PLAY DVD OF APOLLO 13, CLIP 1. Houston we have a problem, Have you ever noticed how problems shape our lives. While we may pray for a problem free life, the truth of the matter is problems have a way of defining us. John Maxwell said, “Problems are predictors” – you can predict what type of person you are by the way you handle your problems. When it comes to problems some people are like tea pots, they scream when they get in hot water. While others are like a coffee pots, when the water gets hot they release a pleasing aroma and bring forth a refreshing beverage.
Now while people react differently to problems, HERE IS THE TRUTH – We all have problems.
When the Apollo 13 crew discovered their problem in space they and mission control realized they were in trouble and they moved into action.
Problems are not reserved simply for space flight, when you study the life of Jesus; you discover his ministry was interrupted several times by problems.
The physical needs of many
Pharisees question his message
Disciples get caught up in who is the greatest
All were problems
A common problem Jesus had was the interruptions in his teaching. Yet Jesus turned the interruption into a teachable moment.
NOTE OUR TEXT THIS MORNING – Luke 12:13-15
A Unique Problem
Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" Then he said to them, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
In the previous section of scripture, Jesus is challenging his listeners to place their trust in him. He encourages them by telling them God is aware of the life of a sparrow, one of the smallest of birds and God is aware of the sparrow and you are more valuable than a sparrow and God is aware of your needs as well.
It is at that point he is interrupted
Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." The interruption is actually a request. A death has happened in a family and this death has led to a dispute about the inheritance. And this unnamed man is asking for Jesus to be the judge –of who gets what.
This inheritance has brought about a problem.
While this man’s experience of death I’m sure was painful, it brought about a delicate issue, the issue of inheritance. In our culture we try to avoid such conflicts, we make out wills, planning that the money and property goes to the right people. We may also make our lists: going from room to room, putting names on specific lamps or pictures as to who gets what from each of the rooms in the house. For example, mothers go through the whole house, marking the names of specific children and grandchildren on specific items. We make our wills and we make our lists. We don’t want any conflicts or confusions. Death brings out enough tension as it is, so we plan for who gets what hoping to avoid the tension.
In the Culture of the New Testament, the thought of wills was non- existent, most people had very few possessions to pass on to their family and those who were people of means had laws that governed the distribution of the assets. A quick look at this text tells us this was a family of means there were some assets to be divided and this was causing tension in the family. We see the tension when we see the simple line, “Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
Draw some conclusions from this problem.
Jewish law dictated that the oldest boy received a double portion of the inheritance, and the other brother a single portion. So, reading between the lines, the oldest boy got two thirds; the youngest got one third. The younger got half as much as the older. Maybe there is jealousy, resentment by the younger brother.
There is another problem, with the older brother was in control of the situation. The older brother is resistant to dividing the inheritance at this time. Maybe the size of the inheritance is great and greed has slipped in to the older brother’s life; maybe the older brother is afraid his younger brother will take the inheritance and waste it. Whatever the reason, the older brother is resistant to dividing the inheritance.
The younger brother goes to Jesus, hoping will intervene. Maybe he will tell his older brother to divide the inheritance immediately; maybe Jesus will override the Jewish law and tell the older brother to giving a 50/50 split to the younger brother.
Jesus gives a stern warning
What does Jesus do? What does Jesus say to the man? Understand Jesus had this uncanny ability to read people’s hearts and understand their hidden motives behind their questions or demands. Jesus knew the inside motives of this young brother as well. Note what he says,
Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
Quit looking at the inheritance and focus on what you have, not on what you do not have, life is not about what you own. Jesus says there is more to life than possessions.
Jesus was giving this man a stern warning because the young man was making several mistakes about possessions that we often make as well.
MISTAKE #1 – The purpose of wealth is to buy the things of life.
Remember how our text started out – Make my brother share the inheritance! Why, maybe he was focused on what the inheritance could buy. For him the inheritance meant a better life. Jesus does not condemn him for wanting more, but he does warn him about the danger of greed, the desire for more!
MISTAKE #2 – The accumulation of things equals happiness. Somehow we have come to believe the good life is full of good stuff. In the book Jesus and the New Age we find the following illustration “In 1923, the world’s most successful men met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. Assembled there were: the president of the largest steel corporation in America; the greatest wheat speculator; a man who was to be president of the New York Stock Exchange; a member of the President’s cabinet; a top notch investor of Wall Street; a future director of the World Bank; and the head of the world’s largest monopoly of that day. A few years later, this was their fate: Charles Schwab died in debt; Arthur Cutten died abroad in obscurity; Richard Whitney did time in Sing Sing prison and was blotted out of Who’s Who; Albert Fall was pardoned from prison in order than he could die at home; Jesse Livermore, Leon Fraser and Ivar Kreuger, all committed suicide. All of these people learned how to make money; none of them learned how to live.
MISTAKE #3 – The young man believed if he had more possessions he would have enough possessions. But as we can see this man was not satisfied, He was in line for a third of his father’s inheritance, he had done nothing to earn it himself he was simply a benefactor of his father’s planning and hard work. But when the time came for him to receive the inheritance he was not satisfied with what he was going to receive – he wanted more.
What is your satisfaction level? What is the point in your life that says I have enough? That can be so difficult because we are bombarded by advertising and media telling us there is always something we need, something we have got to have so that we will be happy or wise or successful. The truth is we have everything we need now. Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13, I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Paul said I have learned to be content; contentment is not something we are endowed with it is a discipline, based on having the right attitude and perspective of life. THE KEY IS TO HAVE THE RIGHT ATTUTDE AND PERSPECTIVE TO LIFE.
I want to show you another clip from Apollo 13 to help us understand perspective PLAY CLIP #2
The crew had everything they needed to handle the crisis. When the odds were against them they quickly found the solution to their problem. I think we forget that when it comes to stewardship. God has provided everything we need, the resources are there for us to move forward if our attitude and perspective is right.
To teach the importance of attitude and perspective Jesus now gives the man and the crowd a parable. Verses 16 – 21, "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ’What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ’This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." "But God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
The man was extremely blessed, overflowing with crops he tears down his old barn and builds a bigger barn still that is not enough, after storing all of his crops he convinces himself the best thing to do is to sit back and enjoy the fruits of his labor.
This man displayed both the wrong attitude and perspective when it came to life. I see several problems with this man’s thinking.
He refused to acknowledge God in the process
Throughout this parable God is not mentioned until the end. This man was blessed in an unbelievable way, yet there is no gratitude shown toward God. This man need to be reminded of the words King David spoke years ago,
Everything in the heavens and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things. Wealth and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and at your discretion people are made great and given strength. 1 Chronicles 29:11-12
When we have the right perspective about our wealth and possessions we will live to honor God with what we have.
He suffered from what was an incurable disease
The man had I-itis – he was self focused.
What shall I do?
I have no place to store my crops
I will tear down my barns
I will store my grain and my goods
This parable covers only 6 verses yet note how many times the man refers to himself, 19 times. When we focus on our self, our attitude and our perspective have a tendency to turn inward. We tend to look at ourselves as the provider and the keeper of our possessions.
A Third problem, He was short sighted regarding his future
I’ll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." "But God said to him, ’You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ "
I have plenty laid up for many years. Have you notice how much we trust in the future?
We make plans to do something days, weeks and months ahead. On my PDA in my office I have 13 things scheduled for this week already. I already have an event scheduled for 2010 – we like to make plans
We also put things off to the future. I am going invite my friend to church next Easter. Or When I get my life right I am going to come to Jesus. I am going to make giving a priority when I get a little extra money.
Listen we do not know what the future holds. The NT writer James reminds us, Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. James 4: 12-13
When we have the right attitude and the right perspective we then are able to put our trust and hope in God TODAY, not in the uncertainty of the future
Jesus ends his parable with an interesting statement, "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."
Our text began with a brother wanted some of what he thought were the riches he deserved, the inheritance of his father. But Jesus turns the table on him and says you want real riches then be rich toward God.
How does that happen? How do we become rich toward God?
Proper attitude.
We began our message with a video clip from Apollo 13 with the famous line – Houston we have a problem. And the truth is many of us have a problem when it comes to possessions and wealth. According to George Barna, average non-believer gives 2.2% of his income to charities. But Christians do not fare much better, the average believer gives 2.3% of his income to charities including church giving. So you can see we have a problem while Christ transforms our life by forgiving our sins we have not allowed him to transform our attitudes about money and possessions. Too many of us are focused on the things of this earth rather than focusing on the things of God. Giving is not about how much you have rather giving is about the attitude in which you give. We become rich toward God when we give with the right attitude.
Focus on Others
Everyone in our text was focused on self. The younger brother – tell my brother to give me the inheritance. The man in the parable was focused on himself (19 times the use of personal pronouns) the only person not focused on himself was Jesus. One of the keys to faithful stewardship is the ability to focus on others. In the book of Acts we find the church blossoming from 120 people to 3,000 in a single day. That kind of growth could cripple an organization. Think of the demands of resources and personal that was needed for the early church to function. Acts 2:44-45 All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
In short the church was focused on the needs of others and God continued to bless the church. When we begin to focus on others we will begin to give because ministry cost and even if you do not benefit from a certain program or ministry your giving a is a blessing for others and in turn you become rich toward God.
Understand Biblical Ownership.
The young man complained to Jesus “I want my inheritance” the young man did nothing to earn it, but he wanted it. The man with the barns was extremely successful, his crops of grain was in full abundance. Yet at his death he left them for someone else.
We must understand Biblical ownership is simply this – We are managers – God is the owner. We manage our possessions for a period of time, but it is God who ultimately owns our possessions. Psalm 24:1, The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. AS with all managers we are held accountable for how we have handled our owner’s possessions. Once I understand biblical ownership I will have a better understanding on how I use God’s Possessions and His Wealth. Then I will be rich toward God
There is one more video clip I want us to see today to put things in perspective today. After all the problems the Apollo 13 crew faced there were increased dangers as they returned to earth…
Show Clip #3
I believe this will be our finest hour.
At the time that was the finest hour for America’s space program, they did what seemed to be impossible. As great as that triumph was for the space program, We have the opportunity to be involved in something greater – a Spiritual adventure of transforming the lives of people in Palm Bay and through out the world. But before we can transform anyone else we first must be transformed. That transformation comes when we become rich toward God
And we become rich toward God by…
Having a right attitude about our possessions
Focusing on the needs of others
Understanding we are simply mangers of god’s possessions
If we do this it will be our finest hour as well
