[0:00] Thank you.
[0:30] Thank you.
[1:00] And we'll be starting a new series very soon. We may have a couple of weeks in between, but we do have a brand new series that we're excited about coming in just a very short time.
[1:12] But today we finish Uncommon Sense here in Luke chapter 12, beginning at verse 13. So if you've got your Bibles, turn there and look here at Luke chapter 12 and verse 13.
[1:26] It says, And he thought to himself, What shall I do?
[1:59] For I have nowhere to store my crops. And he said, I'll do this. I'll tear down my barns and build larger ones. And there I will store all my grain and my goods.
[2:11] And I will say to my soul, Soul? You have ample goods laid up for you for many years. Relax, eat, drink, and be merry.
[2:22] But God said to him, Fool, this night your soul is required of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?
[2:33] So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Let's pray together. God, thank you for this passage that we get to study today.
[2:48] Lord, it does speak to where so many of us are right now in our life. And I pray that you would teach us once again the uncommon sense of your kingdom.
[3:01] That we would walk not according to the wisdom of the world, but according to the wisdom of God. Holy Spirit, guide us into truth today, we pray. In Christ's name.
[3:11] Amen. Amen. It was one of my favorite snacks growing up as a kid. In fact, every time I went to the grocery store, I would beg and plead for a box of Cracker Jacks.
[3:26] It was one of my favorite snacks. And why was it one of my favorite snacks? Was it because of the delicious mouth-watering caramel? No.
[3:37] Was it because of the gourmet custard cluster of peanuts? No. The reason I loved Cracker Jacks was the same reason everybody else liked Cracker Jacks.
[3:51] And that was because of the prize inside. Who doesn't love temporary tattoos and cheap plastic rings? Well, I thought about that when I was reading a story about a woman that found a prize inside a box.
[4:10] Her name was Deborah Rogoff. She was from Irvine, California. According to the Associated Press, Deborah was shopping at Whole Foods.
[4:21] And her and her daughter purchased a box of Annie's Sour Cream and Onion Cheddar Bunny Crackers. It's quite a long title.
[4:32] But her daughter and her got home later after buying that box of bunny crackers. And her daughter opened up that box of crackers to discover a prize inside.
[4:46] Only it wasn't a cheap plastic ring or a temporary tattoo. It was an envelope with $10,000 in cash.
[5:01] Now, while most people would have been excited to find such a prize, Deborah was concerned. And so she contacted the local store where she bought it.
[5:13] When she called the store owner and started to explain the situation, she was immediately interrupted by the manager. He said, listen, you're not going to believe this.
[5:26] But there was an elderly lady that came into our store today hysterical because she went to return an item to the store.
[5:38] And instead of returning an item that she purchased, she returned a box of bunny crackers that had her life savings inside.
[5:50] Evidently, the elderly woman had lost faith in the bank. And she felt that the most secure place to put her money was in a box of crackers.
[6:02] Deborah gladly returned the box with the money and received her reward. A new box of bunny crackers. Now, while that story ends well, can you imagine how that elderly woman felt when she realized her life savings was gone?
[6:28] Can you imagine how nervous she was? Can you imagine the anxiety she felt when she realized that she turned in that box and all her money was gone?
[6:41] That the very thing she thought was secure wasn't secure at all. Faith family, every single one of us, every single one of you watching this right now is just like that elderly woman.
[6:58] We all seek something to make us feel secure. We may look to the bank for financial security. We may look to a spouse for emotional security.
[7:11] We may look to our years of employment as job security. It's why people have home security systems and car alarms and firearms and live in gated communities and purchase insurance and own certain types of dogs.
[7:26] Hire bodyguards, purchase identity theft protection, password protect their computers and their phones. All with the hopes of feeling secure.
[7:37] Every single one of us does something in some way, looks to someone or something to feel secure.
[7:50] And listen to me, faith family. The common sense approach to life is this. Notice it on the screen. Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass Ass And if that's how you and I approach life, and if that's how you and I feel secure, we need some uncommon sense.
[8:43] And that is exactly what Jesus teaches us here in Luke chapter 12. Luke describes here at the beginning of the chapter that there are thousands of people gathered around Jesus to the point that they are trampling over each other.
[9:01] And Jesus is addressing a whole host of topics. He's speaking about religious hypocrisy, the leaven of the Pharisees.
[9:11] And then He turns to begin to talk among the crowd about trusting God and the fact that God will provide for you.
[9:24] Notice the context in verse 6. Chapter 12, verse 6. He says, Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies and not one of them is forgotten before God?
[9:35] Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, you are of more value than many sparrows.
[9:47] In other words, don't be concerned about the provision of the world. Does God not care for you? Does He not have more of a concern for you than He does even sparrows? And so Jesus is talking about trusting God's provision for your life.
[10:02] And out of the crowd blurts a man with this question. Tell my brother to divide the inheritance.
[10:13] Look at verse 13. Someone in the crowd said to Him, To Jesus, Teacher or Rabbi, Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.
[10:24] Now, at first this might seem odd. Like, if you had one question that you could ask Jesus, Would this really be it? I mean, don't you think you'd have something more spiritual to ask?
[10:37] Like, why is there so much suffering in the world? Or, did Adam and Eve have a belly button? Or, something really deep and theological like that. But no, this guy, the one question he wants answered is, Tell my brother to divide the inheritance.
[10:54] Get involved in this family dispute. Now, why was this issue, Why was this question about family inheritance so important to this man?
[11:06] And it's simple. Faith family right here. Has everything to do with you and I. Security. Security. Getting this inheritance divided rightly Was all about this man's security.
[11:21] You see, in the ancient Near East, When a father died, The oldest son got two-thirds of the inheritance. And the younger son, or sons, Would divide up the remaining third.
[11:33] Now, this is so important. Zone in here. Your inheritance in the ancient Near East Was your life insurance. In the ancient Near East, They're living day to day.
[11:46] And so, the only way you really had any future security Was to save up enough over time And then leave it to your family. Who would save a little more And leave it to your family.
[11:59] Your entire future security Rested on the proper inheritance. It's why Proverbs will often speak About how good it is To leave an inheritance With your children And your children's children.
[12:16] It's why what the prodigal son does Is so shameful. Because he just squanders The inheritance. In other words, Notice this on the screen, Faith family.
[12:28] The source of security Was getting your share. The source of security Was getting your share.
[12:40] This guy wants his money. This guy wants his share Because his future and present security Depended on it.
[12:51] That's what's going on here. But watch How Jesus refuses to get involved. Verse 14 But Jesus said to him, Man, who made me a judge Or arbitrator over you?
[13:07] Jesus doesn't get involved In this situation That this guy is asking him to. Why? Why does Jesus not get involved? Well, number one While it was common To bring family disputes To a rabbi Jesus is not An official rabbi People viewed him As a good teacher People would call him rabbi But Jesus wasn't on the Sanhedrin Jesus didn't go to rabbi school He wasn't officially a rabbi But even more than that Secondly Is that Jesus doesn't get involved Because he discerns Are you listening, Faith Family?
[13:47] He discerns why The guy wants Jesus To get involved Look at what Jesus says next Verse 15 And Jesus 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 In other words Jesus is discerning Something in this man Right here, Faith Family And it's why He's not going to get involved It's not why He's going to get In this situation Because he discerns Listen This man Finds his security In his possessions Number one Number two He's not getting his share And so he feels insecure Which means three He's using Jesus To try to get
[14:48] The security he wants You know, Jesus If you would get involved here And help divide this up With my brother Then I could get my share And then I could feel secure That's why he's asking Jesus to get involved Which means Here's the point And it's a big one Faith Family Look at it on the screen Jesus did not come To help you get security Jesus came to be Your security Think about that Jesus didn't come To help you get security Jesus came to be Your security Just like the crowd That was following Jesus After he had fed The five thousand And they wanted more Listen Jesus didn't come To give you bread In life Jesus came to be The bread of life Jesus didn't come To divide your inheritance Jesus came to be
[15:50] Be your inheritance Jesus did not come To help you get something In life Jesus came to be Your life This man is asking Jesus To help him find security Apart from Jesus And that's why Jesus refuses To get involved And we Do the exact Same thing All the time It goes like this Jesus I will follow you If you'll tell her To marry me Your security Is not in Jesus It's in her It's in marriage Or Jesus I will follow you If you will get me Through these circumstances Well your security Is not Jesus It's better circumstances And you just see Jesus
[16:51] As the way to get The secure life Rather than seeing Jesus As the secure life That's huge And that's why Jesus When this man says Hey get involved In my family dispute Make sure my brother Gives me my share So I can feel secure In life Jesus says No That is not The kind of dividing I came to do He wouldn't do it then And he won't do it now Jesus refuses To be your ticket To some other kind of life That doesn't include him Now why would Jesus Do something like this Why would he Expose this man In this way What is the uncommon sense He's trying to teach us Here Verse 16 And he told them
[17:53] A parable saying A land The land of a rich man Produced plentifully And he thought to himself Well what shall I do For I have nowhere To store my crops And he said I'll do this I'll tear down my barns And I'll build larger ones And there I will store All my grain And my goods So Jesus As we've seen him Throughout all these Many different weeks Tells a parable He tells a story That's going to teach Some uncommon sense It's going to go In opposition To the way the world thinks And this is what he tells A story about There's a rich man And he owns land Very common In these parables And this land Has produced plentifully I mean this guy's stock Has soared He received the big bonus From work And he has prospered That's a good thing That's a blessing from God
[18:55] Praise God for prosperity But what will the man do With this prosperity Will he be generous Will he help others in need Or right here Will he increase his own security By storing things up Well obviously If you're going to take The common sense approach To life in the world You store things up Because as we've already Talked about earlier The common sense The common sense approach To security is The more I have The more secure I am The more money I have The more friends I have The more years at work The more I have The more secure I will be So The common sense approach Which would be Verse 19 And I will say to my soul Soul You have Notice it Ample goods
[19:56] Laid up For many years Come on Relax Eat Drink And be Merry The response is If I'll store it up And build bigger barns I'll feel more secure And then I can just Step back and go I've got ample Storage I've got plenty of years I can relax And feel secure Now let me stop right here For just a moment Faith family And say this The Bible Is not Against Savings If this were a sermon On specifically money We could look at things In the Bible That talks about The wisdom Of savings That's not what We're addressing here The issue isn't Savings The issue is Security What
[20:58] Makes This Man Feel Secure In the same way That the man Who asked Jesus To get involved In his family Dispute Feels like If I get my share I'll be Secure The common sense Approach to life Here is Store Up And you'll feel Secure But listen Listen Jesus says What a fool That's foolish That's not Sense That's not Intelligence That's foolish Jesus says And here's why That approach To life Is foolish Verse 20 But God Said to him Fool This night Your soul Is required Of you And the things You have Prepared Whose Will They Be In other words Storing up To feel Secure
[21:58] May be Common sense To the world But it's Uncommon Sense To the kingdom Because Why Would you Put security In things That will Not Last There is No guarantee That what You've Stored up Won't be Taken away That's What Jesus Is Saying Here It's It's Actually Foolishness To feel Secure Because You Have Storage I mean You put All your Security In the Economy And then Came The pandemic You put All your Security In your Ministry And then Came The false Accusations You put All your Security In this Life And then Came Death You put All your Security In a Spouse And then Came Cancer Faith Family God says
[22:59] That the Common Sense Approach To life Namely If I Could Only Get My Inheritance Life Would Be Secure Is Foolishness And it's Foolishness Because There is Nothing In This Life You can Inherit This World Is Passing Away So What's The uncommon Sense Of the Kingdom What If that's The foolish Way To live What is The wise Way To live Verse 21 So Is the One Who lays Up treasure For himself And is Not Rich Toward God Rich Toward God What is
[23:59] Jesus Saying What is Jesus Teaching Security Is Found In Riches Just Not Worldly Ones If You Really Want Security I Mean True Security It's Found In Riches Just Not The Riches Of The World Notice It On The Screen Security Is A Single Stock Investment In The Savior Jesus Christ Security Is A Single Stock Investment In The Savior Jesus Christ He Is What Makes Life Secure He Is As We Sing About Our Solid Rock On Christ The Solid Rock I Stand All
[25:00] Other Ground Is What Faith Family Sinking Sand It Doesn't Matter How Much Of It You Have It Doesn't Matter How Many Friends You Have How Much Money You Have How Many Years You Been At The Job The Only Solid Rock Is Jesus Christ Which Means What This Man Needed To Learn And What You And I Need To Learn Is That Your Life Will Never Be Secure Until You Are All In With Christ A Hundred Percent In With Him And It Is Why He Teaches Jesus Teaches Things Like This Look At Matthew Chapter 6 19 Through 20 Matthew 6 19 Through 20 Do Not Lay Up For Yourselves Treasures On Earth Where Moth And Rust Destroy And Where Thieves Break In And Steal But Lay Up For Yourself Treasures In Heaven Where Neither Moth Nor Rust Destroys Nor Thieves Do Not Break In
[26:00] And Steal Or Look Here At Matthew Chapter 6 Verse 33 But Seek First The Kingdom Of God And His Righteousness And All These Things Will Be Added To You Faith Family What If Instead Of Finding Security In An Economy That Is Constantly Up And Down And Up And Down What If We Put Our Security In The One The Bible Says Is Guarantee I Be Taken Care Of What If Instead We Look To The Cross As The Guarantee That You Have Already Been Taken Care Of That Is The Uncommon Sense Of The Kingdom That Jesus Is Teaching Here Because When God Is
[27:00] Your Treasure You Have Riches That Will Not Grow Old Or Fade Away Do You See That Faith Family Do You See That Do You See How The Text Works Here Here Comes A Guy Get Involved In My Situation Because I Not Getting My Inheritance And I Need My Inheritance To Feel Secure And Jesus If I Have To Use You To Get What Makes Me Feel Secure Then That's Fine And Jesus Says That's Not What I Came For I Didn't Come Here To Be The Means Through Which You Find Security In Something Else I Came To Be Your Security Why Well I Know The Common Sense Is The More You Have The More Secure You'll Be But Here's Reality That's Foolishness Because It Can Be Gone Just Like That Because The Things Of This World Pass Away But Jesus Is The Solid Rock
[28:00] That Is Here Forever And He's Always The Same So Why Are You Going To Find Security In The Things Of The World When You Could Be Rich In God Isn't That A Good Word Faith Family Does That Not Speak Directly To What So Many Of Us Are Going Through Right Now As We Deal With The Things In Life And In The World That Make Life Feel Insecure Let Me Give You Just A Little Bit Of Application As We Close!
[28:34] Today's Message What Are Just Some Walk Aways Take Aways From Our Time In God's Word The First Would Be This Notice! It On The Screen Here Security In Christ Is Often Found In Suffering Security In Christ Is Often Found In Suffering Here's What I Mean By That Faith Family Often Time We Have To Experience How Insecure Life Is To Fully Understand How Secure God Is And Right Now As We've Been Going Through This Pandemic!
[29:11] And There Have Been Real Real Economic! Issues I Am Talking To People All The Time Having Conversations Throughout The Week Of People's Lives Economically And Financially That Are Absolutely On The Verge Of Disaster Some Are Already In Disaster And There's This How Am I Going To Get Out Of This And This Search For Security Well You Know What I Would Never Want Any Of You To Go Through That Ever But One Of The Lessons Of Going Through That Will Be You Can't Look To The World To Be Your Security And Only God And Only Being Rich In Him Can Be That Solid Rock For You Sometimes It's In Suffering That We Discover That Christ Is The Only Thing That Secure Here's A Second Thing Is That Security In Christ Removes Pressure
[30:11] In Relationships Security Security In Christ Removes Pressure In Relationships This Is A Sermon In And Of Itself This Man's In The Story This Man's Relationship With His Brother Was On The Line Because He Found His Security In The Wrong Thing If This Brother Didn't Share What Was His I Can Only Imagine The Family Fight That Would Have Continued And It's Because This Man While I'm Not Suggesting That The Brother Shouldn't Have Been Fair That's Not The Point The Point Is To Say If He Didn't Wrap Up All Of His Security In His Possessions Like Jesus Says The Family Dynamic The Relationship With His Brother Would Have Been Free And I Think That's Really Important!
[31:08] Because If Your Security Is In Money Or Your Security Is In A Spouse Or Your Security Is In Your Job It Adds A Level Of Stress To Those Relationships That Can Almost Make Them Crumble Does That Make Sense Faith Family That You Put So Much Pressure On Your Spouse Because You Need Them To Be Secure You Put So Much Pressure On That Job Because You Need It To Be Secure Freedom When Your Security Is In Christ Here's A Third Kind Of Take Away For Us Is That Security In Christ Frees You To Be Generous Security In Christ Frees You To Be Generous You See Being Profitable Is A Good Thing There Is Nothing In This Parable That Was Wrong With The Harvest And A Man Prospering!
[32:09] And You Ought To Enjoy That As God's Blessing But Listen If Your Only Goal In Life Is To Build Bigger Barns Rather Than To Build The Kingdom Of God By Being All In And Seeing The Kingdom Advance You Put Your Security In The Wrong Place You See When You're Secure In Jesus And You Receive The Blessing Of God Of Prosperity That's Actually A Blessing To You Not A Curse Because You're Free To Be Generous And To Help Others!
[32:47] And To Be Able To Impact God's Kingdom In A Very Real Way And So When Security Is In Jesus There's A Freedom To Be Generous Because You Don't Need That Harvest To Feel Secure Fourth And Finally Security In Christ Provides Hope For The Future Security In Christ Provides Hope For The Future Like The Man In The Parable Every Single One Of Us Will Face A Day When It Will Be Our Last Death Came The Man Thought He Had All The Time In The World I Got Plenty Of Years Kick Back Relax Enjoy But He Wouldn't Make It Through The Night You See This Life In This World Is A Fleeting Thing And If Your Life
[33:47] Is Not Based On The Solid Rock Of Christ Jesus And Secure In Him You Do Not Have Hope For The Future Because That Day Will Come When Life Will Be Over And The Only Thing That Will Give You Hope In That Day Is Receiving The Eternal Life That Is Found In Christ Jesus So Let Me Ask You This Faith Family Are You Rich In God Have You Put Your Faith In Him And There Are Some Of You Watching Today You Have Never Put Your Faith In Jesus Christ For The First Time And I Want To Tell You You If I Were To Ask You What Gives You Hope For The Future You Would Say Well It's My Bank Account Or It's My Relationships Or The Great Family I Have And None Of Those Things Are Going To Last If You Don't Have A Personal Relationship With Jesus Christ There Is Nothing Secure About Your Future At All Only
[34:47] Being Rich In God By Putting Faith In Christ Gives You Hope When Your Day Comes! Faith Family It's Time For Us To Stop Believing The Common Sense Of The World Just Like The Elderly Woman In The Grocery Store Or The Rich Man In This Parable We Have Got To Start Realizing That Security Is Not Found In Storing Up Instead Let's Start Following The Uncommon Sense Of The Kingdom Of God Namely Security Is Found In Laying Down Your Life Today Jesus Invites You To Stop Putting Security In The Things That Can Be Taken Away He Offers You Something Greater Than Financial Security He Offers You Eternal Security
[35:47] And That's A Prize Inside Worth Finding Let's