In 'The Parable of the Rich Fool,' Robert Bosley delivers a sermon based on Luke chapter 12, where Jesus tells a parable addressing covetousness and the misplaced trust in earthly possessions. The sermon begins with an unknown man asking Jesus to intervene in an inheritance dispute. Jesus rebukes the man, emphasizing that His role is not to be an earthly judge but to call people to repentance. Jesus then tells the parable of a rich man whose land yields plentifully. The man decides to tear down his barns to build larger ones to store his goods, planning to live a life of ease. However, God calls him a fool, saying that his life will be required of him that night, highlighting the futility of amassing earthly wealth without being rich toward God. The sermon emphasizes that the core issue is not the possession of wealth but the heart's focus and trust in those possessions rather than in God. Bosley stresses that true rest and satisfaction are found in Christ, not in earthly riches. He exhorts the congregation to guard against greed and to seek true riches in heaven through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

Well good afternoon church. It's as always a blessing to be here and to stand before you. If you would take out your copy of the scriptures and open up to Luke chapter 12. Luke chapter 12. 12.

Luke chapter 12. As I think everyone probably is or remembers, I've been going through a series on kind of foundational theological issues, and that was interrupting a series on the parables. Well, today we're interrupting the series on the theological foundations to go back to the parables. So we're going to interrupt that before we begin talking about baptism next time. We're going to look back at one of the parables, specifically a parable found in Luke chapter 12, that is known as the parable of the rich fool.

The parable of the rich fool. And the song choice this afternoon could not be more appropriate. Really the question that arises out of this parable is what thrills your soul? Are you thrilled by the things and the possessions of this world or is your soul thrilled by God and his son? What thrills your soul?

So join with me as we read Luke chapter 12, beginning in verse 13, reading down to verse 21. Then one from the crowd said to him, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you? 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.' Then he spoke a parable to them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully, And he thought within himself saying, "'What shall I do since I have no room to store my crops?' So he said, "'I will do this. I will pull down my barns and build a grater.

And there I will store all my crops and my goods. 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. 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?

So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for this time that we can be together in your Word. God what a joy it is to have the very words of life in our hands and God as we look through these things I pray that you would cause these words to bear fruit, that you by your spirit would make them effectual to change hearts and minds. And God, may you through our time today cause us to seek to lay up treasures in heaven.

In Christ's name we pray, amen. So this passage, this parable appears when Jesus is in a context where he's surrounded by this crowd and this man calls out to him and asks Jesus this question. And I want us to look briefly at the question, but the main focus is gonna be on the parable itself. So I want us to consider this under kind of three stages. First, there's kind of the setup, which is the man's question to Jesus, then the parable itself, and then the conclusion.

And in that second point, the parable, I've got three sub-points, I guess we could call it, where I want to look at the man's land, the man's words and God's response. But starting out with the kind of a setup, this man calls out to Jesus from the crowd. We have no idea who this man is, what his situation is. This unknown man calls out and asks Jesus to intervene in this dispute he apparently has with his brother. And we see his request.

He says, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. That's all we know. But it seems at first glance that it's probably not an unreasonable thing. Immediately, our tendency would be to sympathize with the man. It sounds like from the way he's phrased it that he's been defrauded by his brother from something that ought to be his.

We don't know that that's the case. Commentators argue back and forth on was this man's plight legitimate. We do know that what scripture says is that the first one who presents his case sounds right until someone comes along and examines it so let's not get hung up on the rightness or wrongness of this man's question to Jesus but what is interesting is this question called out to the Lord then gives him an opportunity to address something that's not going to be just to this man, but something that is going to be applicable to everyone there and to all of us today. This single question then sets the stage for Jesus to address really the tendency of every human heart to elevate our possessions and the things of this world above God. Now the Lord immediately corrects him.

We could even say he rebukes him. It seems to be rather a harsh response man who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you He addresses him and he kind of shuts down his request because Jesus' role is not to be an earthly king. His role is not to be an earthly judge. His kingdom has not come in full and so it's not appropriate for the people to come to him like they went to Solomon asking in his wisdom to settle disputes among people like this. It's not yet time for that.

Now Jesus could have given a perfect answer. We know that the Lord would have answered and judged rightly, but he refrained because it was not yet in his jurisdiction to do so. This would have been a distraction. His primary duty was to call Israel to repentance and then to die on a cross for the sins of all his people. His mission was not to be a civil magistrate.

But Jesus, after rebuking the man, he then turns and says, look at what it says, and then he said to them, now he's addressing the whole crowd, he turns to all the people. This man's complaint gave him a good opportunity to warn them. What does he say? He says, take heed and beware of covetousness or that could be translated as greed. For one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.

Covetousness or greed in all its forms all its circumstances must be guarded against it is a enemy that is constantly trying to ensnare people it must be fought against it must be resisted and your heart must be guarded against covetousness. Now this may indicate that the man's complaint, how legitimate it may have been, it may have been coming from a heart of greed. He may have been defrauded by his brother, but he may have been more concerned about getting what he was owed out of his own greed rather than a desire for justice. This is a good reminder for us. You may have a just complaint, but what is the heart behind your complaint?

What is the motivation for it? Even if his brother had stolen, effectively, this inheritance from him, did he have a greedy heart that was causing him to go to Jesus to seek this arbitration? Now we today, we have a society around us that essentially thrives on covetousness, on greed. That is what our advertising and our marketing systems essentially capitalize on, is your own sense of covetousness. All the more of a reason for us to guard against it.

We are in a society that has twisted our view of life so that We often have a tendency to think that what matters most is the things we possess. But the Lord answers that directly. He says that man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. There's more to your life than what you have, than the stuff that you have in your house. There's more to life than these things.

Jesus says there's more to life than this and this is not merely, he's not merely talking about eternal life. He's not solely spiritualizing this. Yes, obviously eternal life and the forgiveness of sins is far more than earthly possessions, but he's saying even your life now is more than just the stuff you can get. He has come to give an abundant life even in this world, in this time. And he points out that this abundant life comes to those who follow him, those who fear God, not those who are only concerned with how much they have in the storehouse or the bank account.

So that's the setup. And Jesus then teaches the parable. And like all the parables, It's very simple, very straightforward, but there is tremendous depth here. First, he begins with describing this man's situation. He says, the ground of a certain man, a certain rich man, yielded plentifully.

So much so that in verse 17, the man says, what shall I do? I have no room. I've got so much stuff. My ground is so productive. I have so much productive property, which is a good thing.

I have no place to keep everything that I've got. He possesses a bountiful land and he has many possessions. And we must not overreact against the prosperity gospel and think that that is inherently bad. We see throughout the scriptures that God blesses his people materially. It's not a bad thing to have productive land or a productive business or to make a good living.

It's not bad to have these things. These are God's gifts oftentimes. God is not opposed to you having stuff. As the saying goes, he's opposed to the stuff having you. What possesses your heart?

Is it these things on earth or is it your God in heaven? That is the core of the issue. And this man's sin is not that he has things or that he has this productive land. The problem is he is all concerned about consuming it and being at ease in himself. He's spending it all on himself.

That's the problem. As we see when we look at the man's words, notice the self-focused nature of his words. My crops in verse 17, my barns, my grain, my goods in verse 18. All these things he's focused on how they are his and how he can consume them and use them and how he can be at ease because of these gifts that he has been given. What do we read in Romans 1?

What's the great sin of all mankind? They do not glorify God as God, nor are they thankful. This self-focused nature of this man, his self-centeredness and his thanklessness towards God, that is his fundamental sin, not that he's rich. It's not even wrong to build bigger barns or to have a larger home. The issue again is where is your heart?

This man is trusting in his riches. He's trusting in his crops and in his goods that they are what are going to sustain him. His life is so focused on his possessions and so he's focused on this thing, his stuff and how he can get more and more of it and so that he can then enjoy it all himself and hoard it so that he can live a life of ease and comfort. He says, I will tear down my barns and build greater ones and there I will store all my crops and my goods and I will say to myself, I will say to my soul, soul you have many goods laid up for many years, take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry. Now it's interesting depending on which version you have, what he tells himself, soul you have many goods laid up for many years, he then gives himself four commands and the new King James renders this, take your ease, semi-colon, and then do these three things, which are how he's gonna take his ease.

Other versions render them as four different things. Honestly, it doesn't really matter in the end, but his point is, this is his goal. He's going to now consume it all and enjoy it and be at ease. And that word at ease is very interesting. This is one of the words that is used repeatedly for Sabbath rest.

This is actually the word that's found in Exodus, in the 10 commandments, in the Greek version of the Old Testament. This is the word for rest in the Sabbath command. It's also used throughout the New Testament to refer to rest in Christ, or our future rest after the day of judgment for God's people. This man is so concerned about his own rest. He is wanting to find his rest, his satisfaction.

He is wanting to rest from all his works, not in God, but in his things, in the things he has got for himself. His possessions are his Sabbath. The possessions are what he is trusting in, not the God who has blessed him and enabled him to have these things. He's trusting in his possessions, his gifts and his goods and his own pleasures rather than in the goodness of God. Now there's nothing wrong with eating, drinking, being merry and having a time of ease.

These are not bad things. Ecclesiastes 2.24. Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink and that his soul should see good in his labor. This also I saw was from the hand of God. It is a gift of God to enjoy these things.

To enjoy the work of your hands and to enjoy the fruit of that labor. It's a good thing. That's a God's gift to you. But this man has taken God's gift and turned it into God so that this rest he can get from his possessions is what he's trusting in. So how does God respond to him?

Verse 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? Now It seems that, now we're not given any time markers in the parable, but it seems that, the implication at least, is that the man has succeeded. There seems to be a time gap from verses 19 to 20. It seems that God's response has waited until the man has actually achieved his goal.

What's the end of verse 20 say? The things which you have provided. The man seems to have achieved his intention of tearing down his barns, building bigger ones, and filling them with all these things so that now he's actually at the point where he is going to take his ease Eat drink and be merry Obviously that this would not have been an overnight endeavor this likely would have taken years This man probably spent years upon years amassing more and more wealth, accumulating more and more possessions, Day in, day out, for who knows how long, how many opportunities did he have to repent that he neglected? How many Sabbaths did he neglect while seeking his own Sabbath in his possessions? How much of his time did he waste thinking he would have years and years left to enjoy these things when God comes to him the day that he accomplishes his goal and says no it's over for you.

How long did he resist calls to repent? How long did he resist the word of God? How many times did he ignore the goodness of God? At the moment of what he probably thought was his moment of triumph, God humbled him and brought him down. When the man thought that he was now set for life, God ended his life.

He says to him, you fool. You do not know how You do not know how long you have. Children listen. You do not know how long you have. This life is a vapor.

You do not know what tomorrow brings. You may have great and lofty goals. You may even have good goals. But God has not promised you tomorrow. Do not resist him today.

Do not harden your hearts. Do not say, no, I will focus on myself today and I will turn to God tomorrow. You don't know that you have tomorrow. This man was counting on probably many years to enjoy these things he had amassed, he probably thought, after I'm at my ease, then I will get right with God. Many people have that same mindset.

Many of them die before they have a chance. Do not delay. Do not tempt God in your heart by saying, not today, I'll do it tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation. Hear Him.

Do not harden your hearts. Hear him today. Turn to Christ and live today. Do not wait for tomorrow. You are not promised another breath, let alone many years in which to go your own way and then come back.

So this man, he seemed to succeed in an earthly perspective from the eyes of the world, he had it all. But God brought it to nothing. And so Jesus' conclusion here at the end, he says, so is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.

This man had wasted his life pursuing things that can never satisfy. He had wasted so much of his time, so many of his talents, he wasted so many possessions that he was just going to hoard and keep for himself and then he dies and he says what are they to you now? God says to him what good are they to you now? And Jesus says this is the same for everyone who lays up treasures on earth and is not rich toward God. You don't have to be the supremely wealthy man with the massive mansion and the garages full of things to be in this man's state.

Sometimes the most covetous people are the people who have the least. No one is immune to this sin of focusing on earthly things. You may say, I'm free from the love of money. I don't have much to love. The heart is the issue.

You can be very poor and be very greedy. And in the end it will do you nothing. It will do you no good on that last day when God says tonight your life is required of you. All your possessions, all your wealth, all these gifts, and again, these are not bad things in themselves, but on that day when God says tonight your soul is required of you, All those things will matter not at all to you." This man had neglected the most important thing. He had spent his life making himself rich in earthly possessions, but he was not rich toward God.

He had not turned to trust the one true God. He had made his riches his God. And so the question for us today, the question for you today is what riches do you have? What riches are you trusting in? Where is your heart?

God gives us earthly gifts, He gives us riches, they're a gift from Him. First Timothy 6, 17, command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Everything you have and enjoy is a gift from God. But this man was trusting in these things to endure and to prolong his life and give him ease for years to come. And pursuing that he had not stored up heavenly riches.

He had neglected the more important matters And God called him a fool. And that night he stood before his Creator and he faced judgment. And this is how it is with all who are not rich toward God. This is not a parable about the badness of having money. It's a parable about having your mind set on earthly things and not heavenly things.

This is a parable about how all of us, if we are not building up treasures in heaven, all of us are fools if we have not turned to Jesus. You children, listen, if you have not turned to Christ, you are a fool because your only hope of true ease, your only hope of lasting rest is in Christ, not in your possessions, not in anything this world gives you. It is in Christ and Christ alone. Some of you have heard the gospel for years and have still not turned to Him. Maybe you are like the man in the parable and focused on earthly gain so that you can have a life of ease and luxury and comfort.

Maybe instead your focus is on your beauty or your strength. And you think those things are going to give you a life of ease and that they are what are going to carry you through and give you true abundant life in this world. Maybe you think it's your family or your job. No matter what it is, if you are trusting in anything aside from Jesus Christ today, it is a meaningless false hope. The only thing that will stand, the only thing that will help you to stand on that last day is if you are in Christ and if He is yours.

That is what will matter. Your life is more than all these things. Do not trust in them. They cannot give you the hope and satisfaction that your soul needs. Do not trust in the uncertainty of riches, but trust in the powerful Savior that God has given us in His Son.

2 Corinthians 2.9 reads, 2 Corinthians 2, 9 reads, For 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 become rich. These are the true riches, what Christ gives to all who come to Him in repentance and faith. Not earthly treasures, you may not have those things, but if you come to Christ and you are truly trusting in Him, You have greater riches than the richest pagan king that this world has ever seen. If you are in Christ, you have more than the wealthiest ungodly man in the world. In Christ, you will find what you truly need in Christ you will find the true rest for your soul He is the one who brings true riches He came into this world and he lived a spotless perfect life so that he could die in the place of sinners and he gives true riches the forgiveness of sins and his own righteousness to those who draw near to Him in faith.

So if you do not have those riches, if you do not have the great true heavenly riches of the forgiveness of your sins and the righteousness of Jesus, run to Christ today. Turn to him and live. Find your rest in him. Repent and believe the gospel is only there that you will truly find the wealth that will endure forever. Let's pray.

Oh Father, we Thank you for this passage. Thank you for this story that our Lord told. God, I pray that you would help us to guard our hearts against covetousness. God, may we not be a greedy people, but may we be a people that are eager to share, people eager to lend and to give. God, may we be a generous people not a greedy people.

And God, I pray that you by your spirit would be at work in the hearts of those who do not yet know you. Now, no one here would lay up treasures on this earth solely so that they can take their ease and consume your gifts on their own lusts. God may you cause us to seek to become rich toward you. Lord help us to build and to grow and to lay up these treasures in heaven where moth and rust do not destroy. Oh God help us to find our true and ultimate riches and ease and satisfaction in Christ and in him alone.

Thank you Lord for this time we've had together. May you be glorified in it all. Go with us the rest of this week and help us Lord to be rich toward you and to call others to know you and to follow your son. In his name we pray, Amen.