Storing Up For Heavenly Gains - Bro Joe Sabareza

SCRIPTURE READING:
LUKE 12:13-21 (NIV)
13-Someone in the crowd said to HIM ," TEACHER , tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
14- JESUS , replied," Man , who appointed Me a Judge or an Arbiter between you?"
15- 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."
16- And HE told them this parable: "The ground of certain rich man produced a good crop.
17- He thought to himself , ' What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'
18-" Then he said , " This is what I'll do . I will tear down my barns and there I will build bigger ones , and there I will store all my grain and my goods .
19- And I'll say to my self ," You have plenty of good things laid for many years . Take life easy ; eat , drink and be merry ."
20-" 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?"
21- This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich towards GOD."

INTRODUCTION:
              In the life that I have been through , most especially in my younger days I have dreamed of becoming rich, not just rich but very rich . That all the things that I didn't have in my childhood days be experienced in my life time. It's not bad to desire. In Psalm 37:4 , " Delight yourself in the LORD and HE will give you the desire of your heart." As long as we 'please' the LORD.
              The question is ,How are we going to delight in the LORD? As it has been , it is not our ability , it is the HOLY SPIRIT ABILITY IN US.
               Let's go back to the Gospel reading as we notice someone from the crowd was telling HIM (JESUS) to divide the inheritance that their father had left. If we're going to intently focused to the reply of JESUS to the man, we might say that HE was quite rude, " Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?"
                Let's take a look at the man's side first, maybe the man was so amazed by the teachings of JESUS that he believed of what HE was preaching, so this is now his chance to have someone to be on his side, someone who can solve his problem on his standpoint of view, someone who can take care of the injustice that he is now experiencing with his brother. The unfairness of his brother with regards to the equal distribution of inheritance. He can sense that he wanted to get even with his brother.
                 When it comes to inheritance there are so many things for us to consider, basing from the Jewish culture the birthright is so important that the firstborn son gets more than his other siblings.
                 Remember when ESAU sold his birthright to JACOB that cost him ( ESAU) his blessings.
                 So much with this , let's go to JESUS side, HE knows the desire of his heart, his motive, his intention, his emotion and human will.
                 The TEACHER was very wise, HE used HIS wisdom to teach people . When people asked HIM QUESTIONS HE never immediately gives an answer but return with a question.
                 The TEACHER ALWAYS FIND the right words and teach them that are true and dependable. "Watch out ! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed ; a man's life does not consist of the abundance of his possessions."
                 Words from the wise TEACHER are like goads(long pointed instrument to urge on the oxen when ploughing; this is used metaphorically to describe the words of the wise and where PAUL is warned that for him to resist the new heavenly directive will be as fruitless as for a stubborn ox to resist the goad.)
                 When these sayings are written down and saved , they can be used to guide people , just as a shepherd uses a sharp stick to make his sheep go the right way .
                  So they told them in parable , HE is teaching us to study this saying but be careful with other teachings.
                  Now,what should we learn from HIS TEACHINGS, from everything that is written in this book?
                  In conclusion , the most important thing a person can do is to respect GOD AND OBEY HIS COMMANDS , because he knows everything people do-even the secret things.
                  HE knows about all the GOOD AND ALL THE BAD , AND HE WILL JUDGE PEOPLE FOR EVERYTHING THEY DO.
                 " you fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?"
                  According to King SOLOMON," what does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labours under the sun? All his days work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
                 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too , I , see, is from the hand of GOD, FOR WITHOUT HIM , who can eat or find enjoyment?
                To the man who pleases HIM , GOD gives the wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner, he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases GOD.
                        And JESUS said, " Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal .
                          But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal .
                           For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
                   " TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY IN JESUS NAME."

Copyright 2013 Bro Joe Sabareza, Rooty Hill