06-14-2026 The High Cost of Being Lost

Text: Luke 12:16-21

                   Preachers spend a lot of time talking about the happiness that comes from living a Christian life including the blessings that come from God and the prospect of what it will be like to live for eternity in Heaven with Jesus and all our loved ones who have gone before us.  But preaching about all the good we get from being a Christian must be balanced by teaching what it means when we don’t have Jesus in our lives.  This morning we’re going to look at what it means when we don’t have Jesus and are lost to God. 

                   Jesus used parables, which are short stories using real life people and experiences, when He taught many of His important lessons.  Our text this morning is found in  Luke 12:16-21 where He uses the parable of the Rich Fool.  It says:  “ (16) And He spoke a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.  (17) And he thought within himself, saying, what shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?  (18) and he said, this will I do:  I will pull down my barns and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.  (19) And I will say to my soul, soul, you have much goods laid up for many years, take your ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  (20) But God said unto him, You fool, this night your soul shall be required of you [God is telling him that it’s the time that he will die]; then whose shall those things be, which you have provided?  (21) So is he who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” 

                   Here we have a sad parable about a lost man who was prosperous but pitiful.  He is rich but his life ends with the loss of all his earthly possessions and his eternal soul.  Why did the rich fool lose it all?

                   In verse 16 we learn that his happiness was tied only to the things of earth.  He had land that produced and made him wealthy.  Everything seemed to be going so well for him.  Success in farming made him happy.  Investments in anything that this world offers may be good for a short time, but they’re also always risky.  For our rich fool, a drought would have devasted him or too much rain would have ruined him.  In truth, he had no inner peace because he always had to worry about the effects of the weather on his farms.  The same holds true for people today.  There’s no inner peace for those who ignore God, don’t have Jesus in their hearts and lives, and only rely on earthly things to bring them happiness. 

                   Paul tells us in Romans 8:38-39 that only faith in Jesus Christ can prepare us for the tough times in life.  There are unseen powers of evil in this world that Satan is using as he attempts to destroy the world and people that God created.  But when we trust Jesus, we have access to His powers of good that will allow us to overcome anything that Satan tries to use to destroy our faith and trust in God.  When we claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we never have to doubt God’s love and care for us, especially when we are experiencing hardships that will always happen in this life.

                   We learn in verses 17 and 18 that the rich fool’s holdings were limited to the harvests of the earth.  He asked what he should do when his prosperity produced problems.  He didn’t know what to do with success.  His increasing wealth complicated his life, and he gave no thought to sharing what he had with others.  He suffered from the I problem.  He said ‘this will I do: I will pull down my barns.  There will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.’  He relied only on himself to solve his problems.  His new barns would advertise his affluence.  But everything this rich fool harvested was perishable – including himself.  As we know from John 3:16, when we believe and have faith in Jesus, we will not perish but instead will enjoy everlasting life in Heaven.

                   We see in verses 19 and 20 that our rich fool was prepared for his retirement.  He looked to his future with confidence, and he planned to live easily while he ate, drank, and was merry.  But his plans were faulty.  While he planned on a life of ease and lots of entertaining, he ignored planning for eternity.  One night God called him to his death where he couldn’t take any of his earthly possessions with him, he faced eternal hell.  He would leave his riches behind, and others would eventually own all that he had worked so hard to gain.  He would lose not only his earthly things, but also his eternal soul.  This rich fool died before he could enjoy what was stored in his barns. 

                   Sadly, too many people are like the rich fool in Jesus’ parable.  They never take the step to go to Jesus that will allow them to gain eternal treasures.  They spend their lives investing only in earth’s temporary things.  I spoke of investments earlier.  Why do we invest or save money?  We do it to take vacations or buy expensive things that will make us happy and carefree, and to be comfortable when we retire.  While we should prepare for life in retirement, Jesus is challenging us to think beyond earth bound goals and instead use what we have been given for His Kingdom.  Faith, service to others, and obedience to God are the ways to grow rich according to God’s Kingdom values.

                   Those who accumulate wealth only to enrich themselves and have no concern for helping others will enter eternity, but they will go empty handed and spend it in Hell.  Real riches are laid up in Heaven by those who trust in Jesus Christ as Savoir and Lord.  We must stop worrying about how we can make our earthly life more comfortable and easier.  When we put our faith and trust in Jesus and allow Him to guide how we plan and life our lives, we’ll quickly find that the things we need will come to us.  The problems that we encounter will always be solved and the blessings we receive will sustain us every day until we are called from this life to our Heavenly home. 

                   I challenge all of us today to see how rich we actually are.  Do you let Jesus guide your lives and allow Him to be your guide and teacher in everything you face?  Do you show Jesus to others by helping those in need when and where you are able?  Do you take the time to share with others what Jesus has done for you and that He can do the same for them?  When you can honestly answer yes to these questions, then, unlike the rich fool in Jesus’ parable, your treasures are laid up in Heaven, and you are truly rich.  Don’t allow the things that this world offers to lull you into a false sense of comfort and make you think that there will be no consequences for ignoring God and what Jesus has done for you.

                   Until we meet again, may God bless you and keep you, may He shine His light on you, show you grace, and give you peace in all the days ahead.