Comanche Trail Church of Christ (Amarillo)
Sunday, August 25, 2019
      • Bible Trivia
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      • 1 John 4:7–11NIV2011

  • Introduction

    Concluding our Back to school, Back to Church series. Thankful for: fellowship, laughter, intergenerational connections, good work in the community, and spiritual reorientation. Quick reminder of the sermons: Priorities, The Basics, and (today) Focus. What is the focus of your life? What drives you?
    #Winning - trending hashtag that names something as a success: garage sale find, sweaty selfie at the 5K goal line, photo of one’s spouse, taking kids to get ice cream and not falling off your diet, raising 5 kids and your wife is still convinced that men’s restrooms don’t have diaper changing stations.
    There are all kinds of things that we might call a “win.” If we’re honest, some of them can be all-consuming. Sometimes we are fooled by the “win”, finding out later that we were focused on something that will not be worth it in the end.

    The Parable of the Rich Fool

    A large crowd was gathered (thousands, trampling one another 12:1) and Jesus was teaching them.
    Luke 12:13–14 ESV
    Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But he said to him, “Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you?”
    Deut 21:15-17 Firstborns gets double inheritance and apparently this man’s older brother refused to give him what he thought he was due. Because these cases often involve the interpretation of the Scriptures, rabbis were consulted. Jesus has no intention of settling the dispute.
    Isn’t our prayer life often like this—a trivial list of whatever “win” we’re after at the moment?
    Luke 12:15 ESV
    And he 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.”
    Jesus identifies the real issue: this man (like many) was fooled into thinking that life is measured and valued by the accumulation of stuff.
    Luke 12:16–17 ESV
    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?’
    Luke 12:18–19 ESV
    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. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” ’
    Luke 12:20 ESV
    But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’
    Luke 12:21 ESV
    So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”

    Out-of-Focus Living

    In some ways we all want to be this man (winning)
    primary human pursuits: security and pleasure (this guy has made it!)
    picture the life of a rich farmer: big acreage with long straight rows, well tended, beautiful field with a bumper crop (envy of neighboring farmers), nice house w/manicured yard, couple of new tractors, late model pickup, multiple barns (though they can always be bigger of course).
    The man was living the dream—yet still dreaming of more.
    Possessions are necessary, even a blessing. But take care and be on your guard because they can easily become the all-consuming focus of your life—as if your life depended on it.
    kids: toy, stuffed animal / teens: shoes, phone / adults: new truck
    The wisdom of Jesus: Life does not consist in the abundance of stuff (It is not the win)
    Luke 12:22-24 - The birds don’t even have a barn! God looks after them because they have value to him—and how much more God values you!
    Life is not something you get for yourself; it is the gift of God.
    All of us are going to die, but we don’t always plan accordingly. The focus of our life is easily short-sighted.
    God interrupts the man’s day dream: “Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you’ve prepared, whose will they be?”
    we might talk about our children, but miss the point: the man could not hang on to a single thing that he called “mine”
    vs. 18: my crops, my barns, my grain, my goods, and (even) my soul
    in the end, there was not a one that he could keep
    Luke 9:25 - What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?
    Inward-turned eyes really do get stuck like that. Living for oneself never ends well.
    The fool in this story is entirely focused on himself. No thought for God or others. The only problem is how he is going to keep it all for himself. And he solves that to his own satisfaction, dreaming up larger barns and saying to himself: vs. 20 “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”
    turns out he ends up looking pretty foolish
    What we have is is meant to be used for a greater purpose our own security and pleasure (we are blessed to be a blessing)
    Are we clinging to it what we have and what we want? Or channeling it all toward God and his purposes? (rich toward God).

    See Yourself as a Pink Spoon

    Illustration from A.L. Sherman: Like the the little pink taste-test spoons that give you a foretaste of the ice cream to come, let’s see ourselves offering a foretaste to our neighbors of what life is like with God and of what life in his eternal kingdom will be. (forgiving, willing to serve, good and just and beautiful like Jesus, lavishly generous, gracious and kind, etc.) #winning

    Conclusion

    1. Don’t be fooled by the win; God and his purposes are ultimate. (So, follow Jesus: In him is life, abundant and eternal). 2. Live rich toward God, like the pink spoon. The only way to truly give such a foretaste is if the life of God indeed is with us. Only by cleansing of Christ’s blood and the inside-out transformation of the Holy Spirit can our living come to truly taste like Jesus.
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      • Luke 12:13–14NIV2011

      • Luke 12:15NIV2011

      • Luke 12:16–17NIV2011

      • Luke 12:18–19NIV2011

      • Luke 12:20NIV2011

      • Luke 12:21NIV2011

      • Luke 12:22–24NIV2011

      • Luke 12:17–18NIV2011

      • Luke 12:19NIV2011

      • Luke 12:20NIV2011

      • Luke 9:25NIV2011

      • Luke 12:21ESV

Comanche Trail Church of Christ (Amarillo)
ctcc@comanchetrail.net
(806) 373-4190
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