2 Thess 2, A Lurking Beast in the World - Greed.Thursday August 31, 2023
Luk 12:32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”.
Luk 12:13 Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me."
Doesn’t this seem to be an odd thing to say while the Lord was in the middle of a sermon?
The context tells us what motivated it.
Luk 12:11-12 “When they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not worry about how or what you are to speak in your defense, or what you are to say; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
The man had been seeking this very thing. If someone could speak in the court concerning his case with his brother, by the Holy Spirit, then he would win. After hearing the Lord of glory, what this man saw was a lawyer who could win any court case.
We can hear eternal truth, misunderstand it, and wonder how it will better our earthly, material lives.
A person is forever distinct from what he owns.
We are not what we possess.
Luk 12:13-15 Someone in the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me." 14 But He said to him, "Man, who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?" 15 Then He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions."
We can easily develop the idea that our value is determined by what we have.
Jesus reveals the folly of this – “for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
This gives the Lord the opportunity to teach a parable on greed.
The parable of the rich fool.
Luk 12:16-21 And He told them a parable, saying, "The land of a rich man was very productive. 17 "And he began reasoning to himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' 18 "Then he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry."' 20 "But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?' 21 "So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
The man is not a criminal. He has not acquired by sin. His fields yielded enormously.
But he gives no thanks or credit to God. The agricultural and livestock bounty of this man are viewed as it he had been the maker of them. They are his.
Psa 104:14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, And vegetation for the labor of man, So that he may bring forth food from the earth,
Psa 116:12 What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me?
We are not of the kingdom of the world. Money is the currency of the world, but not the currency of heaven. We are to put our money in God’s hands, before God’s eyes, and ask Him what to do with it – what to give, to whom, and what to keep.
Jesus does not put exceptions in His parables. This man, He is telling us, is typical.
Do we look to our own interests or the interests of the kingdom of God?
One clear factor that He brings out is that we’re all going to die. Righteous or not, this man is going to give his stuff to someone, whether he gives graciously during his lifetime or the courts will decide after he dies.
God’s evaluation of the man, “You fool!” He is a fool because he planned for a life of leisure when he had no life at all.
The scene could run right to an auction house where all the prized possessions of the recently departed are up for grabs by strangers for a fraction of what they initially cost.
Then Christ gives us an eternal statement: The man who stores up treasure for himself is not rich toward God.
"So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God." (vs. 21)
Spending treasure for the needy is spending treasure for God. Give properly and you will gain the currency of the kingdom of God.
Psa 112:1 How blessed is the man who fears the Lord, Who greatly delights in His commandments.
Psa 112:9 He has given freely to the poor, His righteousness endures forever; His horn will be exalted in honor.
Pro 14:21 He who despises his neighbor sins, But happy is he who is gracious to the poor.
Pro 22:9 He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor.
Pro 28:27 He who gives to the poor will never want, But he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.
Then the Lord gives instruction to His disciples:
Luk 12:22-34 And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. 23 "For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! 25 "And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? 26 "If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? 27 "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 28 "But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! 29 "And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying. 30 "For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. 31 "But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you. 32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
33 "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. 34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
God has chosen freely to give you the kingdom. Do not fear.
Fear what? Giving graciously. The money belts that do not wear out are filled with the currency of heaven.
The moment you die, will you be rich or poor?
Is there something you can possess that will belong to you eternally?
Rom 8:37-39 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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