An Inheritance from Jesus

Welcome to the teaching ministry of Kungsvinger Lutheran Church. Kungsvinger is a beacon for the gospel of Jesus Christ and is located on the plains of northwestern Minnesota. We proclaim Christ and Him crucified for our sins and salvation by grace through faith alone.

And now, here's a message from Pastor Chris Roseberg.

The Parable of the Rich Fool in Luke 12

The Holy Gospel according to St. Luke, chapter 12, verses 13 through 21. Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?

And he said to them, Take care, be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. And he told them a parable saying, The land of a rich man produced plentifully.

And he thought to himself, Well, 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. But God said to him, Fool, this night your soul is required of you. And the things that you have prepared, whose will they be?

So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. In the name of Jesus.

All right.

Interesting gospel text today. Begins with these words. Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. But he said to him, Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?

Now, we've all heard horror stories of families that have literally been torn apart by quarrels and fights over an inheritance. We've heard of those who have been exed out of a will and the pain that that creates.

And if you want to find out what someone's character is really like, look how they behave when a large estate is at stake. Do they care about their family and their relationship with their own flesh and blood?

Or are they willing to throw those relationships away in order to get what they think they're owed when an estate is being parceled out? There's nothing quite like being sued by one of your siblings because they think they should have received more than they were left in mom and dad's will, right?

In a situation like that, win or lose, your relationship with that sibling is all but destroyed for what remains of this mortal existence. In fact, Thanksgiving and Christmas will never quite be the same.

Rather than a season of joy and a family reunion around a festive meal, each holiday from that point forth will be forever marred by feelings of loss, pain, anger, and sorrow. And what's at the root of all of this?

Well, according to the Apostle Paul, what's at the root of all of this is the sin of covetousness, which he says is idolatry. Making God and things, well, making things and money your idol. So a man comes to Jesus, calls out, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.

He's actually going to the wrong guy. Think about it. Jesus is not in the vocation of, well, a state attorney, right? He's not a judge. This isn't probate court. And not only that, this is the totally wrong inheritance that Jesus is about.

Jesus is not judge in such matters. He's the judge of the world. Furthermore, as we will see later in this message, the inheritance that Jesus has charge over, well, it's not an inheritance that has anything to do with this current earthly existence, right?

So Jesus said to them, Take care. Be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. And I need to note this. Jesus' warning is as stern as any warning he's ever given regarding false teachers and false prophets.

Keep in mind, we have to guard both our life and our doctrine. In this case, this has to deal with our lives. And so he says, Be on your guard against covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

You think of that bumper sticker we've seen from time to time. The one with the most toys after they die wins. No, that's not true. That is so not true. Small Catechism commenting on the 9th and 10th Commandments says this, You shall not covet your neighbor's house.

That's the 9th Commandment. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we may not craftily seek to get our neighbor's inheritance or house or obtain it by a show of justice and right or any other means, but help and be of service to him in keeping it.

Yeah, that's the 9th Commandment. And then 10th Commandment, You shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his manservant or his maidservant or his cattle or anything that is his. If you're wondering what the distinction is between the 9th and 10th Commandments, both deal with coveting.

The 9th Commandment deals with coveting stuff. The 10th Commandment deals with coveting living things.

All right?

So what does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we may not turn, may not force, may not entice away our neighbor's wife, servants, cattle, but urge them to stay and carefully do their duty.

Set Your Minds on Things Above

Paul, writing in our Epistle text today, says this to us, If then you have been raised with Christ, by the way, have you been? You have. In the waters of baptism, you've been united with Christ in his death and his resurrection.

If then you have been raised with Christ, and you have, seek the things that are above. That's where our inheritance is currently. If you read the end of the book, in the book of Revelation, the new Jerusalem comes down out of heaven.

So where is it right now? Well, it's above where Christ is. Seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.

For you have died. Your life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with him in glory. That's right, you've died. A little bit of a side note here.

We've all heard the news of the Roman Catholic priest who was beheaded in his own church by ISIS. Horrific crime, if you think about it. But here's the thing. I want you to keep this in mind. If ISIS should show up here and decide to behead the pastor of Kongsvinger, they might be coming for my life.

But as Hans Feeney, an LCMS pastor commenting on this, noted, they might come for my life, but ISIS would be too late. Christ has already taken it. Christ has already taken your life, too. You've already died in your baptism.

So if ISIS shows up here too late, Jesus already has us. We're already dead. So keep that in mind. Because we've already died, then, we are admonished by the Apostle Paul in our epistle text, then, to put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you.

In case you wanted to know what that looks like, a little thumbnail sketch here. Sexual immorality, yep, that's earthly. Impurity, passion, evil desires, covetousness, which is idolatry. And this is the sin that we are addressing today in our gospel text, the sin of covetousness.

On account of these, the wrath of God is coming. Yeah, that's right. Have you ever stopped to think that the person who is obsessed with wealth, obsessed with having everything that this life has to offer, is as immoral as somebody who is sexually perverse?

They are.

Scripture is very clear on this. In these, you too once walked. Yeah, none of us are innocent when it comes to these things. We used to walk in these things when we were living in them, but now, as Christians, we must put them all away.

Put away anger, put away wrath, put away malice, put away slander, put away obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices, and you have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Here there is not Greek, Jew, circumcised, uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all. In other words, all of those ways in which we kind of judge people. That person is wealthy, that person is poor.

That person, well, he is of that descent. He is not Norwegian. He is German or Polish, but he is Norwegian over here. All of those distinctions go away in Christ. So then Jesus tells a parable, going back to our gospel text, and here is the parable.

The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, What shall I do? For I have nowhere to store my crops.

Right? Wow.

Note here, it says the land of the rich man produced plentifully. Who was it that was supplying all of this wealth to him? It was God.

Right?

The farmers will tell you that some years are really great. The land produced plentifully. Other years are kind of like this one. Things get a little scarce out there in the fields, right? But it was the land that produced, which means it was God who was the one giving this to him.

And so he has this problem. What shall I do? I have nowhere to store my crops. That's what we call a first world problem.

Right?

So he said, I know, I'll do this. I'll tear down my barns, 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. Go to Tahiti.

Right?

Enjoy floofy drinks on a chaise lounge with a little umbrella in it.

Right?

Work on your suntan.

Read a book.

Okay?

Augustine, long ago, actually preached on this text. Here's some of the things he said. He said, this silly fool of a man, he was hoarding perishable crops. And Augustine makes this point again. He says, I repeat, he was hoarding perishable crops while he himself was at the very point of perishing because he had handed out nothing to the Lord before whom he was now due to appear.

And at that trial, at his trial, he was going to hear the words of Christ say, I was hungry and you did not give me anything to eat.

Wow.

He was planning to fill his soul with excessive and unnecessary feasting. And he was proudly disregarding all those empty bellies of the poor. He did not realize that the bellies of the poor were a much safer storeroom than his barns.

But if he had stowed it away in the bellies of the poor, true, it would have, of course, been digested here on earth. The reality is, in heaven, it would have been kept all the more safely. And the reason for this is quite simple.

Proverbs 19 .17 says this,. Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and the Lord will repay him for his deed. So notice, this man's not rich towards anyone except for himself. And that's the thing.

The one who is covetous, the one who is storing up riches, the one who thinks that life's all about the acquiring of possessions and wealth and all that kind of stuff, that person becomes a self-centered, egotistical monster and cares nothing about anybody else on the planet except for himself.

And so God gives his judgment of him in our text and says,.

Fool. Fool.

Loaded theological term. Read Proverbs. It's the fool who says in his heart there is no God. And that's what this man has done. He's lived his life as if there is no God. He has no love for God, no love for neighbor.

He only loves self. This is the utter picture of foolishness. Fool, this night your soul is required of you, and the things that you have prepared, whose will they be? You know, over and again we've all heard the preachers say, I've never seen a U-Haul at a funeral.

Right?

Never seen a U-Haul at a funeral. That's right. Because once that person's dead, well, all that stuff gets divvied up. No one gets to take it with them. No one. And so that's what Ecclesiastes says. All of this is vanity.

Rich Toward God, Contentment, and Eternal Life

And so the text then says,. So it is with the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God. And here's what it means to be rich towards God. First of all, rich towards God and trusting in the promises of God for the forgiveness of our sins won by Christ.

That repentant faith leads to true love, fear in God, and results in love towards others.

Right?

That's what it means to be rich towards God. And the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 6, verses 6 through 19, tells us Christians, well, the right mindset that we are to have. Here's what he says. Godliness with contentment is great gain.

Contentment. The Christian is content. For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, and into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. And it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. The desire for riches is, well, quite frankly, quite evil.

And you'll notice what Paul says. Stern warning. Some, by desiring to be wealthy, it has resulted in them wandering away from the faith. You wander away from the faith to your own eternal peril. Love of riches is the root of all kinds of evil.

But then Paul continues. But as for you, you Christians, O man of God, O woman of God, flee these things. Flee the desire to be wealthy. Instead, pursue righteousness. Pursue godliness. Pursue faith. Pursue love, steadfastness, gentleness.

Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. So notice here. The desire for wealth and riches here is totally antithetical to what it is that our real hope is.

You think Jesus and His death on the cross is a means for you to have, well, a mansion here and now? Or as Joel Osteen says, to have your best life now? Keep in mind, if you have your best life now, you're going to hell.

Right?

We instead are to take hold of the eternal life to which we have been called and about which we've made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. Paul says, then I charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things and of Christ Jesus who in His testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ which He will display at the proper time.

He who is the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see, to Him be the honor and eternal dominion.

Amen. And as for the rich in this present age, the Holy Spirit says to the Apostle Paul, charge them not to be haughty. There's nothing worse than an arrogant rich person. Did you see my car out in the parking lot?

It only cost me $60 ,000. God, it's for a steal.

Yeah, right?

Right, you just want to take that person aside and...

Right, yeah.

To the rich, tell them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches. Oh, there's nothing more fun to watch than a wealthy person while the stock market is tanking.

Right?

They're popping Pepsi like you wouldn't believe, right? Because all of their hope is in, well, wealth and riches. Isn't it fascinating that over and again we've seen in our lifetime people who've amassed large fortunes to see them whoosh, disappear overnight with an unexpected turn in the stock market.

Riches are uncertain. They truly are. So, don't set your hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but set them on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good. They are to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, and that is in heaven, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

Wealth in this age is not truly life. It doesn't matter what the magazines say, it doesn't matter what the television says, it doesn't matter what all of the Hollywood reporters talk about.

Right?

You achieve the American dream, you become a famous movie star, you buy a mansion in Bel Air.

Right?

That's the life, right? Scripture says, no, that's not the life. Because that's here, now. All of this is going to burn. True life is what's coming, and it's above. Now, our gospel text began with these words.

Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me. I want you to consider this. By earthly standards, Jesus, at his death, was utterly penniless. When someone has lost everything in this life, you know, they've gone through a disaster, maybe someone's house has burned down, or a tornado has blown through and destroyed their property, right?

How do we describe that person? Well, they escaped with only the clothes on their backs.

Right?

But you see, Jesus didn't. He did not escape with only the clothes on his back, because it says that when he was crucified, the Roman soldiers cast lots for his clothes. Jesus, while he was being crucified, didn't even have the clothes on his back.

Roman soldiers made sure of that. So by earthly standards, Jesus is the exact opposite of that rich uncle we all wish we had.

Right?

He literally had nothing. Absolutely nothing. And there was nothing on a will. There was no reading out of his will after his death. And to John, I give this. And to Peter, I would like you to have my...

He had nothing.

Right?

Yet, God's word over and over and over again says that you and I have an inheritance. And I need to note, a rich one. Because of Jesus. Ephesians chapter 1 says this, starting at verse 13.

Look at that.

The man who dies penniless and without any clothes has left us an inheritance. The will has been read out in the new covenant. And we are now possessors of this inheritance. We haven't taken possession of it physically yet.

But we have it now. This is what Paul is saying. So Jesus' will has been read out. And what you've inherited, listen to me when I tell you this, it is way beyond your comprehension. In fact, I need to be the first to inform you, if you haven't already figured this out, you are actually wealthy beyond your wildest dreams.

And your inheritance is currently kept in a place where no moth can eat it, no robber can steal it, no downturn in the stock market can take it away. In fact, can't even make one penny of it disappear.

And Jesus has personally, according to scripture, built a mansion for you and has spared no expense. In fact, according to the book of Revelation, the roadway leading to your mansion is literally paved with gold.

Not even Trump has pulled that one off, right?

Yeah.

Not only that, according to scripture, you're going to be able to enjoy this inheritance for far more than a measly 10, 20, 30, maybe 50 years. Instead, you're going to be able to enjoy this inheritance forever in a world without end.

Wow.

Peter writing about this in 1 Peter 1 verse 3 says this, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power you are now being guarded through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, which is the salvation of your very souls.

Wow.

So in our story today, in our parable, Jesus made it clear that that rich fool lost his very soul. But your soul has not been lost. You have been buried and raised with Christ. The will has been read out.

You're in the will. You have this inheritance now. It is currently yours. You have not yet taken possession of it. It's kind of like that space of time in between the reading out of the will and the actual check being cashed in your bank account, right?

You go and you have here the will read out. You've inherited this. You've inherited that. You've inherited this amount. And then there's a small gap of time between you know that this is now yours and the time when you take possession of it.

That's the time that we're in right now. You are wealthy beyond compare. You will never have any want. I mean it's like you've won the lottery. You're just waiting for the state's check to arrive. And all of this is a gift.

It's an inheritance from Christ. So why on earth would you set your mind on the things here that are all passing away rather than on the inheritance that is coming that you now already have? So when it comes to coveting the things of this earth, see it for what it is, the sin of idolatry.

And that being the case, you know what we do with sin. We repent. We repent. Lord, you're right. We're wrong. We're sorry. Forgive us. You see, riches are deceitful. And the devil uses them as the bait in a trap that will ultimately send you straight to hell.

But because of Christ, because he has chose to become absolutely poverty stricken for you, you now have wealth beyond your wildest dreams in a world without end. So set your minds on the things that are above where Jesus is.

And do not fall for the devil's trap. Because Jesus has left you such an outrageous inheritance. Now, therefore, I want you to consider this. Since you are the wealthiest people on the planet, be generous.

Be generous. In fact, anything you lend to somebody who is poor right now, God will pay you back. You don't need to worry about them doing it. You are already way more rich than Bill Gates, George Soros, or any billionaire on the planet.

That's the truth. So be generous with what you have. Nothing you have here, by the way, will make it through the fire of the last day.

Nothing.

So don't set your heart or mind on any of it. It's all going to burn. But because you are in Christ, because He's died for you, because your sins have been washed away, and you will not burn. So instead, you will hear from Jesus on the last day.

Well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a little. Therefore, I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master. Keep your eye on what's coming. Nothing here stays. And you think about Jesus, and how rich He is.

And He, rather than store up all of His grace in a storehouse or in a barn, He distributes it freely here, every single Sunday. He distributes it freely with the forgiveness of sins and the absolution, freely in the waters of baptism, freely with His own body and blood.

Keep trusting in that Jesus who has died even for our sins of coveting and idolatry. Keep your eyes on what's coming. It'll be here sooner than you think. It'll be, well, like it arrives tomorrow. And it will be.

It will be tomorrow. In the name of Jesus, amen.

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