This morning, we continue our series on “The Parables of Jesus.” We will seek to glean “Pearls from the Parables.”
Before we get to the parable, let’s look at a scripture we have been looking at all year. This is something I believe the Lord wants us to meditate on.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us.
Context: (Luke 12:13-15 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; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
The Parable of the Rich Fool: (Luke 12:16-21 NIV)
16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.
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 build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.
19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up 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 whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
Let’s take a look at verse 21 in two more translations:
(Luke 12:21 NLT)
“Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
(Luke 12:21 MSG)
“That’s what happens when you fill your barn with Self and not with God.”
(Ephesians 4:28 TPT)
If any one of you has stolen from someone else, never do it again. Instead, be industrious, earning an honest living, and then you’ll have enough to bless those in need.
(Ephesians 4:28 NLT)
If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.
So, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. God gets resources TO you so He can get them THROUGH you!
My Pastor (and Spiritual Father), Tony Brazelton, said something on Sunday that I knew, but I had never phrased it the way he did. He said, “In the world, people measure prosperity in what you HAVE. In the Kingdom of God, prosperity is measured in what you GIVE!” This point aligns well with the Parable of the Rich Fool.
The Rich Fool, in the text, was accumulating as much as he could. But not with an intent to give or to BE a blessing. He was simply accumulating (or storing up riches) for himself. So 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?’
— God’s issue with this man was not WHAT he was doing, but WHY he was doing it.
— The Rich Fool was storing up resources, and he had so much stuff that he had nowhere to put it. This, in and of itself, is not the issue because the Lord made many people rich in scripture (and He still does today). The issue was the man’s heart. He clearly had MORE THAN ENOUGH for himself, but he had no intentions of using his excess TO BE a blessing to anyone else.
— I have told you many times that our God is a God of excess, abundance, and overflow. God does not have a problem with giving you MORE than you need (side note: this point on abundance is not just tied to money). He does this because he wants you to minister to others out of your overflow.
— Like the man in the text, God can bless you to accumulate an abundance of things, to the point where your “barns” are overflowing, but then God wants to know what you are going to do with it. To whom much is given, of them, much will be required (Luke 12:48).
— The Rich Fool was building hoarding centers for himself. God wants us to build distribution centers so we can be in a position TO BE a blessing to others.
— God doesn’t want us to hoard blessings for our own sake, pleasing only our selfish desires. God wants us to manage the resources He blesses us to have well so we can become a distribution center in His Kingdom.
— Remember, God is like many things, but there are only two things the Bible says God is. God is light, and in Him, there is no darkness at all (1 Jn 1:5). And God is love (1 Jn 4:8), and I like to say that in Him there is no selfishness at all. Meaning that the opposite of love (God’s love) is not hate. The opposite of love in God’s Kingdom is selfishness. The Rich Fool was chastised, and his soul was required of him because he was selfish. Please heed this warning.
— When you develop the heart of God, you are not selfish. You get to the point where you know you are blessed, and since you “are good,” you spend your life attempting TO BE a blessing to others. You become a distribution center of God’s love, peace, grace, mercy, wisdom, knowledge, favor, and finances.
— When you determine to live your life as a distribution center for God, you become a conduit of His glory in this world, and there is no limit to what God will do in, with, or through you!
— Say this: “Father, you are free to get whatever you want TO ME, because when you do, you will also get it THROUGH ME! I am a human conduit of the divine!“
2. God’s financial system does not work the way the world’s does.
— In the Kingdom of God, prosperity comes as you give. The more you give, the more God gives to you. Whatever you sow, that is what you reap (Gal 6:7), and you then understand what Jesus meant when He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). You get to enjoy God’s blessing when you become a distribution center of His goodness in this world.
— You work to get money to give, and then God will prosper you. Your prosperity (in God’s eyes) is tied to your giving.
— The Rich Fool in the parable had barns that were overflowing, but he was not honoring the Lord with any of it. He did not have a heart to give. Solomon, who was richer than any human who lives today, said this, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” (Prov 3:9,10).
— Notice that Solomon told us to “honor” the Lord with our “firstfruits.” First of all, giving is an act of worship, and for our offerings to be received in the heart of God, we must give with a spirit of honor. We should not give out of compulsion or manipulation. Our heart must be in our giving. Secondly, what we give God should be the FIRST and the BEST!
— Not only should you give to God, but you should give Him THE FIRST and THE BEST, not what is left!
— To be clear, I am saying that when you receive income if you want to HONOR the Lord with the portion He leads you to give, you should not seek to pay everyone else first and then give God out of what is left. You may think I am getting nitpicky, but I am not. God is not a God of HONOR. He wants you to HONOR Him with your giving.
— When you pay everything else and then say, “Oh, how much am I going to give the church” or “give God,” you are seeing your giving like a bill (or something). This is not an act of worship. God wants you to worship Him with your giving.
— When you give God the FIRST and the BEST, right off the top, you are saying to God, “My Father, You are my Lord, and I honor You with my first fruits. I honor You before I even think about bills or obligations. I honor You first because I seek Your Kingdom first. Now, as I take care of everything else with what he left, I know YOu will see to it that all my needs are met, PLUS MORE!
The Apostle Paul said,
(2 Corinthians 9:10 AMP)
Now He who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed for sowing [that is, your resources] and increase the harvest of your righteousness [which shows itself in active goodness, kindness, and love].
(2 Corinthians 9:10 TPT)
This generous God who supplies abundant seed for the farmer, which becomes bread for our meals, is even more extravagant toward you. First he supplies every need, plus more. Then he multiplies the seed as you sow it, so that the harvest of your generosity will grow.
— When you get income, you ought to pray and ask God to lead you. A portion of it is SEED FOR SOWING (to advance God’s Kingdom). A portion of it is BREAD FOR EATING (to fulfill your obligations and enjoy your life). But if you EAT IT ALL, you will fail to SOW and also fail to REAP in the future. But if you SOW the portion you are supposed to SOW, then God will multiply the seed as you sow it, and it will produce an abundant harvest in your life.
— When you give God what is first and not what is left, you are relying on God as your source!
— When you give to God FIRST, you believe God will take care of you!
— Seek the Kingdom of God FIRST… then God will care of you, and everything else will be added to you! (Mat 6:33).
— Divine blessings flow out of human obedience.
— Kingdom economics operate on faith. Faith is essential in accessing God’s provision.
— Generosity unlocks God’s blessings. Giving is a way to unlock God’s best for your life.
— God’s system is about trust, not just transactions! Trusting God is the key to accessing His provision.
Last point for today: God’s system is about stewardship over ownership. When you believe God owns it all, you are not concerned about giving because you know He will never run out. You do not have the fear of RUNNING OUT. You have faith in RUNNING OVER!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me! I boldly declare:
You get resources TO me so that they can flow THROUGH me.
I understand that in Your Kingdom, prosperity is not just about what I HAVE, but about what I GIVE.
I refuse to hoard and accumulate only for myself. Instead, I choose to be a distribution center for Your Kingdom.
I acknowledge that You bless me with abundance, not just for my sake but to be a blessing to others.
I commit to managing the resources You entrust to me with wisdom, ensuring they serve Your purposes and plans.
I reject selfishness, understanding that it stands contrary to Your nature of love.
I embrace Your financial system, knowing that in Your Kingdom, the more I give, the more I receive.
I commit to honoring You with my firstfruits, giving You the FIRST and the BEST of everything that comes into my household.
I rely on You as my source, believing that as I seek Your Kingdom first, all other things will be added to me.
I believe that everything belongs to You, and with this understanding, I move from a mindset of RUNNING OUT to one of RUNNING OVER!
Living with this mindset, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
