"And he spake a parable unto them saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: "And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? "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." "And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. "But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."—Luke 12:16-21.

By way of introduction, I would like to point out this man was self-centered, preoccupied with the affairs of himself, selfish. He used the personal pronoun "I" six times in these few verses. You can rest assured when hearing anyone talk constantly saying "I, "mine," that such a person is self-centered and selfish. It is so in the lesson before us. Six times he said "I. I don’t know what I’ll do." And then, "I do know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build new, bigger barns; then I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry.

And so it goes—the man who played the FOOL.

There are five points suggested in this great lesson before us. I want to be deliberate, specific and definite in the presentation of these five points. In verse 16, for example, you have his PROSPEROUS condition; in verse 17 you have his present DILEMMA; in verse 18 you have his settled PURPOSE; in verse 19 you have his self CONGRATULATION; and in verse 20 you have his terrible AWAKENING. And then, of course, you have the Lord’s application of the parable.

First of all this morning, let us notice—and please, those of you who have your Bibles keep them open to the passage, and let us do some studying; there is no substitute for the Word of God. Visions, dreams, inclinations, impressions will not suffice as a substitute for God’s eternal Word. As a matter of fact, this passage is a great sermon within itself. If I were to just read this again without even commenting upon it, and you were to be dismissed and go home you would have heard a masterful message: for Jesus was the Prince of Preachers. When He spake parables they were masterful sermons as He presented great truths enlightening those with whom He was conversing.

Notice in verse 16 his prosperous condition. You know the Apostle Paul tells us in I Timothy 6:10 that the "love of money is the root of all evil." Not MONEY, now, but the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Men kill, murder for money. But in this verse before us the Lord tells us that the "ground of a certain rich man . . ." Now he was ALREADY rich. Here is a text that so many people overlook. In ‘the study of God’s Word certain words escape those that read. This man was not striving to become RICH; he was already rich, but he wanted to get a little RICHER.

I don’t know if it is true or not, but it has been said that someone asked Mr. Rockefeller one time, "You have all the wealth that your heart could desire, and all the material possessions that money can purchase, what else do you want?"

And Mr. Rockefeller said, "Just a little more money.

The man in the parable was such a man. Jesus said, "The ground of a certain rich man (he was already rich) brought forth plentifully. . ." May I repeat with emphasis that he was not trying to GET rich; he was trying to get RICHER. He was already rich.

I’ve said this many times, that money cannot buy the best things in life. Salvation is a gift of God, and it cannot be purchased. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."—Ephesians 2:8, 9, 10.

In Titus 3:5, Paul said, "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Spirit."

Money, therefore, cannot buy salvation; it is not for SALE.

There was a certain man in a small village who was quite wealthy—I know him. He and another man in this community had words over a fence, and the man said to him, "I do not wish to hold hard feelings; I am sorry if I have offended you.

This rich man said to him, "My friend, I care nothing for your apologies; I care nothing for your offense. The only thing I am interested in is your money, not your welfare. Now if you have money, that is what I want."

A friend of mine running a service station was servicing the car of this same man one afternoon, and he asked him the question: "WHAT are you going to do with all that money that you have acquired?"

He replied, "I am HOPING that I can buy my way into the Pearly Gates (those were his very words), and if my MONEY cannot buy, cannot purchase, my salvation then I am a goner.

My friend said to him, "I am happy to inform you that that is ONE thing that your MONEY cannot buy. You are left out."

In Psalm 49:6, 7, the sweet singer of Israel had this to say concerning the fact that money cannot buy redemption: "They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; none of them can by any means REDEEM his brother, nor give to God a RANSOM for him."

The Psalmist David points out that they who trust in their wealth and boast themselves in the abundance of their riches cannot with these things (talking about his wealth) by any means redeem his brother, nor give a ransom unto God for him. David said, "Your money cannot redeem, and you cannot ransom one with your money. It’s not for SALE."

A kidnapper comes along and kidnaps someone and puts a price tag on the victim, and the victim’s family, or those interested in his welfare, will pay the ransom price. So JESUS CHRIST with His own BLOOD has paid our RANSOM price. It is not purchased with money; it is not purchased with wealth, not purchased with riches, but with something far more infinitely precious than that: the BLOOD of Jesus Christ.

David further points out in the same Psalm 49:16, 17, "Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; For when he DIETH he shall carry NOTHING away: his glory shall not DESCEND after him."

David said, "Be not afraid when one is made rich, and when the glory of his wealth has increased for when he dies, he shall carry nothing away, and his glory shall not descend after him. Be not afraid, because he is going to die, and when he does, he is going to leave his wealth behind; his glory shall be left behind and shall not descend after him."

The most wretched man on this earth is the man who thinks in terms of dollars and cents. But while the Master said how difficult it is for a rich man to be saved, the apostles said this to Him: "Lord, who then shall be saved?" And Jesus said, "With man this is impossible, but with GOD all things are possible."

Wealth in many instances stands as a barrier before men separating them from God. They love their money; they love their wealth, and sell their souls to acquire it, then die and go to Hell, leaving it all behind. This man is a man who played the fool.

Notice the second thing under consideration is his present DILEMMA in verse 17: "What shall I do? what shall I do?" He thought within himself. His land produced. God blessed him with the proper rainfall, and his land produced bumper crops; he looked at his barns and realized that they were inadequate; he looked over his farm and saw that he had such a crop that his barns would not contain the commodities grown thereon. He was in a dilemma: "What shall I do?" He left God out; he was planning without God. He didn’t say, "Lord what wilt THOU have me to do?" But he said within himself, "What shall I do?" He was directing his life without God. His life was without purpose because it was without GOD. He was in a dilemma: "What shall I do?"

May I say this as kindly and tenderly as I know how: I have seen men, and so have you—there are ‘those perhaps in this church— who are in love with money so much that they have wrecked their spiritual lives. Their lives go on the rocks; they become an ineffective Christian because they put money before God. This is a truth that I dare you to deny—any of you. You visit folk in the community and the church and they invariably say they don’t have time for church because they have to work, WORK. God gave you SIX days in which to work, not SEVEN. When will people learn that? When will people learn that you can’t trifle with God? When will folk learn that God gave us six days in which to labour, hallowed and sanctified the seventh and rested from His labours, but man out-thinks God—he THINKS. But they don’t. Now when you die and go to Hell you are going to leave that money behind. You just remember that. You are not going to take it WITH you.

"What must I do?" he said. Folk ruin their lives, corrupt themselves, ruin their testimony, destroy their witnessing, because they are eager to get wealth; they are self-centered and ambitious. Greedy, that is why. Greedy, after that mammon.

This man left out God, and we are going to see what happened to this fellow who left God out. Notice his settled PURPOSE in verse 18: "THIS will I do." The die is cast; there is no turning back now. There is no reformation now; it’s too late; there is no repentance now; the die has been cast. "THIS will I do: I’ll tear down my old barns, build bigger new barns." He was weighed in the balance and found wanting. Brother, just as sure as your pastor stands before you this morning, God weighs me in the balance; he weighs you in the balance. Do you think that God was only concerned about folk in the past? Don’t you think God is concerned with folk today? Do you think that folk of today can get by with anything in the world? Why certainly NOT, no more than those in the past got by. You are dealing with a sovereign God.

You know, old Belshazzar invaded the Holy Land, and in order to insult the Jews he apprehended the vessels from the temple, the holy vessels, the sanctified vessels; he carried them into Babylon with him; there in Babylon—I want you to get this now—he had a great feast and invited hundreds of his lords and governors. They came and drank and were in a hilarious state. After awhile, in order that he might heap insults and abuse upon the Jews in captivity, he brought the sacred vessels, poured wine and strong drink in them, and the people drank from them. Suddenly there was a finger writing on the wall over against the candlestick, and old Belshazzar became frightened; he trembled and his knees smote together. Here was a man who had exalted himself against GOD. Here is a king over a world empire. Here is a king who laughed at God and desecrated the holy temple of God; here is a king that ignored God, but do you know what that message said? "Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting. Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians."—Daniel 5:27, 28. And in the very same night old Belshazzar was killed.

In the lesson before us the man said, "Here is the settled purpose, I know exactly what I will do: I’ll tear down my old barns and build new, bigger barns." Thus, the die is cast; there is no turning back now; there is only one road to travel, and he is on it now. He has the skids under him sliding rapidly into Hell. But in this modernistic age folk don’t BELIEVE in Hell. I’ll tell you one thing, when they get there they will believe in Hell. I can take this Bible and show you a letter from Hell— you hear me now, hear me out. You say, "Why the Bible doesn’t teach there is a literal, burning Hell."

Well, friend, I can take the Bible and show, read, you a letter from Hell. Luke 16, there it is. And brother, that wasn’t a PARABLE, either.

So the die is cast; the man is on the skids; he is on the road that leads to Hell. He has left GOD out; he has ordered his life as though there were no God; he must pay the price.

But notice how self-centered he is in verse 19, his self-congratulation as he says, "Now then, Soul, take thine ease; you have much goods laid up; take thine ease, eat, drink and be merry.

Well, that is exactly what the DEVIL wants folk to do. That is what the Devil wanted this man to do, and he did. But here is a man who paid for his crime in HELL. You might ask me this morning: "How LONG will he, will any man, have to suffer in Hell to pay for his sins?" He NEVER gets through. He suffers ETERNALLY and never gets through paying for his sins. If a man dies without Christ, he MUST go to Hell, and he STAYS there forever and forever, as long as God lives, paying for his sins, and he never gets through paying for them. He can never pay the debt. If he could, then, he could suffer so long and be taken out of Hell. That is what the Catholics would have you believe, but that isn’t so; there is not a word of TRUTH in that.

This man was self-centered: "I congratulate myself," he said, "I congratulate myself."

You go ahead and play the fool, but listen to what God says. You can play the field; you can run the gamut; you can trifle with God, walk upon His precious blood all you please, but God will not hold you guiltless: "Rejoice, 0 young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things (get this now) God will bring thee into JUDGMENT."—Ecclesiastes 11:9.

You can go ahead, ignore God, trample with unhallowed feet upon the blood of Christ, do despite unto the Spirit of grace, ignore His Bible, scorn and ridicule God all you please, but "know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into JUDGMENT." And I’ll tell you, beloved, it is an awful thing to trifle with God and to fall into the hands of the living God.

"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days (or TIME)."—James 5:1-3.

You hear me now, you trifle with God, you just go ahead and ignore God, trifle with Him, be greedy, sell your soul for a little wealth; trying to get wealth, just go ahead, but God will bring you into judgment and consign you to Hell.

Then notice this man’s terrible AWAKENING (verse 20). But God said unto him (here it IS—GOD said), "Thou FOOL (thou empty-headed fool, thou fool. Such a terrible denunciation from the lips of the Master. Thou FOOL, thou empty-headed fool; you have played the fool); this night (too late now, brother; you have heaped your wealth around you; you’ve sold yourself; you’ve consorted with the Devil; you have ignored me and forgotten my Word. You have sold yourself to the Devil and NOW—) this NIGHT thy SOUL shall be required of ‘thee."

"Thy SOUL . . ." Now I have sense to know that the word "soul" sometimes means life, but not so here. It means more than animation, or animated LIFE; it means that INWARD part of man, that part that shall either spend eternity in Hell or with God. "Thou FOOL, this night thy soul shall be required of thee; then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?" They shall be left BEHIND. What did David say in Psalm 49:16, 17? "Be not afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his house is increased; for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away: his glory shall not descend after him."

God said, "Thou FOOL: you have provided lots of goods, but whose things shall these be thou hast left behind. You have played the fool. THIS night, this night, THIS NIGHT, thy SOUL shall be required of thee—this night."

I tell you, you can’t TRIFLE with God. "What shall it profit a man, anyhow, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul." Jesus asked this question in Mark 8:36, 37: "What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"

What SHALL a man give in exchange for his soul? Tell me that! Tell me that!

One soul is precious. One soul is worth more than ten thousand worlds. One SOUL is worth all the wealth of the universe— and far more than that, but you trifle with God, and God shall require thy soul; it is an awful thing to fall into the hands of a sovereign and angry God, who shall consign men to Hell.

This man woke up, but it was too late. Lots of people are awakened out of their lethargy, but it is too late. He awoke, but it was too late. He came face to face with the inevitable fact that GOD was taking charge now. "Thou FOOL, THIS night I am going to require thy soul . . ."

I say now in closing: God OWES no man anything. God is still on .the THRONE; God still RULES in the affairs of men. He can take my life or your life without a moment’s notice; there is only a THREAD between ME and the grave, between YOU and the grave, between ME and eternity, and between YOU and eternity: the BRITTLE thread called LIFE.

Suppose God should say to you this morning, "You have played the FOOL; today, today, thy soul shall be required of thee." WHAT would you DO? WHERE would you spend ETERNITY? That is the question: WHERE? And there are only one of two places to which a man can go when he dies: one is to be with CHRIST, and the other is to HELL.

Then notice last: the Lord’s APPLICATION (verse 21): "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself (for himself-for himself), and is not RICH toward GOD."

"Not rich toward God," when He has placed within our reach the unsearchable riches of Christ is to play the BIGGEST fool of all. Then, WHO are you this morning? Are you a FOOL or are you WISE because you trust Christ? He is your everlasting portion. Amen.