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The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.”
This week we start a new study focusing on some of Jesus’ great parables, it is titled The Parables of Jesus Continue to Speak.
Today we are talking about Parable of the Rich Fool.
Text
Luke 12:20 AMP
20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own all the things you have prepared?’
Scripture Reading
Luke 12:13-21 AMP
Covetousness Denounced
13 Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.”
14 But He said to him, “Man, who appointed Me a judge or an arbitrator over [the two of] you?”
15 Then He said to them, “Watch out and guard yourselves against every form of greed; for not even when one has an overflowing abundance does his life consist of nor is it derived from his possessions.”
Parable of the Wealthy Fool
16 Then He told them a parable, saying, “There was a rich man whose land was very fertile and productive.
17 And he began thinking to himself, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place [large enough in which] to store my crops?’
18 Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my storehouses and build larger ones, and I will store all my grain and my goods there.
19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many good things stored up, [enough] for many years; rest and relax, eat, drink and be merry (celebrate continually).”’
20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own all the things you have prepared?’
21 So it is for the one who continues to store up and hoard possessions for himself, and is not rich [in his relationship] toward God.”
Prayer
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Introduction
There are many types of barns or sheds.
There are dairy sheds, livestock sheds, tomato sheds, mango sheds.
In some towns and cities, the place where they keep the buses or trains is referred to the bus shed, or railway shed.
The size and shape of a shed says a lot about its use, how much it is used, and the prosperity of the one using it.
The condition or maintenance also speaks volumes about pride, investment, and purpose.
In this parable barns or sheds become symbols of material things.
Today we are going to look from three different approaches at sheds that are no good.
- Sheds have no inherent eternal value.
- Barns can be symbolic of God’s blessings.
1. Proverbs 3:9-10 says, Honor the Lord with your wealth
And with the first fruits of all your crops (income);
Then your barns will be abundantly filled
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
2. This passage refers to the contents of barns.
God’s blessings are indicated by full barns.
B. Barns can be symbolic of worldly security.
It is possible to use barns in the wrong way.
- The parable of the rich fool demonstrates this fact.
The parable opens with a warning, “Take heed.”
Worldly security cannot be trusted for long.
Seeking pleasure based on materialism leads to destruction.
2. Barns can become our worst enemy.
This is true when people make materialism their first priority and leave God out.
Barns are of no value to people after death.
2. The soul is of more value than material things.
- This is not to say that the whole person is not important.
Jesus spent much of His time during His earthly ministry ministering to physical needs.
He healed the sick, gave sight to the blind, raised the dead, and many other miracles.
His main mission, however, was to save souls.
B. This is to say that the soul of a person is most important.
- The soul is most important because it lives throughout eternity after the physical or material is long gone.
The soul is the part of a person that lives with God.
2. The soul is too important to neglect.
The lesson of the parade of the rich fool is that if we neglect the soul to the point of physical death, the is no redemption.
3. The word “fool” in this parable refers to emptiness.
- We play the fool if we presume the amount of time we have to live.
Life is uncertain.
Death is certain.
None of us know when we will die, how we will die, or the circumstances surrounding our death.
B. We play the fool if we leave God out of our life.
C. We play the fool if we do not avail ourselves of the best at the earliest possible moment.
The best is the acceptance of Jesus as our personal Saviour.
The earlier we become a Christian, the better the life we will have.
The earlier we become a Christian, the surer our chances are of doing so.
The best time anyone has of becoming a Christian is right now.
Conclusion.
What are you to do in the light of this parable?
Recognise that you are a sinner.
Recognise Jesus as Saviour.
Ask Him to come into your life and save you.
Confess Him openly and publicly right now.
Let’s do it right now.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us
2021 IS A YEAR OF REFORMATION
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