A FAMILY MONEY FIGHT Luke 12:13-21 Summer Sermon Series: Tell the Stories of the Savior! The Text: Luke 12: 13-21: 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. 14 But he said to him, Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you? 15 And he 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. 16 And he told them a parable, saying, The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops? 18 And he said, I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry. 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? 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. Grace to you and peace from God our Father through our Lord Jesus Christ. Today is youth Sunday and we thank our young people for their participation in our service. We also look forward to hearing about their experience at the National Youth Gathering of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod which they attended July 15 to 20. It must have been really something to be together with 25,000 other youth and their leaders. It must have been kind of overwhelming for all of the parents and adult chaperones who were present. With that many teenagers around you could really feel a little insecure. I mean, even one teenager in your house can have the idea that they know more than their parents. So bolstered by such big numbers it could have been a time for the young people to tell the adults just how little they know. For example, consider what some people have said: It seldom occurs to teenagers that someday they will know as little as their parents. Teenagers are always ready to give adults the full benefit of their inexperience. Youth is that period when a young boy knows everything but how to make a living. -- Carey Williams Attention Teenagers--If you are tired of being hassled by unreasonable parents, now is the time for action! Leave home and pay your own way while you still know everything! There is nothing wrong with the younger generation that the older generation didn't outgrow. To keep young, associate with young people. To get old in a hurry, try keeping up with them. Seriously, the triennial youth gathering is a great time of spiritual growth and commitment for the youth of the church. St. Paul says, Let no man despise thy youth. Solomon wrote, Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth. I have attended three gatherings, one as a youth and 2 as an adult. They are a spiritual mountain top. I can still remember the theme of the 1973 Youth Gathering in Houston, Texas, and can hum the theme song which was also the theme, With Eyes Wide Open to the Mercies of God. The recent gathering in New Orleans had the theme, In Christ Alone We Stand. It s was a great theme for the youth gathering and you will hear more about it in the comments and video by our youth and their leaders.
In fact, In Christ alone we stand is an excellent motto for the life of any Christian youth or adult. We are living at a time when a Christian must take a stand for Jesus or simply blend in with the secularism and materialism which is prevalent in our society. We either take a stand for Jesus or we are knocked down by every atheist or agnostic that challenges us in the classroom or office. We take a stand for Christ or we sit out the discussion as others call for the denial of Christian truth and service. In Christ Alone We Stand. These are words that Martin Luther the Reformer would have embraced. As he stood before the Pope and and representatives of the Roman empire at the Diet of Worms he said, Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. These are the words which he spoke when called upon to recant his beliefs and disavow his writings. He was bound by his conscience to take a stand for Christ and the truth of Holy Scripture. It could have meant a life of poverty and disgrace or death as a heretic. When forced to decide, however, he simply could not sit down in disgrace as one who had given in to his critics. There were things more important than physical or financial concerns. There was something more important than life itself namely the truth of the Gospel of justification by grace through faith in Christ. In Christ alone we have the forgiveness of sins and the assurance of eternal life in heaven. In Christ alone we have the peace of God which passes all understanding and the assurance that God is with us to help and bless us. Therefore, we stand with Jesus Christ by faith though all the world turn away. We stand with Jesus even when family and friends embrace a secular and materialistic life instead. In today s Gospel lesson we read another story from Jesus life and hear his clear call to choose but a life of faith and true spirituality or a life devoted to materialistic things, money and all that it can buy. It is a choice that every youth or adult must make. It is a decision best made while you are young. Unless the choice is made in your youth you can spend many of your years pursuing things that cannot give lasting pleasure in life. Consider the examples in the Gospel lesson. You (1)first have the family fighting over money and (2)secondly the man in Jesus story that was rich in possessions but spiritually broke who foolishly went to a sudden death without God. There are many people who have no hope and are without God in this world. They will also be without God in eternity. So first there is the family money fight mentioned by St. Luke in the text. Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, Man, who made me a judge or arbitrator over you? And he said to them, Take care, and be on guard against all covetousness, for one s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. The man wanted Jesus to force his brother to split the inheritance. I have known of so many situations like this. The last parent dies and then the family is fractured because of financial disputes. Siblings top speaking except through their attorneys. Their parents last wishes are ignored. Jesus did not resolve that dispute but he instead gave words of lasting importance to guide us all. Financial disagreements are the source of many family problems. A husband and wife who don t see eye to eye on how they spend their money are headed for trouble. This is why premarriage counselors encourage newlyweds to discuss their financial goals and values. They are encouraged to make a budget and stick with it and to discuss major purchases in advance. If
there is more money going out than coming in it can cause huge problems for a family. If that happens, someone will get the blame. It s important to teach children the principles of Christian stewardship, that all that we have comes from God and that we are to use our money in a way that glorifies and honors him. That is why many families teach their children to give God the first 10 percent, to save 10 percent and to learn to live on the rest. When I was growing up in small town Iowa our life was centered around our Christian faith and life in the church. We were truly rich in the things of God and frankly I gave little thought to money. I knew that there were times that we couldn t afford to buy things. We didn t have a color TV or microwave until I was in college. I never gave thought to how I could get rich or felt that I was missing out on something that others had. We were blessed with a big old comfortable house and lots of family and friends that came to visit. We had a wonderful church family and were actively involved in worship and service. On Sunday afternoons we went as a family to visit the sick, shut-ins and others. My parents supported the church and we worshipped each week. Those are the values that I learned and that have shaped my life. I guess growing up in a farm community makes me appreciate the story which Jesus told. This is the 2 nd person mentioned by the Lord. The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops? And he said I will do this: I will tear down m barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry. But God said to him, Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? Notice that the Lord doesn t say here that it is bad for a farmer to produce plentiful crops. In the story of the sower and the seed the Lord commends the man who produced a harvest that was 100 fold. God wants us to be successful and to be blessed with abundance. I know many farmers from my home church who have been very successful in growing crops or raising turkeys, cattle, or hogs. They show their appreciation for those blessings by their generous offerings to the church. In addition to their regular offerings once a year church members at Trinity Lutheran in Ellsworth, IA have a harvest thank offering. As the townspeople have a processional offering to bring their gifts, the farmers leave the sanctuary, start up their tractors pulling wagons or trucks load with grain. They go to the local elevator where the grain is unloaded and sold. As much as $75,000 has been given in one Sunday for church ministries and missions. Oh, and I don t think they would just tear down their barns to build bigger ones. They would probably add to what they had instead. But it is a good thing to be a successful farmer, businessman, investor, or other. The Lord condemns the man or woman who foolishly sees his life and work as his own and denies God s existence and blessing. Psalm 14:1 says, The fool says in his heart, There is no god. Jesus calls the man a fool who puts his hopes in material possessions which can be suddenly taken from him. You can t take it with you is a familiar truth but one which many people have tried to disprove. I have read about people being buried with their favorite automobile or other prized possession. The Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt is filled with the possessions of young Emperor King Tut and others who tried to take everything with them into the next life. They believed that their tombs and pyramids had to be filled with everything
that they could possibly need to make the journey into eternity. So they took food and furnishings, toys and treasures, even living slaves and servants with them when they were buried. King Tut, is one youth needed a whole different view of things spiritual and eternal. His material possessions did him no good when he died. As it has been said, Have you ever seen a hearse pulling a U Haul trailer? You can t take it with you. So how do you see your life? What matters the most to you? Where are you laying up treasure? There are only two choices. Either you are laying up treasure for yourself or you are accumulating riches for heaven. Jesus has discredited the first choice. The uncertainty of life itself deems it inadvisable and foolhardy. Those who make the accumulation of money and material possessions the purpose of their life will be disappointed sooner or later. The person, young or old, who stores up treasures for heaven is rich toward God and well prepared for eternity. So how do you do this very thing? How do you become rich toward God? How do you invest in eternity? Don t fight over money or things that can t fully satisfy, but rather I)Stand and be counted when it is time for worship, Word and Sacrament. Stand and be counted when it is time for worship. As the Psalmist says, I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go unto the house of the Lord. God has given us the greatest treasures in his Word and Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. In our weekly worship we listen as the inspired Word of God, the Bible, is read, taught, and applied to our lives. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the preaching of Christ. If you want to enrich your life come regularly to worship and do not forsake yourselves as is the habit of some. Eagerly anticipate the riches which come through the sacrament of the altar as Jesus says to you, Take and eat, this is my given for you for the forgiveness of sin. Take and drink, this is my blood shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. Throughout the week live in your baptism as you read, believe, and follow the promises of God for your life. Don t fight over money or things that can t fully satisfy, but rather II)Stand and be counted when it is time for Christian service and work. Stand and be counted when it is time for Christian service and work. Don t wait to be asked. Consider your God given talents and abilities, discover your spiritual gifts also and then say, Here am I; send me, send me. Look for opportunities in church and in the community to serve the Lord and work for him knowing that your labor is not in vain iin the Lord. The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. Stand up and go in answer to the Lord s prayer, Send forth laborers into his harvest fields. Don t fight over money or things that can t fully satisfy, rather III)Stand and be counted when it is time for Christian witness and mission. Don t fight over money or things that can t full satisfy, but rather stand and be counted when it is time for Christian witness and mission. Jesus says, You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria and unto the ends of the earth. People need to hear about Jesus who sends us from Jacksonville in Northeast Florida, from Callahan, Hilliard, and Yulee in Nassau County, and from Folkston, Kingsland, and Woodbine in Southeast Georgia.
You have the Word of life and salvation in Christ, a treasure that money can t buy. You have something that people can take with them. You have the true spiritual beliefs to replace the drive for accumulating money and material possessions. Stand up and be counted as one of his willing witnesses. That way others will be able also to say, In Christ Alone I Stand! Amen. Pastor Bill Reister, July 31, 2016