Think About Soul - Luke 12-13-34

1:02:39 Teaching begins

Notes

Here’s how to lose something: ignore it, don’t think about it.

Here’s a scary thought.

Your soul is the most valuable thing you own, and you never think about it. If you ignore your soul you will definitely lose it. Unless you start thinking.

Today we’re going to think about losing your life, because you want to keep your soul.

I’m reading in Luke 12 beginning with verse 13.

1. A guy really misunderstands what Jesus is all about.

A. He’s one of this great crowd following Jesus around, and he has an opportunity to yell out something to Him: Hey! Tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me!

B. The oldest son in the family would get a double inheritance according to Deuteronomy 21. The rest of the children get whatever is left. This guy is not the oldest. He’s looking at his older brother and thinks, I wish I had some of that.

C. What a great idea! Get the Teacher to make things fair! Divide the inheritance. Then I get a full share and he gets a full share. That’s fair, isn’t it? Peace, love, happiness, split the inheritance, right?

D. Jesus says, that’s not my job. I’m not here in order to carry out your greedy schemes. This younger brother is greedy. Contrary to what some people teach, Jesus did not come to make you wealthy and prosperous.

E. He says: beware and be on your guard against all greed.

1. Notice that it comes in many forms. It’s subtle. The younger brother wouldn’t think he was being greedy, just being fair.

2. Notice the double emphasis. Jesus has just said, beware of hypocrisy. Greed is a greater sin because of its subtlety and its power to deceive.

3. Greed deceives because it’s a false measure of life. Life does not consist in material possessions. Jesus doesn’t measure life that way, but we naturally do. When a person has a lot of possessions we say, “He’s done quite well for himself. He’s really somebody.” When a person is poor, we say, “Poor guy! He’s lived badly. Nothing to show for his life. He’s a nobody.”

4. Jesus says, no, you’re totally wrong. You’re using a false value. Life is much more than how much stuff you have.

F. Greed is wanting to be more or have more, which is not God’s will for you. Let me read that again. Here’s why:

1. Greed says, I decide what will satisfy me.

2. Greed says, I decide how much is enough, and it’s never enough.

3. Greed rejects God’s purpose, God’s things, and God Himself.

G. Here’s how subtle and powerful greed is: every greedy person fails in their attempt even when they succeed.

2. To make His point, Jesus tells a parable.

A. Here’s a rich guy who has a very productive farm. His harvest is so big he has a problem: I’m out of room! I don’t have any place to put this year’s harvest?

B. Great problem! I saw a cartoon about comic book publishers who are so successful they receive money in wheelbarrows. “Hey Bill, more dough! Where do I dump it?” Bill says, “We’re full up, there’s no more room. Ya better just throw it away!” Hey, Lord, smite me hip and thigh with that problem!

C. This farmer starts having a conversation with his soul, his immaterial self. That’s what it literally says. What do we do, soul?

D. And he decides, let’s prepare for the future. Let’s pull down the barns and build bigger barns that will handle all the future income. and then let’s have fun. “Be merry” has the idea of the kind of laughs you get scrolling through cat memes. We’ll just have a bunch of goofy laughs as we blast out hits from the ‘80’s and wear lampshades on our heads.

E. There would be people watching that, saying, “Wow, that guy has it made. He doesn’t have to work anymore; he can do anything he wants.”

G. God finds this offensive because it’s a stupid waste of the life He gave that guy. It’s so stupid that God says, “You fool.” Literally, you are not thinking at all. Brain dead. The guy is a total failure in God’s opinion, which as we know, is the only opinion that counts in life, because he’s not thinking. Look at what he’s not thinking about:

1. He never thought that life is temporary. Don’t think about it! Everything’s just going to go on, and on, and on! Really? Tonight, you’re done. You have no say in how long you live.

2. This fellow never thought about judgment. Now he has to give account of his soul. That’s what “your soul is required of you” means. God gave him his soul. What has he done with the life God gave him? He didn’t think he’d have to be responsible to God. He thought he could do anything he wanted. It’s his life, right? No, it’s God’s life on loan to you. What have you done with God’s life? Never thought about that.

3. He never thought that he would leave everything in this life behind. All he takes with him is his soul. Who is going to own your stuff now? You came into this life naked. You are leaving this life naked. I never thought about that.

4. Here you are before Me and you have completely neglected your soul. You have nothing to show for your life that I gave you. What about others? I care about others. All you did was satisfy yourself. Your life doesn’t look like My life, it looks like the devil’s life.

3. Jesus wants His disciples to think, consider, and to grasp what they’re doing.

A. The first thing He emphasises for nine verses: do not worry about material possessions. God is going to provide for you.

B. Your soul is more than food, your body is more than what you wear for clothing. There is a greater meaning and significance to your life so that you don’t get caught up in little tiny things that don’t matter and waste your time, strength, and energy.

C. Jesus has three things for you to consider.

D. First thing to think about is the ravens.

1. They don’t lead organised lives around sowing, harvesting, storing crops. They’re scavengers. They eat whatever is around. Looks random. It’s not random; God puts stuff there for them to eat. Looks random, but it’s not.

2. God wants you to consider that you are more important to Him than ravens. You’re already more important than many sparrows, and the whole universe. If God takes care of birds, He will take care of you.

3. When that farmer saw birds the only thing he thought was, “I hope I didn’t park my car under a tree.” That’s all the meaning that kind of person sees in a bird.

4. When you see a bird, realise, God is taking care of it and me. Ah, there goes another one. That means God loves me and takes care of me. That’s the meaning you should grasp when you see birds.

D. The second thing you should grasp is that worry accomplishes nothing for you. It’s a waste of time and energy.

1. If you could add to your life by worrying, some people could not die. But Jesus says it won’t get you five extra minutes. If it can’t do that, it can’t do anything for you. You’re wasting your soul.

2. Length of life belongs to God, and quality of life belongs to God. All your life belongs to God, when you’re born, when you die, everything in between.

3. Your life is dependent upon God. Think about it. Get used to it. Your life is His business.

E. Third thing to think about: God takes care of flowers.

1. Solomon lived in ultimate fashion and wealth.

2. The lily is more fabulous than anything Solomon ever wore. And it’s here to today, tomorrow thrown into the oven and burned. God goes through millions and billions of flowers.

3. Think then: how much more will God clothe you?

F. But this is why you don’t trust God’s promises, because you don’t think about them.

1. You’re supposed to consider them until you grasp God’s purpose in your heart. It’s part of the way you think, it’s how you live your life, it’s your values.

2. But because you don’t think about God’s promise it’s not deeply impressed upon your heart, therefore it has little weight and you dismiss it immediately. It’s impractical. It doesn’t work.

3. You need to worry or else nothing is going to happen, and, if the truth be known, nothing is going to happen anyway. Murphy’s Law: if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. Monday morning, we’re all going to die but we never do until somebody does, what a shock. We never saw it coming.

4. Don’t worry about little tiny things. Jesus says where to put your mind: seek first the kingdom of God.

A. You seek what God wants, His will. His approval. You seek Jesus to be Lord over your whole life: your past, your future, your work, your marriage, your family, your possessions. You seek to obey Him and do what He wants.

B. This means you think about what’s best for Him and best for others. Another way to say this is be selfless. Benefit Jesus, benefit others. He says in verse 32, “Sell what you have and give alms.” Alms is charity for others. Help others get where they need to be. Meet pressing needs. You may not have much, but you give it anyway. Help others get where they need to be.

C. You be selfless because Jesus is selfless. He gave up His prerogative to be God and be born as one of His own creations because He thinks, “I’m here to die so that others may really live.”

D. The Father is selfless: “I’m giving My only begotten Son so that these doomed sinners can receive forgiveness of their sins and eternal life.”

E. Anybody who hears this thinks, “This is not practical! I’m going to lose everything. I’ve worked hard to make things go for myself, and now you’re telling me to help other losers make it ahead of me! What about me? There won’t be anything for me? I could die doing that! Then what?”

F. Fair enough. Then what?

1. The Father really did lose His only begotten Son. Jesus really did die and lose everything. He lost his clothing. The soldiers gambled for it and Jesus died naked.

2. Then the Father raised Jesus from the dead. The Son was raised to the same level as the Father and received from Him the name which is above all names that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of the Father.

3. In other words, He received much more than He lost. Jesus sought the kingdom of heaven and He received the kingdom that the Father promised Him.

5. Following Jesus is greater than anything you could plan for yourself.

A. You, by yourself, would plan for a happy, full life on planet Earth. Only good days and no bad ones. You get everything you need. Nothing goes wrong. Absolute success in this life. You’re not thinking any higher because you’re not thinking.

B. God thinks, “I want to give you the kingdom, to rule and reign with Jesus forever.”

1. God plans for this life to prepare you to receive the kingdom. That’s the meaning of your life even if you don’t believe in Jesus. The potential is right there.

2. Right now God’s purpose for you is to learn all humility just as Jesus lived and died. Humility is not thinking about yourself, but thinking about others. You lose your life. You can afford to do that because God is going to take care of you.

3. After this it will be resurrection—all glory with Christ forever in the kingdom.

4. Do you see that? Would you ever plan for that? Would it ever come into your head to ask for that? All that guy wanted would be half the inheritance when the Father has chosen gladly to give him the kingdom.

6. So what?

A. Your life is more valuable than you think. Your soul is valuable beyond reckoning. It is most precious.

B. You can ignore your soul and have as happy a life as you can get. You can have it all if you can get it. You probably will get it.

C. You will lose it all because you must give an accounting of your soul that God gave you. What can you give in exchange for your soul? The only thing God counts valuable is His Son, and if you don’t have the Son you have nothing of value to give to God. You lose your life and you lose your soul in eternal punishment.

D. Set your face to seek the kingdom of God, because He is ready to give it to you. This is what He wants for you. Can you top it? Can you do better than rule in His kingdom forever? Don’t settle for anything less.

E. You have to lose your life. This is what people don’t understand. Give up my life, become selfless, help others get where they need to be, sounds like I lose! Why should I lose my life for God?

F. You have to lose your life because greed will mess your heart up. Wanting to be more or have more that is not God’s will for you will mess you up. Case in point is Solomon.

1. Can you imagine what privilege God had for him? It was given to him to build a dwelling for God in the place He had chosen to put His name forever. He gave Solomon wisdom plus everything. He didn’t withhold anything.

2. But Solomon set his heart on things God didn’t want for him. He was greedy for women. He had 700 wives, princesses, and 300 concubines. By greed Solomon let go of his wisdom given by God and became a fool.

3. Greed will mess your heart up and make you a fool.

F. Keep your soul, lose your self. If you keep your self, you lose your soul.

Let’s pray.