TPC Connections

Sermon Notes

THE GENEROUS LIFE
Pt 3
“Don’t Live for Yourself”
5/16/26

Luke 12: 15-21 LB “And He said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.’
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ 18 So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ 21 “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.’”
_____________

ILLUS: I recently read a social media story about mega-million dollar lotteries and the people that had won them.

Someone posted this question at the end of the story:

“What would you do if you won a $50 million jackpot?”

Tons of responses poured in about how they’d pay off their debts,
or go on a cruise or a special vacation,
How they’d buy a better house or better car,
or take care of their parents
or set aside a trust fund for their kids.

But nobody, not one, talked about how they’d spend any part of their winnings on missions or giving to the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Asking God about what He might want from them wasn’t even on their radar.

Their first and only thoughts were all about themselves.

I – ME – MINE – MYSELF… just like the rich fool in Jesus’s parable!
_______________

In this parable of the rich man, Jesus is talking about the folly of living for material things, and living only for yourself.

He begins by presenting a man who is very successful in business.

He is for all intents and purposes an ATHEIST–doing life as if God did not exist.

Monetarily–he’s living the American dream!

His farm has been so blessed with abundant harvest that his barns are overflowing.

His blessing is literally more than he can handle!

So he proceeds to have a conversation with himself that provides us a window into his soul.
Everything that comes out of his mouth begins with “I”—There are SIX of them in SIX verses.

• First, he considers the PROBLEM facing him:
“What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’

There’s the first two “I’s”.

The thought of asking God what to do about his dilemma is nowhere in his mind.

He doesn’t think to thank God for his great blessing because he’s never stopped to consider that God is where it all came from!

He is dealing with life’s problems the way most people do:

What shall “I” do?

How shall “I” handle this problem?

—The Bible teaches that God delights in being sought for wisdom and counsel when we encounter problems and challenges:

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him” (James 1:5 NKJV).

—But this man is totally disconnected from God.

He’s an island, his whole universe is HIMSELF!
______________

Then next,

• He makes a DECISION on what to do about his problem, and here is where we encounter three more “I’s”:

18 “So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.’”

Thinking only of himself he decides to hoard his riches, to make more room for what he doesn’t even need.

Again, there is not a single thought about God or others—it’s all about him—I, I, I–my, my, my–me, me, me.

He has more than he could ever want, yet it’s still not enough—which is the essence of the covetousness Jesus warned about.

When you are a covetous person, more is never enough.

As soon as you get THIS, you want THAT.

As soon as you get THAT, you want THIS.

The Bible tells the truth when it says, “Hell and Destruction are never full; So the eyes of (carnal) man are never satisfied” (Prov. 27:20 NKJV).

The flesh is never satisfied, never content, always chasing the next pot of gold at the end of the next rainbow.
___________

Then following his decision on what to do with all of it, he makes a SECOND decision—

• It’s time to RETIRE!

19 “And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ’

There’s the final “I”.

And once again, who is he listening to?–Himself!

He’s not shown discussing any of this with God or even another human being.

He surveys all of his belongings and savings, and says to himself, “It’s time to step aside and enjoy my retirement.”
In today’s vernacular he’s accumulated millions of dollars to live on for the many years he thinks he has left.

If he were alive today he’d be planning to:

sip Pina Coladas on some tropical beach,
Travel the world,
sleep late,
take it easy,
and enjoy the fruits of all his labor.

There is no better picture in the Bible of a man achieving the American dream than this one!

—Work hard,
—play hard,
—laugh hard,
—get rich,
—live for yourself
_________________

But then, out of the blue, a shocking pronouncement from the God he’s never acknowledged shatters all his plans!

20 “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get everything you worked for?”

The successful rich man now stands before God as the RICH FOOL!

He is informed that his soul, entrusted to him by God for a time, is now demanded back!

–The Bible says that our life is on loan from God:

Ps 24:1 “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him.”

And God has the authority to recall that life at any moment:

The Prophet Daniel told wicked king Belshazzar, “you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!”–Dan 5:23
Now we come to the POINT of the PARABLE:

Jesus says, “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

—You had one life to spend, one life to live, and you should have spent it being rich toward God!
__________________

That said, let me give you 3 ways we can be rich toward God:

I. With our time

Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33 NKJV).

FIRST is a priority word, and priority is about how you order your time.

For instance, we are rich toward God when we wake up and immediately put Him first by giving Him the first TIME of every day in prayer and in His word.

How much TIME have you given God this week?

Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Leftover time?
____________

A SECOND way to be rich toward God is:

II. By helping others in Jesus’s name

This rich man had not a single thought about another person–not the needy, not family, not the poor–NO ONE.

Jesus said there will be two types of people when He returns to earth—those that helped others in His name, and those that didn’t:

“I was hungry and you gave me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me” (Matt. 25: 35-36 NKJV).

The Bible exhorts all Christians, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal 6:10 NKJV).

When we bless others in the name of Jesus, we are being rich toward God and modeling a GENEROUS LIFE.
____________

One final way to be rich toward God is by:

III. Giving to His work

The rich man in our story had more finances than he knew what to do with—but it never ONCE occurred to him to give any of it back to God.

He wanted ONLY to spend it on himself.

The Bible says, “Each of you should give (to God’s work) what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7 NIV).

QUESTION: Who is being reached with the gospel, encouraged in the Lord, delivered or healed because you gave to help make it happen?

—God doesn’t need your money, but His work does!

Are you strengthening the ministry of your church home by giving to help make it all happen?
_____________

‘Rich toward God’ is how to have a GENEROUS LIFE!

Give of your time to Him
Bless others in His name, and
Give financially to His work