Things

And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail. Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery. There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.

the bible doesn’t say that money is necessarily bad but rather, the love of money.

the problem we have often takes the form of greed

the things of this life then begin to overpower and take higher importance than the things of God.

The things that count are not the things temporal but rather, the things that are permanent....our eternal destination.

The fever of getting them.

Leo Tolstoi told a story of a man to whom a rich landowner promised as much ground as he could walk over in one day. In the morning the man set off full of vigor, determined to cover as much land as possible before sundown. He tramped all day long without a single halt and arrived back as darkness fell to claim what he had won. As he entered the landlord’s presence, however, he dropped dead!

We spend our lives seeking after and collecting things that seem to and often have a great value here on earth.

The folly of hoarding them.

The bible talks about the ground of a certain rich man

To explain this teaching Jesus told a parable about a rich man who continued to build bigger and bigger barns to store all his grain and … goods.

Luke 12:16–20 KJV 1900

And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 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. 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. 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?

His attitude was that he would have an easy life because he had everything he could possibly want or need.

God’s response in the parable was that the man was foolish

He erred in that he was storing up treasures on this earth but neglecting eternal things.

that night when he died, his goods would do nothing for him…but would rather, be passed on to someone else.

sometimes goods and possessions can cloud our perception of where we are at with God.

We often conflate riches and money or possessions to success with God or blessing from God.

This passage explains Jesus’ teaching to guard against all kinds of greed.

Someone wanted Jesus to instruct his brother to divide up the inheritance which was due him in an equitable way.

Jesus’ point was that life does not consist in having many possessions. The disciples needed to learn the lesson that life is more important than material things.

. The fret of leaving them.

“I was walking in the new apartments of Cardinal Mazarin’s palace. I recognized the approach of the Cardinal by the sound of his slippered feet, which he dragged one after the other as a man enfeebled by a mortal malady. I concealed myself behind a tapestry, and I heard him say: ‘I must leave all this.’ He stopped at every step, for he was very feeble, before a Correggio, a Titian, or a Caracci, and, casting his eyes on each object that attracted him, he sighed forth, as from the bottom of his heart: ‘I must leave all this. What pains I have taken to acquire all these things! Can I leave them without regret? I shall never see them where I am about to go’ ”

J.H. Jowett said:

Usable Outlines and Illustrations 1. Where to Keep Things

Samuel Johnson, on being shown over the treasures acquired by his friend David Garrick, remarked: “Ah, Davie, these are the things that make death dreadful.”

“The real measure of our wealth is how much we should be worth if we lost all our money”

In all this, we often forget that God has already made us a promise: if we would seek him first.

Matthew 6:33 KJV 1900

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

If we seek God first, he has declared that all of our needs will be met......

The key: Seeking God first.

What will matter in the end.

For each of us eventually, whether we are ready or not, life will come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no minutes, hours or days. All the things you collected whether treasured or forgotten will pass to someone else. Your wealth, fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. It will not matter what you owned or owed. Your grudges, resentments, frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear. So to, your hopes, ambitions, plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away. I won’t matter where you came from or what side of the tracks you lived at the end. It won’t matter if you beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin color will be irrelevant.

So what will matter

How will the value of your days be measured

What will matter is not what you bought but what you built. Not what you get, but what you gave. What will matter is not your success, but your significance. What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught. What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice…That enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example. what will matter is not your competence, but your character. What will matter is not how many people you know, but how many will feel a lasting loss when your gone. What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.

A life lived that matters, is not of circumstance but of choice.

Matthew 6:19–20 KJV 1900

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

Related Media

Related Sermons