TITLE: Pleasurism: Christianities Hardest

Challenges• TEXT: Luke 12:13-21

• THEME: The believer should desire to be rich in the things of God.

Luke 12:13-24

“Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

 14Jesus replied, "Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?" 15Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Luke 12:13-24

 16And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. 17He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.'

Luke 12:13-24

 18"Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." '

Luke 12:13-24

 20"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'

 21"This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God."

Luke 12:13-24

•  22Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

Why should a person desire to be rich in the things of

God?

I. Because a mans life is not measured by what he

possesses (13-5)

.

I. Because a mans life is not measured by what he

possesses (13-5)A. Pleasure can be an excuse to avoid church.

.

I. Because a mans life is not measured by what he

possesses (13-5)A. Pleasure can be an excuse to avoid church.

B. One can be find greater sensory pleasure in events and activities of life than in God.

I. Because a mans life is not measured by what he

possesses (13-5)A. Pleasure can be an excuse to avoid church.

B. One can be find greater sensory pleasure in events and activities of life than in God.

• Christ uses the phrase, “All kinds of greed.” It means there is greed form many things that bring pleasure- some we find more acceptable than others but all can still be greed.

I. Because a mans life is not measured by what he

possesses (13-5)A. Pleasure can be an excuse to avoid church.

B. One can be find greater sensory pleasure in events and activities of life than in God.

C. One can replace the worship of the true God with the God of pleasure.

Bumper Sticker

“The man who dies with most toys wins!”

Why should a person desire to be rich in the things of

God?

II. Pleasurism has many unwanted dangers. (16-20)

II. Pleasurism has many unwanted dangers. (16-20)

• The Danger of Escalation

(Pleasures Law of Diminishing Returns see Ecclesiastes 2:10,11)

Ecclesiastes 2:

10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.

 11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.

II. Pleasurism has many unwanted dangers. (16-20)

• The Danger of Escalation (Pleasures Law of Diminishing Returns (see Ecclesiastes 2:10,11)

• The Danger of Addiction (I Corinthians 6:12)

I Corinthians 6:12

"Everything is permissible for me"—but not everything is beneficial.

"Everything is permissible for me"—but I will not be mastered by anything.

Pleasurism has many unwanted dangers. (16-20)

• The Danger of Escalation (Pleasures Law of Diminishing Returns (see Ecclesiastes 2:10,11)

• The Danger of Addiction (I Corinthians 6:12

• The Danger of Reality Avoidance (Luke 12:19)

Why should a person desire to be rich in the things of God?

III. Pleasurism has an alternative that is better (21)

III. Pleasurism has an alternative that is better (21)

• Admit your addiction to pleasure.

III. Pleasurism has an alternative that is better (21)

• Admit your addiction to pleasure.

• Mourn the effects of your addiction before God.

III. Pleasurism has an alternative that is better (21)

• Admit your addiction to pleasure.

• Mourn the effects of your addiction before God.

• Enjoy the authentic pleasure of worshipping God.

Luke 12:22-24

• “Then Jesus said to his disciples: "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 23Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. 24Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds”

APPLICATION

What are you preparing yourself for? When you hear that said are you prepared with an answer. Can you say to him, “Lord, I have spent my life in preparation for this time?” Is your daily life living with eternity in mind

APPLICATION

What obstacles are in you way of giving God the worship he deserves? Are your possessions or your obsessions interfering with your ability to see reality.

APPLICATION

If there are you need to turn to God and ask for His help in delivering you from what keeps you from knowing and enjoying him.