"The Parable Of The Wealthy Farmer"

This chapter is filled with warnings -- four to the church and one to the non-believer.  We see Jesus giving words of wisdom concerning hypocrisy, covetousness, worrying, carelessness and spiritual dullness.

When Jesus was asked to settle a dispute, He used great wisdom in the matter.  Rabbis were expected to help settle legal matters, but Jesus refused to get involved.  He knew that no answer He could give would solve the real problem, which was covetousness in the hearts of the two brothers.

The last of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20:17 says “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.”

It seems that all the laws that we might break of the Ten Commandments stem from the last one -- that being “Thou shalt not covet...”

The way the request is mentioned in verse 13, it seems the man had a greater interest in being served instead of being saved.  That’s how I want to approach this passage today.

Covetousness is an unquenchable thirst for getting more and more of something we think we need in order to be truly satisfied.   It might be a thirst for money or the things that money can buy.  It might be a thirst for position and power.

Jesus made it very clear that true life does not depend on an abundance of possessions.  He did not deny that we all have certain basic needs; He only affirmed that we couldn’t make life richer by acquiring more of these things.

Matthew 6:31-34 says,  “Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

It is an unknown truth by many, but “there are many Christians who are infected with covetousness and do not know it.”   According to the average standard of living, America lives very wealthy!

Look with me at this story and help me examine this farmer’s heart.

Verse 16 suggests two things to us: (1) that he and his servants had worked hard in preparing ground, sowing the seed and harvesting the grain.  Good crops do not come without hard work.  (2) God had blessed this man’s efforts.  Never forget, it is God who provides the harvest. James 1:17 says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

This farmer had a serious dilemma.  He had been blessed with too much wealth.  Now listen before you say what most of us would think to be the obvious response to that statement – if we were to say, “I certainly wish I had that problem” we may be revealing covetousness in our own hearts.

If suddenly you inherited a great deal of wealth, would it create a problem for you or would you simply praise God and ask Him what He wanted you to do with it?

This man was blessed by God and had a bountiful harvest.

Verse 17.  Now I believe that the rich man is being very sensible at this point.  It was his responsibility to conserve what God had blessed him with.  We will stand before the Lord as stewards and give an account concerning many things including how we spent our money.   Did we rob God of His part of our earnings?  Did we honestly give of what we made?  Did we use our funds wisely?  Did we waste them on filth or invest in souls?

I know many preachers look down on this man, but I want to say, it was not a sin for him to build bigger and even better barns.  That was not his sin! As a matter of fact, unless he took appropriate measures, much of what he had harvested would ruin.  God does not want us to waste.   Each one of us needs to understand our responsibility of being a good steward.

There are perils to prosperity.  Look at Proverbs 30:7-9.  There is the serious danger of allowing wealth to choke out the Word of God.  Listen to Matthew 13:22 “He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”

Wealth can create snares and temptations.  Notice Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6:6-10; 17-19.

We have noticed that the Lord blessed with a bountiful harvest and well as a burdensome responsibility. 

After reflecting on the situation, the farmer made a decision.  Verse 18 says he felt he had no choice but to enlarge his facilities.  This meant tearing down the old and building new and larger barns.  I still believe this farmer is acting in a responsible manner.  He is trying to be a “good steward.”

His problem is the last thing I want to mention.

It was at this point that the farmer made his big mistake.   He allowed his material blessings to become the basis for his spiritual security.

People say that money will not satisfy, but it does satisfy if you want to live on that level.  People who are satisfied with the things that money can buy are in great danger of losing things that money cannot buy.

Here is a man that begins to think about self and forget God.  In verses 17-19 we see his eleven personal pronouns.  His goal has now become, “Take care of me, number one!”   Jesus Christ does not endorse that philosophy. 

There is nothing wrong with following good business practices but this farmer seemed to have very selfish desires that included him only.

We have noticed his dilemma -- he had too much wealth.  We saw his bad decision – he was governed by covetousness.  The reason this happened is because his desires were in the wrong place.  This man looked like he had life, success, satisfaction and security!  But Jesus saw something else.  Instead of this farmer facing life, he was now facing death. As long as he was living, he had it made, but now at death, he had nothing.

Wealth cannot keep us alive when it comes our time to die.  Jesus had made it clear (verse 15) that life does not come from the abundance of things, nor does true success or security.

This farmer made a decision to live it up while death was creeping in upon him.  In our mortal logic, we might say, “too bad this fellow died just when he had everything going for him.”

The greatest tragedy is not what he left behind, but what was before him.  He left behind barns full of plenty and had nothing but eternity in front of him -- eternity without God.

This man lived without God and died without God, and his wealth was but an incident in his life.

God is not impressed with our money.  He wants us to be “rich toward God.”  That means to acknowledge gratefully that everything we have comes from God, and then make an effort to use what He gives us for the good of others and the glory of God.

This is not a message on money -- it is a message to remind us that there is life after this life and we must remember that this life is the place we prepare for the next life.  It takes God’s grace to be ready for eternity.

John 5:24 says, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”