June 28, 2020 NOTES
NOT EDITED
Anatomy of a Gambler
Anatomy of a Gambler
Luke 12:13-21
SIS—Living a
materialistic life void of Godly devotion with no consideration of Judgement
Day is a terrible gamble leading to eternal damnation.
One of the great
stars of country/pop music was the late Kenny Rogers. One of his iconic songs, The Gambler, not
only became a hit song but also was turned into a movie. Nearly everyone recognizes these lines: “You've got to know when to hold 'em//Know
when to fold 'em//Know when to walk away//And know when to run.”
Gambling involves risk—holding
when you should be folding is going to bring loss. The problem with gambling, of course, is that
by definition it involves an element of the unknown. Gambling has no guarantee.
Now, turn this idea to the matter of “eternal life.” Many people are gambling with God that perhaps He doesn’t mean what He says or say what He means. The Bible says a lot about “hell” or eternal punishment. This is not a popular theme to be sure, but one woven through the fabric of God’s Word from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation and all books in between. Jesus spoke very frankly about hell. One representative verse is Matthew 13:49-50:
49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
There’s no mistaking the clear teaching of the Scripture. The Scriptures speak frankly about the coming Judgment Day and hell that awaits everyone who has not accepted Christ as the Lord of Life. This will be an unimaginably horrible fate for all who take a gamble on God not meaning what He says and saying what He means.
Now, turn this idea to the matter of “eternal life.” Many people are gambling with God that perhaps He doesn’t mean what He says or say what He means. The Bible says a lot about “hell” or eternal punishment. This is not a popular theme to be sure, but one woven through the fabric of God’s Word from the Book of Genesis to the Book of Revelation and all books in between. Jesus spoke very frankly about hell. One representative verse is Matthew 13:49-50:
49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
There’s no mistaking the clear teaching of the Scripture. The Scriptures speak frankly about the coming Judgment Day and hell that awaits everyone who has not accepted Christ as the Lord of Life. This will be an unimaginably horrible fate for all who take a gamble on God not meaning what He says and saying what He means.
Just as the
Scriptures speak frankly warning about hell, God’s Word speaks just as frankly
as to how to avoid hell and gain heaven.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved
the world that He gave His only Son that whosoever believes in Him shall not
perish (go to hell) but shall have eternal life (go to heaven).” Couldn’t
be any clearer than that.
Still, most people are gambling that they can somehow live their lives any way they choose with no thought of serving the Lord Jesus and either the whole message of the Bible is a myth or fairy tale, or God didn’t mean what He said and He is going to let everyone into heaven. This is a “big” gamble. It’s a big mistake. At stake is one’s eternal soul. If the Bible IS true and God DOES mean what He says and says what He means, then gambling against God will bring great loss—eternal loss. Eternity is too long to risk going to hell on the roll of the dice for a few years of earthly pleasures.
This week we are examining a passage about a man that did precisely that: gambled against God and lost his eternal soul. I call this sermon “The Anatomy of a Gambler.” It is a spiritual physiology lesson. A Spiritual Gambler has three features. They are Perpetually Dissatisfied, Socially Disconnected, and Eternally Damned. Read Lk. 12:13-21.
1. PERPETUALLY DISSATISFIED
The Advertising Industry topped 1 Trillion dollars in 2019. One Trillion! For comparison, the discretionary budget for our defense is only about $686 billion. Huge amounts of money is spent on one objective: keep people dissatisfied with what they have. Perpetual Dissatisfaction is what fuels a consumer-based economy.
Look at verse 18 or our text in Luke 12. The Spiritual Gambler has more stuff than will fit in his barns. So what does he do. The Spiritual Gambler says in verse 18, I will do this. “I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones.” The man’s solution to having too much stuff—make room for more stuff! No matter how much he had, he was not satisfied.
There is a
beautifully written poem about the folly of seeking happiness by accumulating
more stuff. It is purported to have been
written by Steve Jobs, the King of the Apple Empire. There’s no evidence he wrote the words, but I
could imagine him writing them. He died a
horrible death at age 56 of pancreatic cancer.
Whether he wrote this poem or not, it is a powerful message. Here’s a
sample.
As we get older we are smarter, and we slowly realize that a watch is worth $30 or $300 – both show the same time. Whether we carry a purse worth $30 or $300 – the amount of money we put in it is the same. Whether we drive a car worth $150,000, or a car worth $30,000 – the road and distance to our destination is the same. Your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world. Whether you’re flying first class, or economy class – if the plane crashes, you crash with it.” [End Quote]
As we get older we are smarter, and we slowly realize that a watch is worth $30 or $300 – both show the same time. Whether we carry a purse worth $30 or $300 – the amount of money we put in it is the same. Whether we drive a car worth $150,000, or a car worth $30,000 – the road and distance to our destination is the same. Your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world. Whether you’re flying first class, or economy class – if the plane crashes, you crash with it.” [End Quote]
Whether you amass a bank account worth $7 billion dollars like Steve Jobs, or you die $70,000 in debt, everyone leaves the same amount behind—EVERYTHING! Building bigger barns to accumulate more stuff will never satisfy you. When you gamble that thinking bigger barns mean more satisfaction, disappointment awaits you. The Apostle Paul declares (Phil 4:11),
I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. 13 I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Building
bigger barns and filling it with more and more stuff will never fill the void
in one’s heart that only a relationship with Jesus Christ can fill. As the great teacher, Augustine
wrote, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless
until it finds its rest in thee.” A
Spiritual Gambler always believes that one more roll of the dice and he will
hit it big and have enough . . . but he never does.
A
person who gambles on thinking more stuff means more happiness will be PERPETUALLY
DISSATISFIED in life. Another
feature in the Anatomy of a Spiritual Gambler is they are
2. SOCIALLY
DISCONNECTED
God
is a “People Person.” In His very essence God is a social being. Yes, the very nature of God’s Being is a “Community.” He is One God, but Exists as Three Persons. We call it the Trinity. This is fundamental
to understanding Who God is, and also fundamental to understanding the nature
of the church.
God loves people, as we have already seen from reading John 3:16 a moment ago. God died to save people. God loves crowds. Everywhere Jesus went, he drew a crowd and He walked among them. The Second Great Commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself” stresses how important “people” are to God.
In fact, God did something very specific in creating the world that shows He never wants people to be “loners.” Look at Gen. 2:18. “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’” Then reading on in verses 22-23. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. God made woman because man is made in His image, and God is a social being.
God loves people, as we have already seen from reading John 3:16 a moment ago. God died to save people. God loves crowds. Everywhere Jesus went, he drew a crowd and He walked among them. The Second Great Commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself” stresses how important “people” are to God.
In fact, God did something very specific in creating the world that shows He never wants people to be “loners.” Look at Gen. 2:18. “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.’” Then reading on in verses 22-23. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. God made woman because man is made in His image, and God is a social being.
But,
there still were not enough “people” in God’s world so God commanded Adam and
Eve “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the
earth” (Gen. 1:28).
The
Church is a “community with a mission to engage their community to
build a bigger and better community.”
However, this doesn’t work with a Spiritual Gambler. They are “Socially Disconnected,” or
“Socially Distant,” because they are consumed by a love for things.
Over the last five weeks, every sermon touched on social distancing in one way or another. I never intended this to be the case, but the idea of “social connections” between people is fundamental to the gospel. Social distancing is contradictory to our gospel mission.
This text in Luke 12 on the “Anatomy of a Gambler” sheds light on why social distancing is a problem in the church. So many people in the church are “spiritual gamblers.” Many think, as this man does in our text today, that a person can “store up treasures in this life; eat, drink, and enjoy oneself” (v19)” and take no thought for loving others, and God is going to just look the other way come Judgment Day. But pay care attention to verse 20. God, Himself, declares, “You fool! This very night (not even a full day away) your life is demanded of you.”
Let’s look a little further into the text at the “Anatomy of a Gambler” and see why social distancing, or a complete disregard for the Second Great Commandment, came so easily to this man. Bottom-line: Spiritual Gamblers love things and use people, instead of using things and loving people. This man stored up his treasures in his barn instead of sharing them to his neighbors. This deserves repeating: Spiritual Gamblers store up treasures in their barns instead of sharing them to their neighbors. I’m not even suggesting this Spiritual Gambler had an evil or malicious intent. He just didn’t “connect with others.” He was blind to other people. Listen as I read verses 17-19. Every time this Spiritual Gambler refers to himself, I will raise my hand. You count how many times I raise my hand in this one verse. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? 18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You (or self) have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’
Over the last five weeks, every sermon touched on social distancing in one way or another. I never intended this to be the case, but the idea of “social connections” between people is fundamental to the gospel. Social distancing is contradictory to our gospel mission.
This text in Luke 12 on the “Anatomy of a Gambler” sheds light on why social distancing is a problem in the church. So many people in the church are “spiritual gamblers.” Many think, as this man does in our text today, that a person can “store up treasures in this life; eat, drink, and enjoy oneself” (v19)” and take no thought for loving others, and God is going to just look the other way come Judgment Day. But pay care attention to verse 20. God, Himself, declares, “You fool! This very night (not even a full day away) your life is demanded of you.”
Let’s look a little further into the text at the “Anatomy of a Gambler” and see why social distancing, or a complete disregard for the Second Great Commandment, came so easily to this man. Bottom-line: Spiritual Gamblers love things and use people, instead of using things and loving people. This man stored up his treasures in his barn instead of sharing them to his neighbors. This deserves repeating: Spiritual Gamblers store up treasures in their barns instead of sharing them to their neighbors. I’m not even suggesting this Spiritual Gambler had an evil or malicious intent. He just didn’t “connect with others.” He was blind to other people. Listen as I read verses 17-19. Every time this Spiritual Gambler refers to himself, I will raise my hand. You count how many times I raise my hand in this one verse. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? 18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones and store all my grain and my goods there. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You (or self) have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ’
Thirteen
times (13) in three verses this Spiritual Gambler refers to himself in regard
to his wealth. Notice the question he
asks himSELF. “What should I do with
all my wealth?” It never even
occurred to him to “give it away to meet the needs of others less fortunate
than himself.” Spiritual Gamblers
are so completely disconnected from the very world the Lord called us to go
into, they may not even know what they are doing.
Let’s remind ourselves of the Great Commission. Mark’s gospel is more descriptive of the locus of our mission. “Go into ALL THE WORLD!” (Mk 16:15). Circle those words, “all the world.” Now, mark this down. Write it in your Bible. If you don’t have a Bible or paper, write on the forehead of your spouse. Put it somewhere you can’t miss seeing it. Here is the word we need to hear in our churches today: “The Great Commission cannot be fulfilled IN THE CHURCH. It must be fulfilled IN THE WORLD—with people. Believes must proactively seek to be socially connected with others. NO HERMITS ALLOWED!
Too many people who attend church regularly are gambling that God will look the other way on Judgement Day in regard to people who were not “socially connected to others sharing physical, emotional, and most of all, spiritual resources with them.” People who value things more than they value others, will face an angry God on Judgment Day. Hebrews 10:31 warns us all, It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God! The Prophet Amos reminded Israel how God had saved them by “snatching them as a burning stick in the fire” but they were neglecting His mission. So Amos goes on to warn them, “prepare to meet your God” (Amos 4:12). How do we prepare to meet Our God? Not by hoarding our blessings and storing them in larger bank accounts, but by sharing them with others in and through our personal ministries and also the ministries of the church. Giving our time, talents and treasures is a key way in which we “socially shorten our distance to others.” Ministry takes money. Saving souls ain’t cheap.
Our mission in the church has everything to do with staying socially connected to both lost people and believers. Gamblers can sit alone in a casino in front of a machine or a table for hours, hoping for one big score. All the while, they are oblivious to others. Building relationships both inside and outside the church IS what the church is all about. People need people but so many people, even in church, live like “hermit monks” and forget that “Loving God is not enough,” we must also “love our neighbor.” To love our neighbor, we have to socially connect with him or her by busting out of our self-centered cocoons. This Spiritual Gambler only cared about himself, and his stuff. Not only was he PERPETUALLY DISSATISFIED and SOCIALLY DISCONNECTED, he was
Let’s remind ourselves of the Great Commission. Mark’s gospel is more descriptive of the locus of our mission. “Go into ALL THE WORLD!” (Mk 16:15). Circle those words, “all the world.” Now, mark this down. Write it in your Bible. If you don’t have a Bible or paper, write on the forehead of your spouse. Put it somewhere you can’t miss seeing it. Here is the word we need to hear in our churches today: “The Great Commission cannot be fulfilled IN THE CHURCH. It must be fulfilled IN THE WORLD—with people. Believes must proactively seek to be socially connected with others. NO HERMITS ALLOWED!
Too many people who attend church regularly are gambling that God will look the other way on Judgement Day in regard to people who were not “socially connected to others sharing physical, emotional, and most of all, spiritual resources with them.” People who value things more than they value others, will face an angry God on Judgment Day. Hebrews 10:31 warns us all, It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God! The Prophet Amos reminded Israel how God had saved them by “snatching them as a burning stick in the fire” but they were neglecting His mission. So Amos goes on to warn them, “prepare to meet your God” (Amos 4:12). How do we prepare to meet Our God? Not by hoarding our blessings and storing them in larger bank accounts, but by sharing them with others in and through our personal ministries and also the ministries of the church. Giving our time, talents and treasures is a key way in which we “socially shorten our distance to others.” Ministry takes money. Saving souls ain’t cheap.
Our mission in the church has everything to do with staying socially connected to both lost people and believers. Gamblers can sit alone in a casino in front of a machine or a table for hours, hoping for one big score. All the while, they are oblivious to others. Building relationships both inside and outside the church IS what the church is all about. People need people but so many people, even in church, live like “hermit monks” and forget that “Loving God is not enough,” we must also “love our neighbor.” To love our neighbor, we have to socially connect with him or her by busting out of our self-centered cocoons. This Spiritual Gambler only cared about himself, and his stuff. Not only was he PERPETUALLY DISSATISFIED and SOCIALLY DISCONNECTED, he was
3. ETERNALLY
DAMNED
This is really the crux
of the matter in this text. When it
comes to a diamond ring, the setting is as important (though maybe not as
expensive) as the diamond itself. This
is also true when mining for any gem in Scripture. The setting or context makes any
Scripture text shine in It’s full brilliance.
So, let’s note the setting of the story of this Gambler in verses
16-21. Go back to verses
1-2 of Luke 12. Here,
Jesus confronts the hypocrisy of the religious Pharisees. They were trying to cover up their
dark, hypocritical hearts with exquisite robes of self-righteousness. They fooled many with their outward piety,
but they could not fool God. Jesus
warned (vss 1-2), “Be on your guard
against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 There is
nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made
known. This prompts us to ask, “When will this revealing
of the hearts of mankind take place?”
You don’t have to read far to get an answer. Look at verses 4-5. 4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into HELL. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
You don’t have to read far to get an answer. Look at verses 4-5. 4 “I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into HELL. Yes, I tell you, fear him.”
This is one of the
many references to judgment in the Bible—and there are hundreds. Jesus speaks, as He so often does, of hell
which is the eternal abode of those who die without acknowledging Him as the
Lord and Savior. This coming day when
all hearts are revealed is called, “JUDGEMENT DAY.” Paul speaks of this in Heb 9:27,
27
Just as man is destined to die once, and
after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to
take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to
bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
No one knows the day
of this judgment. It could come at any
time, either by death or by the Return of Christ. But, be assured, Judgment Day is coming. With that context, or setting, lets return to
the story of the Gambler who intended to continue to amass great wealth, build
huge barns to store it in and live a life of luxury, “taking it easy; eating, drinking, and enjoying himself”
(v19). Then, the hammer
of justice fell upon this man’s plans. Verse
20 thunders out this warning to the man, and to us all, “But God said to him, ‘You fool!’ This very night your life
is demanded of you. And the things you
have prepared—whose will they be?”
This man gambled against God, thinking that he could live as he pleased instead of living to please God—and this gambler lost . . . he lost eternally! That night his soul would be eternally damned to hell. I know that this is not a pleasant thought, and certainly not popular in our society—either in the marketplace or even in most churches, sadly. But, it is THE TRUTH. It is the self-same “truth” that can set a soul free (Jn. 8:32) from the bondage of sin and eternal damnation in hell. The Bible speaks frankly and bluntly about the eternal hell that awaits the Foolish Gambler who thinks he or she can “beat the house” and escape the wrath of God. The Bible says bluntly—if you gamble against God, you WILL LOSE, and lose eternally.
But, the Bible speaks just as frankly and bluntly in regard to the fact that “nobody needs to go to hell.” The Word says, God doesn’t want any to perish but all to come to repentance (2Pet. 3:9).
If any person goes to hell, they literally have to go to hell over the “dead body of Jesus Christ.” Let’s go back to a verse I read earlier, Heb. 9:27, “27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
This man gambled against God, thinking that he could live as he pleased instead of living to please God—and this gambler lost . . . he lost eternally! That night his soul would be eternally damned to hell. I know that this is not a pleasant thought, and certainly not popular in our society—either in the marketplace or even in most churches, sadly. But, it is THE TRUTH. It is the self-same “truth” that can set a soul free (Jn. 8:32) from the bondage of sin and eternal damnation in hell. The Bible speaks frankly and bluntly about the eternal hell that awaits the Foolish Gambler who thinks he or she can “beat the house” and escape the wrath of God. The Bible says bluntly—if you gamble against God, you WILL LOSE, and lose eternally.
But, the Bible speaks just as frankly and bluntly in regard to the fact that “nobody needs to go to hell.” The Word says, God doesn’t want any to perish but all to come to repentance (2Pet. 3:9).
If any person goes to hell, they literally have to go to hell over the “dead body of Jesus Christ.” Let’s go back to a verse I read earlier, Heb. 9:27, “27 Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.
Man owes a debt of
sin. That sin is “eternal death, or
eternal damnation.” The debt man owes is
eternal so it can never be paid off because eternity never ends. However, God made a way for the eternal debt
to be paid. Instead of you or I dying
every day for all eternity, God’s ETERNAL Son died once for all. Jesus, the Eternal God-Man, paid the debt
once for all.
It was a glorious transaction between God and man, mediated by Jesus Christ on the cross one Friday long ago. This is the transaction that took place that horrible day, 21 He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2Cor. 5:21).
A man or woman who gambles against God’s wrath on judgment day is Eternally Damned. But, he or she need not take such a gamble, but can take the “sure bet” of putting your trust in Almighty God.
Spiritual Gamblers are PERPETUALLY Dissatisfied, SOCIALLY Disconnected, and worst of all, ETERNALLY Damned. It doesn’t matter how big your barns are in this life if you soul will be bankrupt for all eternity in hell.
Mark this down. JUDGEMENT DAY IS COMING. This is the message we MUST get out to our community. Many, many people are “gambling away their eternity.” Hell is too long and too horrible to risk taking the gamble that somehow God will overlook one’s sin on JUDGEMENT DAY.
It was a glorious transaction between God and man, mediated by Jesus Christ on the cross one Friday long ago. This is the transaction that took place that horrible day, 21 He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2Cor. 5:21).
A man or woman who gambles against God’s wrath on judgment day is Eternally Damned. But, he or she need not take such a gamble, but can take the “sure bet” of putting your trust in Almighty God.
Spiritual Gamblers are PERPETUALLY Dissatisfied, SOCIALLY Disconnected, and worst of all, ETERNALLY Damned. It doesn’t matter how big your barns are in this life if you soul will be bankrupt for all eternity in hell.
Mark this down. JUDGEMENT DAY IS COMING. This is the message we MUST get out to our community. Many, many people are “gambling away their eternity.” Hell is too long and too horrible to risk taking the gamble that somehow God will overlook one’s sin on JUDGEMENT DAY.
INVITATION: PASCHAL’S WAGER
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