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Jonathan Griffiths: Money is, of course, not a bad thing. The Bible never says it is, but it can be a very dangerous thing. Jesus highlights for us the danger of covetousness, the danger of greed, the danger of wanting more and more and more.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths. I'm Steve Hiller. Glad you're with us today and Jonathan, you know, I've often heard money referred to as a tool. It's a neutral thing. It's not good, it's not bad. It's how you use money, but it sounds like whether it's neutral or not, we at least need to be aware of the potential danger of money.

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, we do need to be aware of the potential danger of money, and I think there's a lot of danger attached to it. In and of itself, it's it's not a bad thing. It can be a very useful thing, and we know that full well. But one of the dangers that the Lord Jesus wants to highlight for us in Luke chapter 12, where we're going to be looking together today, is that we could end up being rich in financial terms, but not being rich toward God. And he wants to warn us against that. Don't don't be greedy.

Don't focus on the accumulation of riches without giving attention to your relationship with God. And and he wants to point us there as the thing of utmost importance.

Steve Hiller: So being rich in relationship with God, what does that mean just briefly?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, it means knowing and trusting the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting in his death in our place on Calvary's hill to clear the the record of our wrong and to pay the price of our sin so that we can be forgiven. And being rich toward God is knowing Jesus and trusting Jesus and then living in that right relationship with him and serving him with our whole lives. That that's what it is to be rich toward God, and that's what Jesus calls us to in the passage that we're going to look at together today.

Steve Hiller: Well, that passage is the book of Luke. We're in chapter 12, focusing on verses 13 to 21. So grab your Bible and join us there as we begin our message, Cash and Covetousness. Here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, money is, of course, not a bad thing. The Bible never says it is, but it can be a very dangerous thing. And here in Luke 12, Jesus highlights for us the danger of covetousness, the danger of greed, the danger of wanting the money that other people have, the danger of wanting more and more and more. Jesus is teaching a crowd as he often is in his ministry. He has been giving various warnings within this particular section, warning people to live in light of the final day, the great day of judgment. On that future day, verse two, hidden things are going to be revealed.

The judged will be cast into hell, verse five. And those who have acknowledged the Lord Jesus Christ before men will be acknowledged before the Father and the angels, verse nine. Now a question comes from the crowd that gives Jesus the opportunity to warn us of the dangers of covetousness, of greed in light of that great and coming day. The question or really the request comes in verse 13. Someone in the crowd said to him, teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. Now Jesus has no interest in getting into the middle of some family spat or conflict.

It's an awkward one and it's going to be messy. Verse 14, man, who made me a judge or an arbiter over you, which of course is a very ironic question coming from the one who is judge of all the earth. But Jesus, he doesn't he doesn't want to go there. Instead, the request opens up a wider issue that Jesus does want to address with the crowds, verse 14. Take care. Be on guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Take care, warning. Be cautious. Guard yourself against all covetousness, against all greed.

And the word could be translated either way. What is the covetousness or the greed that Jesus has in mind here? It is the desire, isn't it, for more and more in material terms, more money, more possessions, more goods, more land, more houses, more things, more wealth. It is the desire for the possessions that the other person has, whether it be your brother, your friend, your neighbor, your coworker, the person on TV, the media star, the legendary entrepreneur on the news, whoever it is, it is the desire to acquire more and more things and assets and possessions.

It is covetousness. It is greed. And of course, we all know the feeling. We all know the desire. It's all too familiar to our sinful hearts. We know about it. Some among us will have had precisely the family spat, actually, that this man is having at the present time. I want my share of the family pie and I'm going to get it. And Jesus says, take care. Be on your guard. Watch out. And to guard this man and to guard the crowd and to guard all of us here today, to guard us against covetousness against greed, Jesus teaches us in these verses a key principle.

And then he illustrates that principle with a parable. So that's that's where we're going today, the principle and then the parable. And then at the end, I want to think together about some of the key practicalities that flow from these two things, the principle, the parable, the practicalities. Okay, that's where we're going first, the principle. Notice it again there in verse 15. Take care and be on your guard against all covetousness, that is against all greed, for because here is the reason why one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. That's principle.

Your life, my life does not consist, is not made up of the quantity of our possessions, the amount of stuff we own. Now let's just think about that for a minute. Let 's just take that in. What what does the world have to say about all this? What is the secular view? Is it not that a person's net worth, and notice the language, their calculated value, that's the language that's used. A person's net worth is the value of all that they own minus the debts that they owe. And the world around us absolutely says that life consists of this abundance.

Life consists of the amount of what we have and what we own. That is the message of the world. We hear it all the time loud and clear. And what does Jesus have to say to the world? And what does he have to say to our hearts? He says, no. He says the calculation is wrong. The math is off. The calculus is incorrect. Whatever the world might say and whatever you and I might think, the measure is in fact fatally flawed. The world will will always measure the value of people, the value of a life by the possessions acquired or inherited at birth.

But Jesus says you're looking at the wrong measure. It 's like it's like taking a thermometer, okay, and trying to measure the length of a piece of of wood or string by the thermometer. It's like taking a measuring tape and trying to calculate the mass of something. It it's not the right tool. It 's not the right system. You are looking at things in entirely the wrong way. And as Jesus says that to us, as he highlights the issue, we have to admit that he's right. We have to admit that he is putting his finger on something that is a real issue for us and for the culture around us.

As Jesus articulates the principle, it actually strikes a chord in our hearts because we know we are quick to measure our lives and the lives of others according to that measure, the abundance of possessions. You know, we we drive by great homes in fine neighborhoods. We we see someone dressed in expensive designer clothes. We observe a friend living a very lavish lifestyle and making big purchases. And we notice it and we we register it and on some level that person kind of goes up in our estimation. Oh, right. Our unspoken value calculation is adjusted and their net worth is increased in our eyes.

or conversely, we see another person driving, you know, a rusty old car and living in a modest home and wearing worn-out clothes and we make certain judgments and we draw certain conclusions about them. And and then we look at ourselves and either we see material success and prosperity and are tempted to think well of ourselves because of it and to feel satisfied with ourselves because of it, or we see a lack of those things and a lack of the resources we crave and we start to think badly of ourselves because of it. But in either case, whichever way it goes, we are believing the lie that life consists in the abundance of our possessions or the lack thereof.

And Jesus says, you are wrong. You've got it wrong and you are thinking wrongly.

Steve Hiller: Jonathan Griffiths with part of the message called Cash and Covetousness. It's a look at Luke chapter 12 verses 13 to 21 today. We're going to pause here, but we'll get back to the message in just a moment, but we'd like to extend a special invitation to all our listeners in the greater Toronto area. On Monday evening, October 19th, Jonathan will be hosting a special event for listeners at Tyndale University in Toronto. You can get more information at our website encounterthetruth.org. Enjoy a warm evening of fellowship with other Encounter the Truth listeners, get encouragement in your walk with Christ, and learn more about the reach and impact of the ministry.

That's Monday evening, October 19th, at Tyndale University in Toronto. Again, get all the details and register at encounterthetruth.org. Let's get back to our message, Cash and Covetousness. Again, here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: Life does not consist of the abundance of our possessions. And now to drive home the principle Jesus has for us a parable, a story with a spiritual meaning to illustrate the truth, verse 16. There's a rich man whose land holdings are doing really well for him. They are producing plentiful crops. It's an enviable situation. Not all land is fruitful. Not all assets are productive, of course, but this land is good and the farm is really producing and the man is grown rich because of it, but prosperity has produced for him a problem as well, verse 17.

What shall I do for I have nowhere to store my crops. The the barns are not big enough to store all the crops. The land is now producing. The vault in the basement isn't big enough for all the gold. The seven car garage with the car elevators isn't big enough for the collection of Ferraris. The boathouse isn't big enough for all the speedboats. The home isn't big enough for all the artwork and all the antiques. I cannot store all my riches. What is a rich man to do? How to deal with such a situation, such a challenge, such a burden?

The answer soon comes. He's a clever boy after all. He didn't get that rich by being stupid. And the the answer that comes to him is this, verse 18. I'm I'm I'll do this. I'll I'll tear down my barns. I'm going to build bigger ones and there I will store all my grain and all my goods. That's the obvious thing. That's what I've got to do. Make more space for all the wealth, the resources, create a safe space to store it all up, to keep it, to guard it, his grain, his goods, his equipment, his belongings, the store of his wealth.

He wants to keep it all real close and he wants to keep it real, safe. And so he builds the capacity. It's the obvious thing to do. And as he looks forward to doing that and as he contemplates how it's going to feel the sense of security it's going to give him, verse 19, he says this, I will say to my soul, soul, clever soul. Well done you. Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years. Well done. Relax, eat, drink, be merry. You're all set. You've done so well. I mean, you're you're really set, my soul.

You know, you're not just rich. That was good, but you're really rich. And and more than that, you found a way to hold on to all the wealth. You are set for the long run now. You have got it made. You are secure in your wealth. Now just kick back, enjoy life, eat, drink, be merry. You have nothing to worry about. And and so this rich man, he has made an accounting of his life. He believes that life consists at the abundance of his possessions. He is an illustration, of course, of that conviction. And now that he is increased his abundance from being just rich to being very rich, his stock has gone up in his own mind.

He's feeling good about himself. His life looks just fantastic to him. He is preaching a message of joy and contentment to his own soul and the world around him, of course, would affirm him 100% in this. All looks great but for this, but for this one thing, but for this awkward and unwelcome intervention from heaven above. Verse 20, but but but God said to him, fool. Fool, this night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared for yourself, whose will they be? See, God has a message for this man who so busily tore down his barns to build bigger barns, who focused his energy on storing up wealth, who found security for his soul in the abundance of his possessions.

God has one word for him, fool. You fool. It's a strong word, isn't it? It's a strong word and it's spoken from heaven with a strong reason. This night your soul is required of you. Well, that's an interesting turn of phrase, isn't it? It's the language of of lending and then returning, of borrowing and then giving back. It's the concept that's captured actually so beautifully in George Matheson's hymn, which is sometimes sung at the funeral of believers. Maybe you know it. Oh, love that will not let me go. I rest my weary soul in thee.

I give thee back the life I owe that in the ocean depths its flow may richer fuller be. See, that's the believer's true and accurate understanding. Our life is out on loan from heaven above. And that 's the Lord's message to this foolish man. Your soul has been out on loan from its maker. Your life has been borrowed and now the Lord he is calling it back. He is summoning you actually to the judgment and you will now leave this earth and all your goods within it behind. Do you see the rich man? He he hadn't been thinking of that day.

In fact, he hadn't actually been thinking about the Lord at all. His wealth, we're told, came from the fact that his lands, notice it there in verse 16, had produced a plentiful crop. You see the Lord who is the creator and the sustainer of the earth had given this man his wealth through the land. It's not that the rich man had been clever, although he probably was clever. The Lord had been gracious. But but the rich man he'd only thought of himself. He'd only spoken to himself. He made no reference to the Lord at all in any of this.

Jesus emphasizes that fact in the way in which he tells us the story. The man thought to himself, verse 17, what shall I do for I have nowhere. I will do this. I will say to my soul. I mean, it's I I I I I I but then God interrupts the internal dialogue of the fool and he tells him that his life is now being suddenly recalled. I remember once from this pulpit I made the simple point that you never see a, you know, a hearse pulling a U-Haul. You know, the dead don't take their things with them to the grave.

Well, of course, having said that, that same afternoon a friend from the congregation who will remain nameless emailed me a picture of a hearse, you know, pulling a U-Haul. So I I I learned that day that I need to do my research properly before I say stuff. Um, but the point still stands, doesn't it? We can't take us we can't take it with us. We never will. Fool, this night your soul is required of you and the things you have prepared, whose will they be? What's going to happen to all the stuff? Those barns full of grain and of goods, what help will they be to you when your borrowed life is recalled by your maker and you stand before the judgment throne?

What's the point of the accumulation? I mean, really, what good has it done? The parable's pretty sobering. The calling out of the fool from heaven above is startling and the parallels with us and our outlook on life, they are unsettling, aren't they? One of our pastors here asked me the other day uh a question that I thought was very good and very very perceptive. He he said to me, what in your view, Jonathan, what in your view is the idol of heart that would keep our church family back from generosity to the work of the gospel?

What is the thing that would hold us back here? You know, in our city, in our context, in our culture, what is it? What is the barrier? What is the issue? What is the idol? I think that's a great question. Isn't that a good question to ask? And the answer to it will of course vary from place to place and from time to time. In some context and some communities, you know, the idol might be extravagance and luxury. We just want more stuff. In other places it might be experiences. We want to do more things.

We want to go more places. We want to taste more of what the Lord has to offer, what the world has to offer in the Lord's creation. In in other places it might be our our homes. You know, we just want to make them into magazine worthy palaces and that's our idol and that's where every penny goes into the home. Now here in our city, I don't know what you think about this, but I think the answer is this. You may agree or disagree, but here I think it is. It's security. I think that's our idol.

Mostly, not exclusively, but mostly the idol is security and stability. Foker, methodical planners here, great planners. People gravitate to this community because it's stable and jobs are steady and the economy is predictable. It is safe. It's secure. We're an affluent city. Incomes are high here. Household incomes are some of the very highest in the country and therefore because we're a wealthy country, some of the highest in the world. But here's the thing, we're not hugely extravagant spenders. We're generally savers. We want to know that every day of our lives is actuarially, financially accounted for in our planning.

We want to be certain that we will never face a day of want. That is the dream here in our community. And and I think of that and I think of the question that came to me. And then I look at the text that I've been studying this week and I think to myself, the rich man, this guy was a local. He must have been. Of course he wasn't by the way. If you want to talk about that afterwards in the history and the geography, we can, but he could have been given his attitude of heart.

You see, he is so familiar to us. Without in you, just just look at it again, just listen to it and think about our context. The land of a rich man produced plentifully. The farmland around here and there's really good by the way, really fertile. 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 my 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. You see, that man is living the dream as far as our community is concerned. He's not spending it all. That's the interesting thing. No, no, he is storing it all. He's cautious. He's careful, just like the people of our city. He is stashing it all away so that he knows he will be safe. You see, he believes that life consists of the abundance of his possessions. He feels that his soul will be secure if he has lots of wealth socked away and he has managed it. He has achieved it. He's done it.

He has arrived. He's living the dream. Now, friends, is that not our culture? Is that not our context, our environment? Is that not our default way of thinking? Is that not the idol of so many of our hearts, material security and safety for many years? And so what do we do? We attempt to accumulate and some will be more effective at it than others, but certainly that is the drive and that is the desire of so many. But if that's what's driving us and if that is the great thing that we long for, if that's how we measure our lives by the abundance of our possession, if we're just storing up wealth, Jesus has a warning for us.

Steve Hiller: Well, I hope you'll join us next time as we look at what that warning is. You're listening to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths. The first message in our new series, Cash, Christ and the Kingdom. Today looking at Cash and Covetousness. And if you ever miss a broadcast in our series, you can always listen online. Our website is encounterthetruth.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. Another way to listen is through the Encounter the Truth app. That's free. That's a great way to stay connected with Jonathan's teaching when you're on the go.

So again, get the aperture app store or listen at encounterthetruth.org. Well, Encounter the Truth is listener supported and we depend on your generosity to continue to bring you Jonathan's teaching each day. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we want to send you a book called Gentle and Lowly. It's written by Dane Ortlund. And Jonathan, who is this book for?

Jonathan Griffiths: Well, Steve, this book is for anyone who feels that God is frowning down upon them from heaven, anyone who feels that God is disappointed with them for their failures in the Christian life, for anyone who feels that they need to prove themselves to God or earn their way into his favor. Gentle and Lowly is a beautiful reminder that God loves us, that he's given his son for our redemption, that he reaches out to us in mercy and grace through the gospel, that he is compassionate toward us and that the Lord Jesus Christ is indeed gentle and lowly of heart.

And and I think hearing these things, even if we know that they're true, even if we've read them before in the scriptures, being reminded in such a helpful way as Dane Ortlund reminds us in such a helpful way, will do our heart and soul good. And I think for the one who is fearful and imagining that God is indeed frowning upon them, this will be such a help and such an encouragement. And I hope you can take hold of it.

Steve Hiller: Well, we want to send you a copy of this book, Gentle and Lowly, is our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month. Give online at encounterthetruth.org or when you call 1 833 99 Truth. That's 1 833 998 7884 or encounterthetruth.org. You can also write us at Encounter the Truth, PO Box 5513, Ottawa, Ontario K2C 3M1 or in the US at Encounter the Truth, 215 North Arlington Heights Road, Suite 102, Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004. For producer Mark Branna and our Bible teacher Jonathan Griffiths, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening and I hope you'll join us next time.