two settings on your life clock, I
think every will agree with me, and I am content to
wait to be proven right or wrong.
2. Second, I would day there are more valuable things on this
earth than riches and possessions.
a. There are some treasures you should enjoy every day.
(1) You should have joy.
(2) You should have love.
(3) You should have purpose with satisfaction.
(4) You should have peace.
(5) You should good family and friends.
(6) You should have worship and fellowship with God.
b. Whenever you give up one of these for a possession,
you are on the losing end of the deal.
3. Third, I would say that we must include some eternal
measurements.
a. I am not sure I can give you the eternal standards
by which to measure yourself.
b. But I can ask you some questions to help you find
them.
C.. Three questions by which to measure your life.
1. Where will you spend eternity? When you get that settled,
you will be way ahead of the game.
2. Who are you taking to eternity?
a. Just suppose the only people you will be allowed to
talk to for all eternity are the ones you talked to
on earth about Jesus.
b. The people you witnessed to, the people that you let
know that you were saved, and the people that you
influenced for Christ.
c. Think long and hard. Will you have anyone to talk to?
3. What have you sent ahead to eternity?
a. Suppose the currency of heaven is sacrifices we made on
earth for Christ on earth?
b. How much cash will you have in heaven?
c. Would you have enough to purchase a dress or a suit of
clothes?
d. Would you have enough to take a heavenly vacation?
III. To that end, Jesus gave His disciples some council.
A. Life is more than what you can eat and wear.
Luke 12:23 The life is more than meat, and the
body is more than raiment.
1. Are cloths and food important?
2. Absolutely, and if you don’t have them, I am going to
tell you to go get a job so that you can purchase
them.
3. But they are far from being the most important things.
B. No matter how hard you work, you can’t control life anyway.
Luke 12:24 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?
25 And which of you with taking thought can add
to his stature one cubit?
1. No one stopped the tornadoes this past Thursday.
2. No one stopped the rain from flooding homes and property.
3. And if it freezes this week, no one will stop it.
4. For all of our work and toil, we are still dependent on
God’s goodness and mercy.
C. God has told us that the way to please Him is to seek Him
first and most.
Luke 12:31 But rather seek ye the kingdom of God;
and all these things shall be added unto you.
1. Since we are acknowledging that we don’t actually control
the events of our lives anyway, don’t you think we should
seek to please that God while we have a choice and
something valuable to us to offer Him?
2. It is each individual’s choice, but it seems to me that
would be wise.
D. God has told us we can trust Him.
Luke 12:27 Consider the lilies how they grow:
they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto
you, that Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these.
28 If then God so clothe the grass, which is to
day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the
oven; how much more [will he clothe] you, O ye
of little faith?
The story is told of a jeweler whose store was filled with precious
gems and stones, most very costly. One stone, however, was so rare
and exquisite that it was set apart from all the others. A beautiful
pearl was placed in its own glass cabinet just inside the doorway for
everyone to see as they entered and left. Many customers had stopped
at the glass to marvel at its beauty and most never asked the price
because they knew it must be expensive, but whenever one did, the
jeweler would answer, "Aw, that pearl. Yes. It will cost you
everything you have!" And after several years, no one had ever
attempted to purchase it or even seek a more exact price.
One winter night, a homeless man was trying to warm himself and
entered the emptied store. The jeweler smiled and the man turned to
glass display to study the pearl while he warmed himself. After a
long time, he asked the jeweler, "How much is this pearl, anyway?"
The jeweler answered as he always did. "Aw, that pearl. Yes. It will
cost you everything you have!" The bum turned back at the case for a
long time, then, taking his coat off and handing it to the jeweler,
he said, "I’ll take it."
The jeweler took the coat and laid it on the counter, pulled a key
out of his pocket and gave the pearl to the man. The man started to
leave but the jeweler said, "Wait," and went into the backroom. When
he came back out, he had a fur lined coat and keys to the store and
all the cabinet. Placing the fine coat on the homeless man, he handed
him the keys and explained, "You gave me all that you have. Now, I
give you all that I have." Then he put the homeless man’s tattered
coat on and disappeared into the night.
Friend, that might sound like a fictional story, but I am here to
tell you that is what Jesus did for me. I gave Him all that I had,
and in return, He gave me all that He had, and for all eternity, I
will enjoy the treasures of His grace. I sure hope you will too.
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