Let's turn back to Luke chapter
12 while you're turning there. Robin, Jessica, Elliot had Jackson
Monday, but he's had some lung issues and problems and he's
on a lung machine. But things are looking good.
So remember that family in prayer has been very difficult for him
this week. I've entitled this message Rich
Toward God. rich toward God. Look in verse 20. But God said unto him, Thou fool,
this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then who shall
those things be which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth
up treasure for himself. He is rich toward himself. and
is not rich toward God. What does it mean to be rich
toward God? Now, the Lord tells us that if
we're not, we're fools and nothing more. So what does it mean to
be rich toward God? Am I rich toward God? Let's move back up to verse 13. And one of the company. Now,
the Lord had been preaching. And this person, no doubt, considered
himself a disciple of the Lord. Perhaps he was. And one of the
company said unto him, Master. Speak to my brother. that he
divide the inheritance with me. Now, be honest. We can see the
guy's point. We all want what we perceive
is rightfully ours, and this man felt like his brother was
doing him wrong. Now, how many families have been
busted up over what's going on right here? Let the inheritance
be divided equally. And we can see this guy's point. I mean, I understand. And he's
met with a rebuke. I mean, you can see why he would
want the inheritance divided equally. I would, too. But he's
met with a rebuke when he makes this request to the Lord. Verse
14, and he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider
over you. Now, what this man was doing,
and this is why he met this rebuke, this man was seeking to use religion
to help him out temporally. He just wondered what was coming
to him. It was not an unfair thing, but he was using religion
to help him out temporally. And there is no place for that. None at all. But that's what
he was doing. He was using it for that purpose. So he's met with the rebuke.
Verse 15, and he said unto them, that whole group after witnessing
this, he said unto them, take heed and beware of covetousness. Now, there are several things
that the Lord told us to beware of. And if he tells us to beware
of something, you can bet we better beware of it. We better
be on our guard about it. He said, beware of false prophets. That's a needful admonition. Beware of false prophets. He said in another place, beware
of men. I like that. Beware of men. Brother Joe just read that psalm
out of Psalm 56. Man would swallow me up. Beware
of men. Watch out. And then he said,
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy, beware of
hypocrisy, beware of being an actor. Oh, you know, that scares
me because I know I can be that so easily. And I'm afraid of
what the Lord says. I mean, when he says beware,
we better beware. And then he said in this passage
of scripture, he gives us a double shot. He said, take heed and
beware. He didn't just say beware. He
said, you take heed, you watch out and beware of covetousness. Covetousness, the sin which is
least thought of and most practiced. Covetousness. Covetousness is
the last commandment of the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20, verse
17 says, Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house. Thou shalt
not covet thy neighbor's wife. nor his manservant, nor his maidservant,
nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's. Covetousness. Paul called covetousness
the root of all evil. Remember when he said the love
of money? Covetousness is the root of all evil. It is the mother sin. It was
the sin of Lucifer when he was coveting God's position. And
that's why he was kicked out of heaven. It was the sin of
our first parents in the garden when they coveted independence
from God. They didn't like the place where
they were at. They coveted something else. And they fell. All the conflicts and all the
troubles in this life come from covetousness. Wars, quarrels,
fights, strife, envies, disputes, jealousies all have covetousness
behind them. I want what is yours. That is covetousness. Now, coveting
goes a whole lot further than coveting material things. We
covet power. We covet position. We covet prestige. We covet human praise. We covet pleasure. Paul said
in Colossians 3, verse 5, covetousness is idolatry. Beware, take heed
and beware of covetousness. Take heed and beware of covetousness. Take heed and beware of covetousness. What if I should say nothing
else? Take heed and beware of covetousness. Now look what he says in verse
15. For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things
which he possesses. Life is not possessions. And how dull, stupid, and shallow
we prove ourselves to be if that's what we're about. Now how important
will possessions be on Judgment Day when I stand before God? Will they matter at all? And
I'm called upon to not value them any more now than I will
then. If riches increase, set not your
heart upon them. Now, verse 16, And he spake a parable unto them,
saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully. Happens all the time. A rich
man, that is what most people desire. Riches. Riches. If I just had a little
more. Riches. Turn to 1 Timothy chapter
6. Hold your finger there. Luke
and turn to First Timothy chapter six. Verse five, Paul talks of perverse
disputings of men, of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth,
supposing that Supposing that prosperity is godliness, from
such, withdraw thyself. Don't have anything to do with
somebody like that. But godliness with contentment is great gain. Isn't it wonderful when the Lord
gives you grace to be content? To be satisfied? You don't covet
because there's nothing to covet. You already have everything.
you're completing Christ. What a wonderful place to be.
Godliness with contentment is great gain. For, verse 7, we
brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry
nothing out, and having food and raiment, let us be there
with contentment. satisfied now I think the first
application that really is not just physical food and clothing
but having Christ as my food and Christ as my covering what
more could I want nothing and if I have that food and rain
was just fine I love what that one woman said when she was sitting
down with Bunyan to dinner and they were sitting down to bread
and water And she said, Christ, and all this, what more could
somebody want? Having food and raiment, let
us be there with contentment. But, verse 9, they that will
be rich, that's their desire, that's their goal, that's their
purpose. They that will be rich, fall into temptation and a snare,
and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction
and perdition. For the love of money is the
root of all evil, which while some coveted after, they have
erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows." Look down in verse 17 of this same chapter, "...charge
them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded."
Nor trust in uncertain riches. Aren't the riches of this world
uncertain? We've found them leave real quick, haven't we, in the
last few years. They're uncertain. But in the
living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy, that they
do good, that they be rich in good works. ready to distribute,
willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a
good foundation against the time to come that they may lay hold
upon eternal life. Now, those good works and those
gifts are not the foundation. Christ is the foundation, but
they're the evidence that Christ had done something for me. That's
what he's saying regarding those things. Now, we read in the scriptures
of uncertain riches. and the deceitfulness of riches.
We read in Ecclesiastes 5.15 of the worry they bring in keeping
them. The working man's rest is sleep, but the man who has
money, he can't sleep because he's worried about what's going
to happen to his money. In Proverbs, the Lord said, how hardly, how
hardly should they that have riches enter into the kingdom
of heaven. And he said to the one who was
unfaithful in handling what his master gave him as a steward,
he said, that one who's not faithful in that which is least, handling
what God has given you as a steward, he's also not faithful in that
which is great. And he said, who will commit
to your trust the true riches? Now, this man, his land brought
forth plentifully. Verse 17. And he thought within himself,
saying, What shall I do? Because I have nowhere to bestow
my fruits. And he said, This will I do.
I will 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 goods laid up for many years. Take
thine ease. Eat, drink, and be merry. Now where was God in his thoughts? Nowhere. No thankfulness. No acknowledgment of God's blessing
to him. No desire to give, which means
no love. His phrase, my fruits and my
goods. Doesn't everything belong to
the Lord? I'm nothing more than a steward.
of that which belongs to him. Now, the world will look on this
man as a wise businessman, but his attitude is so foolish. Look
what he says. He says, after pulling down his
barns and building greater to have much goods laid up for many
years, he says in verse 19, and I'll say to my soul, soul, thou
has much goods laid up for many years. Take that ease. Eat, drink,
and be merry. You've got millions in the bank.
You don't need to worry about a thing. Have a good time. Eat, drink, and be merry. The wise man said, boast not
thyself of tomorrow. For thou knowest not what a day
may bring forth. Turn to James 4 for a moment.
I want you to hold your finger there. James chapter 4. Verse 13, Go to now, you that say, Today
or tomorrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a
year, and buy and sell and get gain, whereas you know not what
shall be on the morrow, for what is your life? It is even a vapor
that appears for a little time, and then vanisheth away. I think of that passage of Scripture.
I think we've been around over 6,000 years, I suppose, as far
as recorded history. How many lives have there been
during that time? Billions. And whoever even thinks
about it. People that died 100 years ago,
you have no idea who they are, what they did 500 years ago,
1,000 years ago. One of these days you're going
to die if the Lord doesn't come back. One of these days I'm going to
die and somebody Nobody will know who Todd Byford is. It was
just a vapor that appeared for a little while and vanished away. What he says in verse 15, for
that you ought to say, if the Lord will, we shall live and
do this or do that. Now, we know that the only thing
that controls everything is God's will. if the Lord will. It's up to him. I can propose
to do things, but I know this. It may not happen if it's the
Lord's will. I'll do this. I'll go there. Always, if it's
the Lord's will. Now look what he says in verse
16, that 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. Now, back to our text in Luke
chapter 12. What a foolish statement this
man makes when he says, I'll say to my soul, soul, thou hast
much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink,
and be merry. Beloved, we don't know what's
going to happen in 15 minutes. And we have absolutely no control
over what happens in 15 minutes. So how foolish is this man when
he says in verse 19, my soul, thou hast much goods laid up
for many years, take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But
God said unto him, verse 20, thou fool, this night thy soul shall be
required of thee. Then who shall those things be
which thou hast provided? You know, there's only two things
you can take in death. One of these two, you either
take your sin or his grace. That's all you can take. Your
sin or his grace. Nothing else. Now, the Lord says
in verse 21, So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and
is not rich toward God. So is the man that is rich toward
himself, but not rich toward God. Now, what does it mean to be
rich toward God? Now, if I'm rich toward someone,
if I'm rich toward you, that means I'm generous with you. That means I'm generous of my
time. I'm generous of my affection. I'm generous with my love. I'm
generous with my material goods. If I'm rich toward you, that
means I'm generous toward you. Now, what can I give that would
enrich him? It talks about people actually
being generous toward God. What can I give that would enrich
him? See, the Lord's got a lot of
money. He's got a whole lot of money. And he doesn't need a
dime that you have. As a matter of fact, he said
the cattle on a thousand hills were mine. If I was hungry, I
wouldn't tell you about it. What can I give he who is absolutely
independently wealthy? He's the only one like that.
You know, we talk about independent wealth. Ain't nobody has independent
wealth. The Lord can take it just like that. It can fly away
so quick and you'll be a pauper. Only he is independently wealthy
because he's a God. He's glorious. He controls all
things. Now, how in the world can I be
rich toward him? Now, first of all, to be rich
toward God, you've got to have riches. You personally must have
some riches. Now, the only way that you and
I are going to have any riches is if He gives us those riches. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, oh, the richness of
Christ, yet for your sakes He became poor. That's talking about
what he did on Calvary Street. He became poor. He became poor
in all things. He became the object of God's
wrath. He became poor in righteousness.
Go on and on. Oh, the poverty that our Lord
endured when He was made sin and left to Himself. For your
sakes, He became poor that you through His poverty might be
rich. And you know, the Lord said to
the church of Pergamos, Thou, And he says that to every believer.
Thou art rich. I'm looking at some fabulously
wealthy men and women, people who have riches beyond measure,
joint heirs with Christ. So for me to be rich toward God,
I'm going to have to be able to have some kind of riches.
Now, what are the riches that the believer has? It's not material
riches that's being spoken of. I mean, it's just not, think
of where James said, hath not God chosen the poor of this world,
rich in faith. Rich in faith. If you have faith, you have riches
beyond belief. You see, faith is the gift of
God. If you have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, He's made
you rich. You couldn't come up with that
faith on your own. You've tried to believe and you can't do it.
The only way you can have faith is if God gives you faith. And
if you have faith, what riches you have. Now what is faith?
Faith is the act of me in my poverty. In my inability. in my sinfulness, trusting the
Lord Jesus Christ as making me rich before God. That's what
faith is. And faith gives glory to God. Remember how it was said, remember,
you got to give Him something. Remember how it was said of Abraham?
He was not weak in faith, but staggered not at the promise
of God to unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. Being fully persuaded of what
God had promised, he was able also to perform. Now listen to
me. If you believe that the life of Jesus Christ His perfect righteousness
is your only righteousness before God, and His life, the life you're
relying on, is your acceptance before God. If you believe that
His death on the cross, His shed blood is your only sin payment,
and you wouldn't dare bring anything else in God's presence, nothing
in my hands I bring simply to thy cross I clean. If you really
believe that his resurrection is your justification, it doesn't
have anything to do with you. When he was raised from the dead,
he satisfied God. He did it all. And that's who
you're relying on. If you really believe that his
intercession is the only way you persevere because he prays
for you and he keeps you. If you really believe that, do
you know you're rich and you're actually rich toward God? You
give glory. to God. Rich in faith. We read that passage of Scripture
in 1 Timothy 6.18 of being rich in good works. Rich in good works. Well, first, what is a good work?
A good work is anything done out of love to Christ. For His
sake. For His glory. An example the
Lord gives us, the best example is that woman with that alabaster
box of ointment. What is so glorious about this
good work that she performed, all the rest of the disciples
didn't think it was a good work. That lets me know that we don't
much know what good works are. I mean, we've got our opinions,
but our Lord called what this woman, she was criticized by
all the disciples. But the Lord says, you let her
alone, she hath wrought a good work upon me. She did what she
did out of gratefulness to Christ, out of love to Christ, rich in
good works. And here's what rich in good
works does. Remember when our Lord said, let your light so
shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify
your Father, which is in heaven. Now, if you do something that
somehow you get the glory out of it, it ain't no good. It's
no good. You may think it's good, but
it's not. I'll assure you, if my works are done in such a way
as to be seen of men, to get glory of men, to pat myself on
the back, there's nothing to them. Not a thing. But, oh, a
good work, a true good work, glorifies God. I tell you what,
I'm sure of this. If I have any good works, if
I do, It glorifies God because they
couldn't have come from me. I'm sure of that. I'm sure that
if I have it. And I trust I do. Any believer
has them. If you think they're good, they're
no good. Like if you think, well, what are the good works you've done? I
can't name them. Don't have it. As a matter of
fact, if I think I have them, I don't. I'm sure of that. But
it's also true that if I do, and every believer is a peculiar
people, zealous of good works. And the reason we're zealous
of good works is because they glorify our heavenly father.
They glorify our Redeemer. That's why we want them. But
good works glorify God. Now remember, this thing of being
rich toward God, that means you generously give toward God and
good works glorify him. Turn with me. Second Corinthians
chapter 8. Here we read of the riches of
your liberality, he said to the Corinthians. Second Corinthians
chapter 8. I love this passage of scripture.
Verse 1. Moreover, brethren, we do you
to win or we want you to know of the grace of God bestowed
upon the churches of Macedonia, how that in a great trial of
affliction, The abundance of their joy and their deep poverty
abounded unto the riches of their liberality." Now, they were poor
church mice. They had nothing, but they were
liberal and generous in their giving. For to their power, I
bear record, yea, and beyond our power, they were willing
of themselves. They didn't have to be prodded
and pushed. This was spontaneous. It came from their hearts, praying
us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift. and take
upon us the fellowship of the ministering of the saints. And
this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves
to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God, insomuch that we
desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish,
and you the same grace also. Therefore, as you abound in everything
in faith, In utterance, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your
love to us, see that you are bound in this grace also. I speak
not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others,
and to prove the sincerity of your love. For you know the grace,
you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He
was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor. that you through
his poverty might be rich. You see the riches we have in
being rich towards God is because he became poor. That we through
his poverty might be rich. Now turn with me to Mark chapter
12. I want to be rich towards God, don't
you? I wanted this. This is what I want for me. I
want to be somebody who's rich toward God. It's so easy to be
rich for ourselves. Oh, to be rich toward God. Now
look here in Mark chapter 12. Verse 41. 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. I guess the best analogy is she
threw in two cents, two pennies. How much could that help? What
would that do to contribute to paying the bills around here?
Two cents. 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. Now after this poor widow cast
in her gift, what did she have left? Nothing or everything. or everything. This is the richest
woman to ever live. Did her two mites enrich the
Lord? No, but he loved this gift and it certainly enriched her. Now, this is what I want to do. I want to be rich toward the
Lord. I want to be rich in faith. Looking nowhere but to Christ
at all times has everything in my salvation. Having no other
trust. Having no other confidence. Looking to Christ only. You know
when I do that, that's rich. That's being rich toward the
Lord. And you know that the riches you have, that you're rich toward
the Lord. If you have faith, you know He gave it to you. He's only
enabling you to do what He Gave you to do and enables you to
do it. But this thing of simply walking by faith. I want to walk
my faith and not by sight. Trusting the Lord Jesus Christ,
rich in faith. I want to be rich in good works.
Not for my own glory, because I don't have any glory. Not at
all. I know in and of myself I'm nothing
but vanity and sinfulness and weakness and patheticness and
all those things. I know that. And I know that
if I have good works, it'll be because he worked in me both
to will and to do his good pleasure. I know that. I am so aware of
that. But I want to have good works
that glorify him. When you see somebody like me,
what glory goes to God that somebody like that is rich in good works. And I want to be rich in my liberality.
I want to be like this widow. Threw in all of her living. She
was made to live by faith alone. Are you suggesting that we get
rid of all of our savings? No, I'm not suggesting that.
But I'm suggesting I do exactly as this widow did. I have nothing left in the sense
that He is my living. I trust Him for all things. And there's such joy and happiness
in that. We give Him our time. Remember, this is being rich
toward God is generous giving. We give Him our time. It always
bothers me when I see people just trying to juggle in hearing
the gospel if they can, you know, try to fit it into their busy
schedule. Too busy in that case. Too busy. We give Him our time. We give
Him our affection, our love, our all. I want to be rich toward
God. Let's pray together.