Where Is Your Security?

[0:00] When the Titanic sunk in 1912, one of the passengers was John Jacob Astor IV,! into a lifeboat and hugged her, saying goodbye, then he stepped back knowing that he will not survive.

[0:41] At that moment, his wealthy meant nothing. When the ship began to sink, his millions of dollars could not buy him one more breath.

[1:03] Why? Because as much as wealthy, manna in particular, is important, it cannot secure or give us eternal security.

[1:17] It can only provide temporarily security and not eternal security. And that's exactly what we see in our passage tonight.

[1:27] Luke chapter 12, verses 13 to 21, is what the Lord Jesus was teaching on how wealthy cannot provide eternal security.

[1:42] It can provide comfort, but not eternal security. It cannot provide security that will last beyond this life.

[1:57] Tonight, using Luke chapter 12 as our main text, I'll be referencing to other passages, and I want us to see or to hear what the Lord is teaching us on how to rightly use our possessions in a way that pleases the Lord.

[2:17] We'll look at this under the theme, where is your security? Where is your security?

[2:28] Is your security in your savings? Or is it in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ?

[2:40] Where is your security? And we'll look at this under three headings. The first one, Only God, not possessions, can secure life.

[2:56] Our first point, Only God, not possessions, can secure life. Possessions, as much as they are important, let me begin by saying, don't get me wrong.

[3:13] We all need money. In fact, for me to get here, I used the Uber. And that Uber, somebody paid for it. It was money. We need money to eat, shelter, stability.

[3:29] We need money. But, as much as money is important, it can only provide temporarily security, and not eternal security.

[3:42] So, the Lord, teaching, he used a parable. And it started as an interruption. It was an interruption of someone who just came and interrupted Jesus when he was teaching.

[3:57] Luke chapter 12 from this one, there was a multitude, which was a group of people seated, and the Lord was teaching. He was teaching his disciples. In persecution, he was telling them not to give up on faith.

[4:12] Like the Pharisees who pretended because of pressure they were living double lives. Pretensy in the people, in the presence of people were seeing them, and they were living a different life.

[4:25] They were putting on something, a staged life when people were observing. And the Lord was teaching them to say, you shouldn't fear someone who will only destroy your life, but fear he who will destroy your life.

[4:39] not just here in this life, but even after this life. Now imagine such a serious lesson that the Lord was teaching.

[4:50] Then someone interrupted and say, Master, can you please come and help us settle the inheritance dispute here? So it was interrupted.

[5:02] Jesus was in the middle of a lesson teaching. Then someone interrupted the lesson. Observe with me Luke chapter 12 and verses 13.

[5:14] Someone in the crowd said to him, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. Jesus replied, Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?

[5:31] This man, he saw Jesus as a financial judge, and not as the savior of his soul. An important lesson that the Lord was teaching and what was in his mind, it was the unsolved issue of an inheritance dispute.

[5:51] And looking at the wise words that the teacher was teaching, he addressed him with respect because rabbis then were, it was their duty to settle disputes in families.

[6:03] So it is not strange that this man is approaching Jesus and addressing him as rabbi, teacher. Come and settle this dispute. In other words, he respected him and he trusted his judgment that he will come and help us settle this dispute.

[6:21] But the sad thing is that he only saw Jesus as a financial judge and not as the savior of his soul. and the Lord is responding, who made me a judge or an abita between you?

[6:36] Then from this event, from this incident, the Lord is teaching a lesson not only to this man but to the audience. Verses 15, then he said to them, watch out, be on your guard against all kinds of greedy.

[6:53] Life does not consist in an abundancy of possessions. He tells a parable, a rich man with a bumper harvest, he decides to tear down his buns and build bigger ones and he says, you have plenty of good things laid up for many years.

[7:13] Take life, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said, you fool, this very night, your life will be demanded from you. He taught this parable to explain in detail what he meant in verses 15, that life does not consist only in the abundance of possession.

[7:35] Now, the problem is not farming. The problem with this rich farmer is not planning. But I think the problem is in verse 19.

[7:53] Verses 16, and he told them this parable, the ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, what shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. Then he said, this is what I will do.

[8:05] I will tear down my buns and build bigger ones and there I will store my surplus grain. There's no record of him accumulating this wealthy in a way that was crooked or something, but it's like someone who has been blessed by the Lord.

[8:25] He has a bumper harvest. But verses 19 is saying, and I will say to myself, it's the Lord speaking this parable to the audience, you have plenty of grain laid up for many years.

[8:43] Take life ease, eat, drink, and be merry. this is the problem.

[8:55] He felt secure because of the possessions that he had, and instead of finding his security in the Lord, he thought his possessions guaranteed his future.

[9:13] He's saying, I will now take life ease, I will eat, I will drink, and relax. And there's no indication of him thinking of the Lord who blessed him, or others who might be in need because the Lord has blessed him.

[9:31] But he's saying, I will take life ease, drink, eat, and be merry. I think that's the problem. So, the problem is not farming, or farming, or planning, or wealthy, no.

[9:45] Because scripture consistently affirms wise stewardship. In Genesis chapter 41, Joseph stored grain in Egypt. But when you compare Joseph, it was for the people in Egypt.

[10:03] Proverbs chapter 6, verse 6, the Proverbs praises the ant for preparing in summer. And 1 Timothy chapter 5, verse 8, Paul is instructing Timothy to say, remind believers to provide for their households.

[10:22] So, the problem is not planning, or the business that he did, in this case, farming, or the wealth that he accumulated. But we see that these are the examples points to planning under God's rule, not self, apart from God.

[10:45] James chapter 4, verse 13, reminds us that when we are planning to say, tomorrow I'll go to this place and do business, he's saying, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow.

[10:59] Instead, you ought to say, if it is the Lord's will, I will live and do this or that. Only God, not possessions, can secure life.

[11:17] Think of how we work so hard if we are students in school. What's the point? We look forward to something, we put our effort, work entirely, seriously, why?

[11:32] Because if I have good marks, I pass with distinction and I enroll in a field that I want to become and you become that, then you are tempted.

[11:43] That's why this story is there to warn us because when you get there and you have the wealthy, then you may not realize that you are saying like this parable to say, relax, enjoy, now that you have it.

[12:02] It is reminding us that only God, not possessions, can secure life. So even as we are working hard in our studies, we need to have it in our mind that only God, not possessions, can secure life.

[12:20] Think of how we prepare for pensions, investments, or insurance. When I was thinking of this, what came to mind is insurance. insurance, sum of money you put in insurance, all these things are good, but none of them can stop sickness.

[12:42] They cannot prevent accidents or worse, death. Only God. Now that only God can secure life, we need to cultivate daily dependence on God.

[13:03] How? Begin each day praying, Lord, my plans are yours. And this reorients our hearts away from control to trusting in God.

[13:19] Because it's only God, we need to plan with humility humility. When we budget, or save, or as we work hard, we need to hold our plans loosely.

[13:33] Why? Because we are recognizing that they are only tools, they are not guaranteed. They are only tools. Because it's only God and not our possessions that can secure life.

[13:49] and this will help us to relax. We work hard because we feel pressure. But when you know that it is only God, you will take a day to just rest from the work.

[14:06] And on that day, I hope it marks as a reminder, reminding us that it is God who sustains life and not our labor. people. It is hard if you do not know that it is only God.

[14:23] Because even coming to church, you think, these hours, how much will I have made if I was doing my business or something? Why? Because we think possessions, they'll secure life.

[14:40] But it's only temporal, not eternal security. this is leading me to a second point as we are reflecting on the question of where is your security.

[14:56] Second point, possessions reveal where our security truly lies. Possessions will reveal where our security truly lies.

[15:10] The same chapter, chapter 12, Luke, verses 34, where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

[15:25] Our Old Testament reading in Deuteronomy, the Israelites were warned to say, when I bless you, don't be tempted to say, it is my, it is my, the personal pronoun, I, I did this.

[15:50] For instance, we work hard, it's me, yes, true. In our studies, sleepless nights, until you've worked, your business is grown now, it's you, yes.

[16:04] But why would the Lord, when the Israelites say, when you are there, be careful that you may not forget the Lord, your God, who has blessed you.

[16:17] Because possessions will reveal our security. They are a test. because if I am poor, I am not able to stand like Solomon in Ecclesiastes chapter 2 verse 10 to say, I denied myself nothing that my eyes desired.

[16:39] Why? Because I can't. I'm not able to. But when you are privileged with possessions, you can be tempted to stand like Solomon and say, I desire, I stopped myself, I didn't stop myself from doing whatever, everything that my heart desired, my eyes desired, because you have the ability to do it.

[17:05] They are a test and they will reveal where our true security lies. They are a test. They will reveal if we remain faithful to God or not.

[17:20] Money always points somewhere. It will reveal the direction. Like the illustration that Jesus used, telling of the parable, it revealed the heart of the rich farmer.

[17:35] It was self. It was centered on self. It did think of God or others, but it was on self.

[17:45] think of your spending, your bank statements, your budget.

[17:57] What kind of stories are they telling? What kind of stories are they telling? money? We spend our time, our energy, our effort, our money on what we value the most.

[18:13] As people, we just do that. We spend our energy, our time, our effort on what we value the most. So when we invest mainly on material things, it shows where our focus is.

[18:30] And when we invest in the kingdom of God, it also shows where our value is, what we value most. Because we only spend our energy, our time, and effort on what we value most.

[18:49] So what do your spending, my spending communicate if the Lord had to look at my spending, what will he say?

[19:04] Will he say I am rich toward God? Or it is self? Now, it's not only possessions or money, but even our time, our talent, our gifts that the Lord has blessed us.

[19:33] Because I'm saying even our time, we use it to own things that matter most, that are important to us. So even our time, how we use our time, our gifts, you may not have money, but you have time.

[19:51] time, how do you use your time? Or gifts, talents that the Lord has blessed us with, how do we use them?

[20:03] Do they show where our values are? Is it on worldly, particular things, or in the house of the Lord, in God's kingdom?

[20:15] kingdom? I'm encouraging us tonight that we cultivate generosity as worship. Each time you give, you remind yourself that you are declaring God as my provider.

[20:38] And this is leading me to my third point, and the final point. True security in Christ frees us to use possessions for his kingdom.

[20:52] True security in Christ will free us to use possessions for his kingdom. Because we are reflecting on the question of where is your security?

[21:06] If you know that only God, not possessions, can secure life, and you know that when the Lord blesses us with possessions, they are a test to show where our faithfulness is.

[21:22] Are we going to remain loyal to our God or not? Then, if we know that it's only God and we are loyal to him and faithful, we will be freed to use our possessions for his glory.

[21:37] scripture is clear. Wealthy doesn't last. Psalm 49, the psalmist is saying, for we will take nothing with us when we die.

[21:52] The same point is repeated in 1 Timothy chapter 6 verse 7, for he's saying we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing. But when wealthy is used to please the Lord, wealthy can have eternal impact.

[22:10] When it's used for God's purposes, it can have eternal impact. Zacchaeus is what came to mind. Showed repentance by giving.

[22:24] The early church in Acts chapter 2 shared their goods so that no one was in need. so when our true security is in Christ, we will be free to use our possessions for the extension of his kingdom.

[22:47] And when I was thinking of this, I was thinking of sand. Money is like sand if you grip it tightly in your hand, sand, it slips away.

[23:04] But if you open your hand and let it flow towards God's purposes, it builds something eternal. So let us open handedly, treat everything, our time, our talent to save this church.

[23:27] When they are announcing here to say their collecting things, the church has identified where they want to contribute, it might be clothing, may we be on the forefront to contribute.

[23:43] When they need something to be done, may we use our time to save the house of the Lord, to save his people, our gifts, our talent.

[23:54] The leader shouldn't be begging for someone to come and fill it hole when we know we have been freed, and because we know that our true security is in Christ. May we use our time, our talents, and all our resources as entrusted to us by God, and may we use them for his glory.

[24:21] So, as I'm concluding, the passage is calling us to repent from self-reliance, because we've trusted in money at some point than God.

[24:43] So, it is calling us to repent and make choices that will show our dependency on God. By praying before making decisions, showing that we depend on him.

[25:02] And may we reorder our priorities. Review your budget, just check, does your financial life display faith or fear?

[25:14] does it display your faith or it reveals your fears? We need to practice daily dependency on God.

[25:31] By praying, Lord, all I have is yours. Use it for your glory. If we are in business, the market drops or job shifts, we shouldn't respond with panic, but prayer.

[25:52] Because we know that our true security is in the Lord. And he cares for the birds.

[26:04] How much more you and I created in his image. So we ought to live with eternity in view.

[26:19] Because security in Christ changes how we live now. When our security is in the Lord, it changes how we live our lives now.

[26:32] now. The danger is not just losing money, but it's eternal loss.

[26:52] How is our life with the Lord? In my introduction, I started with the story of John Jacob Astor.

[27:05] The greater question is not him losing his wealth at that point, but his relationship with the Lord, where he was going.

[27:21] The good news is that in Jesus, Christ saves us. Jesus became poor for our sake, dying to free us from greedy and self reliance.

[27:38] And in Christ, eternal life is offered. In him, we receive forgiveness, freedom, and a secure inheritance that never fades.

[27:50] In Christ alone. We all have trusted in ourselves and in things that fade. But the good news is that in Jesus, who became poor for our sake, dying to free us from greedy and self reliance, we receive forgiveness, freedom, and a secure inheritance that never fades.

[28:14] there is a call in Revelation chapter 3 verses 17. Revelation chapter 3 verses 17.

[28:31] verse 17.

[28:48] You say I am rich, I have acquired wealthy, and do not need a thing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.

[29:03] I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire so you can become rich and white clothed wear so you can cover your shameful nakedness and serve to put on your eyes so you can see.

[29:23] This is the word of the Lord to the church in Laodicea. He said they were proud and he's telling them to say you say you are rich but before the eyes of the Lord, this is how they were described.

[29:40] You poor, pitiful, and naked, come to me and buy. The good news is that what money cannot buy, the gospel is that what money cannot buy, Jesus freely gives.

[29:56] in Jesus, what money cannot buy the eternal security, it is freely offered in the Lord Jesus Christ and is calling us to him.

[30:11] Life does not consist in the abundance of possession but in being rich toward God. So, let me close with asking this question again.

[30:26] where is your security? May our security be found in the Lord alone. And on that day, may we not be told like the rich fool, you fool, but may it be well done, my faithful servant.

[30:50] May the Lord bless his word. Let me pray for us. pray for us. our God and gracious Father who is in heaven, thank you that you've reminded us on how we ought to use our resources for the glory of your holy name and for the extension of your kingdom.

[31:19] help us not only to be hearers but do all of your word. And we can only do it with the help of God the Holy Spirit. Help us Lord, we pray that we may live out these truths.

[31:33] To the praise of your holy name we pray all these things. Amen. Amen.