BANKRUPT BEFORE GOD

Bankrupt Before God
Luke 12:16–21
During the course of my ministry here at West End Baptist Church, there have been a couple of occasions when I have felt it necessary to preach on the blessings of God, the faithfulness of God, and the supply of God through different administrations and events—even through COVID.
Trusting God has certainly been put to the test. Expensive groceries, high utilities, and the increase in fuel costs have caused all of us to tighten our belts. And even though it sometimes seems like there is never enough, somehow, for those who are trusting in God, there is always enough.
Though it may sound like a cliché from a preacher, the Bible is true. Philippians 4:19 still says:
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Here in Luke 12, we are told about a man who was extremely blessed.
In verse 16, Jesus said:
“The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.”
But just a few verses later, in verse 21, Jesus said:
“So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
How can a person be extremely blessed, yet Jesus describe him as bankrupt before God?
Let's notice a few things from this story.

1. He Overlooked His Source
Notice verse 16:
“The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.”
But in verses 17–19, this man repeatedly talks about himself. He says, “I,” “my,” and “I will.”
No doubt this man had put in some work. He either worked the fields himself or paid someone to work them. He bought the seed. He purchased the equipment. He built the barns.
But what he forgot was that the ground belonged to the Lord.
The rain came from the Lord.
The sun belonged to the Lord.
The strength to work came from the Lord.
And everything he gained from the ground was ultimately a blessing from God.
But this man thought he had made his own blessings.
We should be very careful to give God praise for all that we are, all that we do, and all that we have.
Psalm 24:1 reminds us:
“The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”
And James 1:17 says:
“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights…”
Everything we have ultimately comes from God.
We may work for it. We may plan for it. We may save for it. We may purchase it. But we should never forget the One who made it possible.

2. He Underserved His Society
Verses 17 and 18 show us something else about this man.
He could have been a tremendous blessing to his neighbors and friends, but instead he chose to be stingy and selfish with his harvest.
Notice that his entire plan is about keeping, not giving.
It never crosses his mind to ask:
Who is in need?
Who can I help?
What can I do to be a blessing since God has blessed me with so much?
The crop he had in previous years was obviously enough, because this crop was described as plentiful. His existing barn had been enough in seasons past, but now he needed more room.
The problem was not success.
The problem was not the blessing.
The problem was that he thought it was all because of himself and all for himself.
May we never come to a place in our lives where we are so blessed by God that we forget to be generous to others.
Someone once said, “You don't have to be rich to be generous. You just have to be generous to be generous.”
That is true.
This man was labeled a fool and was bankrupt before God—not because he didn't give it all away, but because he didn't give any of it away.
God blesses us so that we can be a blessing.

3. He Underestimated His Soul
Notice verses 19 and 20.
This man is thinking only about himself and his future.
Verse 19 says:
“And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years…”
Let's all agree that we hope we have many years ahead of us.
But we are not guaranteed tomorrow.
This man lived for himself, and he stored for himself. He was making plans for his future, but he never made plans for his eternity.
God never asked us to stay poor, refuse to enjoy life, or waste away our retirement. There is nothing wrong with planning, saving, working hard, or enjoying the blessings God has given us.
But we put our souls at risk when we never consider what God wants, what God desires, and what God is doing.
May we never go through life only thinking about our riches, our possessions, and our nest egg.
May we make plans for the day when our soul is required of us.
Notice what happens in verse 20:
“But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee…”
The man had made plans for many years.
God said he had one night.
That is the difference between our plans and God's sovereignty.
The Rest of the Story
Notice that Jesus continues this thought in verse 22:
“And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life…”
The word life here is different from the word soul used in the previous verses. Jesus is now dealing with the physical rather than the spiritual.
He says:
“Life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.”
In other words, life is more than what we consume and more than what we wear.
Then look at verse 24:
“Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?”
Jesus uses the same kind of language here that He used when talking about this rich man.
The rich man had barns.
He wanted to tear down his barns and build bigger barns.
But Jesus says the ravens don't have storehouses or barns, and yet God feeds them.
Then He asks:
“How much more are ye better than the fowls?”
If the man in the story had truly understood that he belonged to God, trusted God, and was generous with what God had given him, he would have understood that he did not need to spend his life storing up for many years.
God would supply his needs.
In the model prayer Jesus taught us to pray, He didn't teach us to ask for a lifetime supply of everything we might ever need so that we could fill our barns.
He taught us to pray:
“Give us day by day our daily bread.”
We are instructed to trust God daily.
And that is where faith comes in.
God has blessed us.
God is faithful.
God will supply.
And God wants us to remember that everything we have comes from Him.
The question is not simply, “How much do I have?”
The greater question is:
“Am I rich toward God?”