Here are two men. One man is highly successful
professionally. He makes a lot of money and he's
quite good at what he does. He lives in a big house. He drives
an expensive car. He has a lot of disposable income
that enables him to do what many other people cannot afford to
do. He's got a nice wife, nice family, has a good life. Here's another man. Like we just read about, one
who found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Which man is rich? If you ever want to know what
grace means, look at that Genesis chapter 6 real carefully. I was
real thankful that you read that passage of scripture. I thought
that's a better introduction than the introduction I had.
Cut it off that. Noah was included in that group
that is described when God saw the wickedness of man was great
in the earth and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually. That described Noah. Noah was
in that bunch. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. What greater riches is there
than that? To find grace in the eyes of
the Lord. Now I've entitled this message
Rich Toward God. The Lord said in verse 21, so
is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich toward
God. Now, what does it mean to be
rich toward God? You see, God has a lot of money.
He has a whole lot of money. And there isn't anything you
or I have that can be added to him. So what does it mean to
be rich toward God? Would I be one that the Lord
describes as one who is rich to himself? Now, this story begins
in verse 13, and one of the company, Luke chapter 12, verse 13, and
one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother
that he divide the inheritance with me. Now, this man felt wronged. He felt shorted. His brother
got more than he did, and he was upset. And I just wonder
how many families have been ripped apart from this thing called
an inheritance. Somebody feeling like they're
not getting their fair share. And this man felt this way, and
he felt wronged. And don't get too down on him. If you got shut out, you would
feel wronged as well, wouldn't you? This man felt wronged. He
didn't get what he thought he should. So he comes to the Lord
and he says, Master, speak to my brother that he divide the
inheritance with me. And I love the way the Lord answered
him. He said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider
over you? What do I have to do with any
of that? I love the Lord's response, and
we could learn some wisdom from that, couldn't we? There are
some things that we just should not get into. And the Lord refused
to get into this issue with this man. And then he made this statement
in verse 15. And this is the only time I'm
aware of him using a double warning. He said unto them, take heed
and beware of covetousness. I notice he gives a double warning.
Take heed and beware of covetousness. Be on your guard against covetousness. Now, probably less has been said
about this sin than any other sin. And yet it is the greatest
sin. Covetousness. It was the last
of the Ten Commandments. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
house. Thou shalt not cover thy neighbor's
wife. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
manservant. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's
maidservant. Thou shalt not cover thy neighbor's
ox or ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's. Now, what
is covetousness? It is a desire to have more. which speaks of a dissatisfaction
with what one has. Covetousness. Take heed and beware
of covetousness. You know, this was the first sin. Adam and Eve desiring to be like
God. It was the very first sin. It's
the sin that Lucifer was guilty of when he said, I'll exalt my
throne above God's. That's why he was thrown into
hell. Paul called it the root of all
evil. It's the mother of every other
sin. From covetousness comes Conflicts,
fights, wars, strives, envy, jealousy, all of these things
proceed from covetousness, desiring more. Now beloved covetousness, it's
not Well, I've got a 1969 Volkswagen with the floorboard rusted through
and my feet sticking out. I'd like to get a better vehicle,
but I should be content with what I have. No, no. Get a new
car. You might get hurt. That's not
what covetousness means. Covetousness goes much farther
than simply coveting material things. We covet power. We covet
popularity. We covet pleasure. We covet prestige. We covet position. We covet human praise. When the Lord speaks of all that's
of the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,
and the pride of life, the driving force behind those things is
covetousness. Take heed and beware of covetousness. Then the Lord makes this statement,
a man's life does not consist of the abundance of things he
possesses. Now, 99% of this world's population
probably would not agree with that, but so what? A man's life doesn't consist
in the abundance of things he possesses, whether materially
or any other desires, more power, more pleasure, more popularity.
A man's life just does not consist in these things. All that really
matters is, does God know me? And do I know God? That's all that matters. Take
heed. You know, Hugh Latimer, the English
martyr, introduced a message with this passage of scripture.
Take heed and beware of covetousness. And he quoted it three times. Take heed and beware of covetousness. Take heed and beware of covetousness. Take heed and beware of covetousness. And then he said, need I say
anything else? We read of the uncertainty of
riches. We read of filthy lucre. We read of the deceitfulness
of riches. I love this passage in Ecclesiastes
chapter 5 verse 12. It says, the sleep of a laboring
man is sweet, but the abundance of the rich suffering them not
to sleep. This was the sin that Paul said
was used to show him how exceedingly sinful he was. He found out,
he thought he kept the law, and then he found out that he was
eaten up with covetousness. The writer to the Hebrews said,
be content with such things as you have. Let your conversation
be without covetousness. Now, I'm talking to the believer
right now. And if somebody is not a believer,
I want you to listen in. I want you to hear this. Be content
with such things as you have. What do you have? We just read
or we just sang that song, I am my beloved's and my beloved's
mine. That's who I am. What more could
you want? What do you have? I have the
forgiveness of all my sins. All my sins, and there are a
whole lot of them, a whole lot more than I know anything about,
but they're all forgiven sins. What do I have? I have the very
righteousness of Jesus Christ as my personal righteousness
before God. His life is my life. I have the promise of His grace. He said, I'll never leave thee,
nor forsake thee. He's promised. He's not going
to leave me now. I know that I'd leave Him. If He didn't keep
me from it, but you know He won't let me. He won't let me and He's
promised, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. I've got the
promise of what we considered this morning. I've got this promise.
All things are working together for my good. Everything. I've got this promise. If God
be for us, who can be against us. I've got God for me. I've
got God on my side. Aaron read that in the back.
The Lord's on my side. What shall I fear what man shall
do unto me? I've got the God of glory on my side for me. What do you have? Could I go
on and on and on? I've got a new heart. I've got
a heart that was not there when I was born. And it's divine. It's the gift of God given to
me in the new nature. I've got a nature that cannot
sin. Now, I've got a nature that all
does a sin. But I've got a nature, a holy nature that loves God,
that believes the gospel, that cannot sin. I could go on and on about what
I have. Be content, be satisfied with
such things as you have. You know, I am, I'm satisfied. I'm not looking for anything
else. I'm not satisfied with myself. I love what David said
in Psalm 17, 15. He said, as for me, I will behold
thy face in righteousness. I'll be satisfied when I awake
in thy likeness. Now, I'll be plumb satisfied
then, but until then, I am completely satisfied to be saved by Christ.
I'm completely satisfied to be saved by His grace. I'm completely
satisfied to have His righteousness as my only righteousness before
God, and I don't want to have anything to do with anything
else. I'm completely satisfied simply to be found in Christ. I am satisfied to enter heaven
on the coattails of King Jesus. I'm satisfied. Be content, be
satisfied with such things as you have. Now, if you're coveting
something, It's because it's something you don't have. But
if I have Christ, there's nothing to covet. It can't get any better
than it is. I can't get any more loved. I
can't get any more accepted. I can't become more justified.
I am complete in the Lord Jesus Christ and I'm not looking for
anything else. I've had people respond to me
on numerous occasions regarding preaching. There's got to be
more than this. You just ain't seen. If you ever see, you'll
know this is everything. Be content with such things as
ye have. The Lord said to the church at
Smyrna, I know thy poverty, but thou art rich. And they were
very poor in purse, but oh, how rich they were. And he said to
the church alive to see it, you say I'm rich and increased with
goods and have need of nothing. And you don't know that you're
wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked. Take heed,
the Lord says, and beware of covetousness. Now, the only person
who doesn't covet is the person who already has everything. Anything
you don't have, you're going to covet it. Let me assure you
of that. And covetousness is a sin that
you cannot stop. I think that that's why it's
the last of the Ten Commandments. And it's the one that people
don't even think that much about, but yet it is the mother of all
sin. The only way you're going to
not covet it is to have everything where there's nothing to covet.
And that's what the believer has in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the Lord gives a parable,
verse 16. And he spake a parable unto them,
saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. Now why did his ground bring
forth plentifully? God caused it to. That's the
only answer. God caused it too. God gave him
everything he had. He didn't know it, but God gave
him everything he had. When God prospers us, it's not
to raise our standard of living, but to raise our standard of
giving. He was prosperous. But notice
how God is completely absent in everything He says. I want you to notice how many
times you read the word, I, here. That's the dominating thought
of this passage of Scripture. I, I, I. And He thought within Himself,
saying, what shall I do? Because I have no more room where
to bestow my fruits. And he said, this will I do.
I'll pull down my barns and I'll build greater. And there will
I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I'll say to my soul,
soul, thou hast much good laid up for many years. Take thine
ease, eat, drink and be merry. That's about the most presumptuous
statement you're going to find in all the word of God. You have
many goods laid up for many years. What makes you think you have
many years to go? Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest
not what a day may bring forth. You know, it might be that one
of us will die tonight. It's a sobering thought, but
a true one nonetheless. Boast not thyself of tomorrow,
thou knowest not what a day brings forth. Turn with me for a moment
to James chapter four. Hold your finger there and look
at James chapter 4. Verse 13. James chapter 4 verse
13. Go to now you that say today
or tomorrow we will go into such a city and continue their year
and buy and sell and get gain, whereas you know not what shall
be on the morrow, for what is your life? It's even a vapor. that appeareth for a little time
and then vanishes away. Our life has about as much significance
in the grand scheme of things. My life, I'm talking about your
life. It counts about as much as a fellow sticking his thumb
in the ocean and pulling it out. That little depression that happened
just for a second and then it's gone and everybody's going to
forget you. I'm going to die. Some people will be sad. Several
years later, nobody will even know who I am. My great-grandchildren,
who is our great-grandfather? Nobody will know. What is your
life? It's even a vapor that appears
for a little while and passes away. For that you ought to say, if
the Lord wills. we shall live and do this or
that. But now you rejoice in your boastings, all such rejoicing
is evil. Therefore to him that knoweth
to do good and doeth it not to him it is sin. Don't you know
that the only way you'll do something is if the Lord wills you to do
it. Whatever happens tomorrow, you make plans, but you really
believe. If the Lord will, we'll do this. You see, we understand
something about the fragileness of life, and we understand something
about the weakness of our own character. We make boasts, we
make plans, but what will we do? If the Lord will, we'll do
this. Now let's go back to Luke chapter
12. Now here's God's assessment of
what this man says. But God said unto him, Thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall
those things be which thou has provided that you've worked so
hard for and now you're going to have a 20 year vacation? So
is he. that layeth up treasure for himself,
and is not rich toward God." Now, what does it mean to be
rich toward God? As I've already said, it's not
like God needs anything that you and I have. There's nothing
that we can give Him that would add unto His store. He's God. I love that passage of Scripture.
If I was hungry, I wouldn't tell you. The cattle on a thousand
hills are mine. So what does it mean to be rich
toward God? Well, we know what it means to
be rich toward someone. When you're rich toward someone,
you're generous toward them. You're generous of your time,
of everything about you. When you're rich toward someone,
you give yourself to that person. Now to be rich toward God, we're
gonna have to have something that's of value to God. For me to be rich toward God,
I'm gonna have to have something that's of value to God. Now, where am I gonna get something
like that? Now this man that our Lord said
was a fool, he was someone who laid up treasure for himself.
He was really into self-gratification. He laid up treasure for himself,
but he didn't think a thing about God. He was not rich toward God. Now first, to be rich toward
God, you've got to possess some riches. And I'm not talking about
financial riches. I quoted a scripture last week.
One of my favorite verses in the Bible, you know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, Oh, who can describe the riches
of Christ? Infinite riches. He's God. Before He came, angels fell at
His feet praising Him. He had the smile of His Father
all the time. Rich in communion with God. So mysterious, the riches of
Christ. You know the riches of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though
He was rich, yet for your sakes, He became poor. And His poverty is such that
no man could describe it. He was completely cut off from
His Father. That's the poverty he experienced.
He became poor in righteousness. On the cross, he didn't have
a drop. All the sins of all God's people became his and he became
poor. That you, through his poverty,
might be rich. Now, I'm looking at some rich
people right now. I mean infinitely rich, having
the riches of the Lord Jesus Christ, the unsearchable riches
of Christ. Why, you'd make Howard Buffett? No, the guy that lives in Oklahoma
City, the richest guy in the world. I can't remember what
his name is. Okay, well, Warren Buffett, that's it. He's a pauper
compared to any believer. He's a pauper. He has nothing
compared to what every believer possesses in Christ Jesus. I'm
looking at some infinitely wealthy people. You have the riches of
his righteousness. You have the riches of his grace. You have the riches of his nature.
You're a partaker of the divine nature. You're a joint heir with
the Lord Jesus Christ. You have that which God is interested
in. You know, the only thing God's
interested in is something He's done. And you can just write
that down. The only thing He can be pleased
with is what He has done, and you have done what He has done.
In Christ. When Christ kept the law, you
did too. What riches? The riches of every
spiritual blessing. The riches of faith and repentance.
The riches of complete acceptance. The riches of having God for
you. The riches of His foreknowledge and His predestination and His
calling and His justification and His glorification. The riches
of being united to the Lord Jesus Christ. One with Him. Both he that sanctifieth and
they that are sanctified are all of one. You know, every believer
has that treasure that was hidden in the field that he went and
sold all he had to have it. He's got the one pearl of great
price. Every believer possesses this.
Now, you first have to be rich in order to be rich toward God,
and the rich man who died had a lot of worldly riches that
served him well while he was here, but he was never rich toward
God. Now, who is this person who is
rich toward God? Well, I know this. I'm going
to give you four or five things. It has something to do with not
laying up treasures for yourself. That's what it has something
to do with. Now somebody's saying, should I not save for retirement
and try to make sure that I've got a living when I'm old? Sure,
you should. Sure you should. I wouldn't dare tell someone
to not say. And as far as that goes, there
is absolutely nothing wrong with wealth if the Lord gives it.
If you've got plenty of money, that's a blessing of God. If
you don't have plenty of money, that's a blessing of God. Whatever
place the Lord's put you, that's where He's put you, and it's
best. So I'm not trying to put somebody on a guilt trip. I'm
afraid I saved too much money for my retirement. That's not
even what I'm talking about. That being said, if my life is
about laying up treasure for myself, I can't be rich toward
God. Can't be. Here's what it means to be rich
toward God. He must increase. And I must decrease. That's what John the Baptist
said. That's what is said by someone who is rich toward God. He that saveth his life shall
lose it. And he that loses his life for
my sake and the gospel's, the same shall find it. If any man will come after me,
Let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow me. Paul said, but none of these
things move me, neither count I my life dear to myself, that
I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I've
received of the Lord Jesus to testify the gospel of the grace
of God. Paul said, I fought a good fight,
I finished my course, I've kept the faith. Now, would you turn
with me to Mark chapter 12, and let me show you somebody who's
rich toward God. Verse 41 of Mark chapter 12. And Jesus sat over against the
treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury,
and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain
poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. You know that was such an insignificant
amount. wouldn't pay any bills. It was very insignificant. If
somebody threw in a couple of pennies into the box back there,
I'm glad you did it, but it's not going to help much as far
as paying the bills. But that's not what God looks
at. Verse 43. And he called unto
him his disciples and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you that
this poor widow hath cast more in than all they which have cast
into the treasury. For all they did cast in of their
abundance, but she of her want did cast in all that she had,
even all her living." You know what this woman did? She became
completely dependent upon God to take care of her. She was
rich in faith. What this woman did in being
rich toward God, and this is what rich toward God is. You're
rich toward God when you're completely dependent upon Him for everything. Oh, that God would make every
one of us just like this poor widow. She cast in all her living,
and I love the way her life, it's gone. You know, I want to
give generously, and I want you to give generously, but I don't
think that's really what this parable is all about. This is not so
much talking about generosity as complete dependence on the
Lord for all things. All her living, she now had nothing
else. Have you ever cast away all of
your righteousness and all your living and all of your hope and
looked to Christ alone? You know, that's what it is to
be rich toward God. To look to Christ alone. I wish God would give us the
grace to do that. To look to Christ alone. That's the emphasis, alone. That's
what this woman did. She became completely dependent
upon Him for all her living. Now, I don't want to be like
this rich fool. I want to be dead to this world. I want to
be about as interested in this world as a dead man is. You know
a dead man? How concerned is he about the
things everybody gets so upset about? He's not concerned at
all, is he? He's dead to this world. Now
we live in this world, I realize that, but Paul did say you're
dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who
is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with Him
in glory. Now, I want to be dead to this
world, and I want to be just like this
poor widow, cast in all my living. and trust Him only. May God give us grace to do just
that. Let's pray together.