The land was so vast and empty, perhaps they thought that no harm would come of their left behind rubbish, but to him, it showed a contempt for the Creator who fashioned this land for the use but also the stewardship of its inhabitants.”
                    –B.N. Rundell  (The Trail to Reparation)

       “As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the multifaceted grace of God.”
                    –1 Peter 4:10 (NASB)
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          3.9 — Honor the LORD with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase;
           .10 — So your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will overflow with new wine.  (NKJV)

     To tithe or not to tithe?  This seems to be a debate in the church today.  It is argued that this is Old Testament teaching in which the first fruits (ten percent) were to be given to the Lord.  Tithing, per se, is not mentioned in the New Testament.  However, that is not to say we should not tithe or give.  The New Testament actually demands much more for the concept is that all belongs to God and we are just stewards, so the question now becomes:  how much do we keep?  I would ask, why not tithe?  If people are so attached to their money, then there is a deeper, heart problem.  Bob Beasley says, “We affirm our trust in God by generous giving to His kingdom.”  
     Honoring God with our possessions, including money, depicts total commitment.  “Our banking records can speak volumes,” states Alistair Begg and for a fact how committed a person is to Christ can be seen often by looking at a person’s bank account.  If we really want God to direct our paths then we should willingly share God’s blessings.  Dan Dick writes, “Without God we would not possess the things we do,” so why not be a good steward?  In reality, for the Christian there is no such thing as “spiritual” and “material” for it all comes from God.
     Truly, if we don’t faithfully give to the Lord, we don’t really trust Him.  “Giving is evidence of our faith and obedience.” (Wiersbe)  Giving is not just duty, but it is heart preparation.  It shows the condition of our heart and prepares it for further work.  R.G. LeTourneau said, “If you give because it pays, it won’t pay.”  We are to give without expecting any returns.  The more God gives us, the more He blesses us, the more we should give and study to honor Him.  “True prosperity comes only when we learn to give to others as freely as God gives to us.” (Dick)  Matthew Henry tells us that, “God shall bless thee with an increase of that which is for use, not for show or ornament; for spending and laying out, not for hoarding and laying up.”
     I often wonder why many of these lavish houses are so close to the road, and I have come to the conclusion that it is because people want to show off.  It is a way of bragging about how much they have.  As J.L. Flores says the “Tendency of wealth is doubtless to make men God-forgetting, self-confident, selfish.”  It is the opposite of the purpose of why God blesses.  Flores continues to say, “The man who is entrusted with the property of others has an honor put upon him by the trust.”  God trusts us with what He gives us, therefore we must be good stewards.  Remember wealth is to be used properly, but it can become a millstone; Jesus said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:23, NIV)
     If we are being proper stewards then we are involved in worship.  As the Old Testament offerings were part of worship, so is giving and taking care of God’s blessings.  “God will not have the dregs that are squeezed out by pressure poured into His treasury” (Arnot).  Recall the words of Paul when he wrote to the Corinthians, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7, ESV)  Think this way, as we are blessed so are we to sow blessings.  Therefore, giving is definitely an act of worship.
     One more thought, we are not promised worldly wealth.  Our barns may be filled with true riches:  riches of complete understanding (Colossians 2:2); our needs will be met (Philippians 4:19); strengthening our inner being (Ephesians 3:16); the wisdom and knowledge of God (Romans 11:33).  Know that godliness is part of life in the present and part of that is the stewardship of God’s blessings upon us.  We will be comforted now, and also with the blessing of eternity before us.

 

Life was so short. Hope and love so futile! Home and family…should be treasured and lived for with all the power of blood and mind. Friends should be precious. It was realization that a man needed.”
                    –Zane Grey  (Wanderer of the Wasteland)

       “For wherever your treasure is, you may be certain that your heart will be there too!”
                    –Luke 12:34  (Phillips)
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          12.20 — “But God said to him, ‘You fool!  This very night your life is demanded of you.  And the things you have prepared–whose will they be?’
              .21 — That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”  (HCSB)

     There are several things to learn from these couple of verses in Luke.  Right from the start, God declares the man to be a fool.  That term is not used lightly, as Walter L. Liefeld states a fool is “one who rejects the knowledge and precepts of God as a basis for life.”  This rich man did not understand the value and purpose of his possessions.  The big “I” stood in the way.  He ignores God and makes a choice as if God does not exist.  A man then not to be envied, but a fool to be pitied.
     This rich man does not realize that he is a servant, no more than that, he is a slave.  A slave first of all to himself.  A slave to his passions and greed.  He does not realize that he has no power over his life; his possessions and passions control him.  Second, his possessions owned him.  More, more…his craving was intense, and he seemed to want more.  But all of a sudden…WHAM!  God says that “This night…”  Life will be over, what then?  Several versions have used the term “demanded.”  This night your life is demanded…  No hope now, no spending of wealth, no attempt at a new beginning–it’s over.  Jim Elliot said, “You are immortal until your work is finished.”  That gives hope to the Christian, but uncertainty and even anxiety to the unbeliever.  Most of the time it is not even thought about.  But there is a day of reckoning coming.  Richard Dresselhaus states, “You can trust God to determine the day of your death.  It has already been ordained…”.
     Was this man rich?  Oh, maybe in the eyes of the world.  They might mourn at his funeral and say he died much too young and didn’t get the chance to enjoy his riches.  At death it no longer matters.  “He has invested in the passing, not in the permanent.” (Inrig)  See, death strips a man bare.  What this man owned was no longer of value to him after death.  We could say that he went from “riches to rags.”  He had a false control and a false hope, not looking at the eternal.  Elliot spoke correctly, “He is no fool who give what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”  This rich man in the reality of eternity was actually a pauper.  Possessions took control of him.  Self-conceit became his master.  Edward Starks spoke the truth when he said, “The riches of this world engross the thoughts and steal the heart away from better things of a better world.”
     There is one more thing this man did not consider and it comes in two parts.  First, we see no gratitude at all for those who helped him gain his wealth.  Workers and others are not thanked, they are just part of the machinery to help him prosper.  Second, there is the issue now that he is going to die, who will control his wealth?  How will they use it?  Will they be frivolous with it or benevolent?  He built his wealth, but the future management of his possession may be wasted by incompetence.  We see again that he did not heed the words of Solomon, “Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.  And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool?  Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun.  This also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 2:18-19, NKJV)
     The fool is then, “he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:21, NKJV)  This does not mean giving everything away, but it does mean being a proper steward, having God’s kingdom at heart, and living with purpose toward God.

 

Death doesn’t care about age or wisdom or wealth.”
                    –Donald L. Robertson  (Five Women and the Star)

       “The blessing of the Lord brings [true] riches, And He adds no sorrow to it [for it comes as a blessing from God].”
                    –Proverbs 10:22(Amplified)
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The parable in Luke 12:13-21 is one that we should look at very closely.  It does deal with wealth, but more importantly it deals with man’s vales, his priorities of life.

          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.”  (NKJV)

     The first priority we see in this man’s life is that of selfishness.  “I will” is proclaimed six times.  Recall the words of Lucifer in Isaiah, where he proclaims that “I will.”  Here we see the preoccupation of self, the importance of self in his own eyes.  His goal and purpose of living is that of self-indulgence.  Not only greed, but he is also proud and he does not consider what he might have for the next life.
     Then we see the idea of materialism.  More, bigger, better, the next updated model, that’s what this man wanted.  He would be the type to stand in line for the next gadget to come out so he could buy it, but would eagerly be waiting for next year’s model.  We must understand that there is a difference between greed and planning for the future.  Gary Inrig says, “The quality of the future he anticipates is directly related to the size of the barns he builds.”  
     We also see a life characterized by hedonism.  He completely misses the point of Solomon’s message, “And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor–it is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 3:13, NKJV)  Our blessings are a gift from God; he missed that concept altogether.  Paul instructs us, “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.” (1 Timothy, 6:17, NKJV)  “It is right to enjoy what we have; it is wrong to believe that self-indulgent pleasure is the goal of life.” (Inrig)
     I want to finish today with a story shared by William Barclay, then come back to this parable in another devotion.
          This is the story of a conversation between a young and ambitious lad and an older man who knew life.  Said the young man, “I will learn my trade.”
          “And then?” said the older man.
          “I will set up in business.”
          “And then?”
          “I will make my fortune.”
          “And then?”
          “I suppose that I shall grow old and retire and live on my money.”
          “And then?”
          “Well, I suppose that some day I will die.”
          “And then?” came the last stabbing question.
“The man who never remembers that there is another world is destined some day for the grimmest of grim shocks.” (Barclay)

 

What makes a man is inside him.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Taggart)

       “And then, when you pray, don’t be like the play-actors….  After all, God, who is your Father, knows your needs before you ask him.”
                    –Matthew 6:5, 8  (Phillips)
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Who am I?  That’s a great and interesting question.  When you look in the mirror who/what do you see?  I have often used Johara’s Window in my teaching.  There is a window divided into four panes:  what I know about myself that no one else knows; what others know about me that I don’t know; the facade, what I let others know, and then there’s that one mysterious pane, what no one, not even myself knows about me.  We can add to that the subconscious.  There you are, a wonder of creation, or of your own imagination and fantasies, or just an ol’ fence post.  The thing is, that God knows you–all of you, inside and out.  Let’s take a look at Psalm 139 this morning.

          1 — O LORD, You have searched me and know me.
          2 — You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off.
          3 — You comprehend my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
          4 — For there is not a word on my tongue, but behold, O LORD, You know it altogether.
          5 — You have hedged me behind and before, and laid Your hand upon me.
          6 — Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.  (NKJV)

     This may be a terrifying thought to some knowing that God sees all and knows all about you.  Nothing, absolutely nothing, escapes His notice.  He knows when you breathe in and when you exhale.  However to the Christian, to whom this really speaks it is great comfort.  We are told that no matter where we might find ourselves, that He knows where we are and is there with us.  Amazing–God holds the universe together and yet knows when the sparrow falls and the number of hairs on each of our heads.  William J. Petersen says, “He is present everywhere, personally involved at even the most minute level.  Having created every life, God presided over every aspect of each of these lives.  Every thought, attitude, word, and deed is an open book before Him.”  
     Oh, if we could just get this in our heads!  God is there!  He is very personal, more personal that we let Him.  Relationship—hmmm, I wonder, yet we should willing to accept it for He already knows all about us.  When David penned these words we need to know that  he “sees them not as mere theological abstractions but as dynamic realities that deeply impacted his life.” (Lawson)
     The NLT puts the first verse this way, “…you have examined my heart…”  Talk about open heart surgery.  God knows our very inner person, the depths of our soul that we don’t even examine.  This means literally, “to explore, spy out, to dig deeply into…”  God knows the very depth of our being and He knows it thoroughly.  Nothing can be hidden from His examination.  Verses 2 and 3 tell us that God knows our habits, our routines, our activities, our thoughts as well as the words we speak.  He knows when we go to sleep, our dreams and nightmares.
     Verse 5, the NLT, “You both precede and follow me…”  Incredible!  God is before us and He is following us!  We can’t escape Him, and He does not want us to.  He has us “hedged in,” besieged and He works in us, through us, and in spite of us to bring us closer to Him and develop us by the work of the Holy Spirit more into His image.  Oh, and thank goodness He has His hand on us.  It is not a prissy, cold-fish of a hand, but a firm, solid clamp.  The hand of a good friend clasping your shoulder, to turn you in the right direction or stop you from taking a false step.
     In ancient and medieval times there was the belief in an “evil eye.”  It spoke of a malevolent or sensuous glare from someone who could cause misfortune to come upon an individual.  It was believed that those who possessed the “evil eye” were able to cast spells on others.  Friend, aren’t you glad that we have the eye of the Lord upon us?  He guides us, warns us, comforts us, tells us which direction, which trail to take.  Oh, what a wonderful God we serve–“Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!” (NLT)  Yet, He wants us to know Him.

               “I need thy presence every passing hour;
               What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
               Who, like myself, my guide and stay can be?
               Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.”
                     –Henry F. Lyte