Jesus said in Matthew 6:24 (NIV) “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

You may not care all that much about the money itself; you probably just like what it can do for you. You probably don’t sit around at night counting your money and stacking in special rows. It may seem like you don’t actually love money; you probably don’t feel like you qualify as a person who is trying to serve it. You have bills to pay, things you have to buy, a job you have to show up for, and responsibilities you have to fulfill. Of course you spend most of your time doing those things that involve money.

Mat 6:33 (NIV) But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these THINGS will be given to you as well. Is that REALLY true? Could a person spend all their time reading the Bible, praying, reading Christian books, going to church, and memorizing Scriptures and all the THINGS you need just show up at the door? What does Jesus mean, seek first His (God’s) kingdom and His (God’s) righteousness?

The purpose of most classes is revealed in the questions on the test. The instructor reveals what their true purpose was when they test you on what you learned. Jesus is going to test every person after this world system is cancelled. If you can know what Jesus is going to put on His final exam, you will better know what He meant by, seek first His (God’s) kingdom and His (God’s) righteousness?

Mat 25:31-33 (NIV) When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Okay, the “sheep” got a passing grade; the “goats” flunked their life classes.

This final exam isn’t an insignificant test; it decides where you spend eternity. Listen to this: Mat 25:46 (NIV) “Then they (the goats) will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous (the sheep) to eternal life.” Not an exam you want to flunk!

Mat 25:35-36 (NIV) For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.

Can you see where a certain amount of these people’s money went? These people weren’t too busy, too in debt, too selfish, too caught up in getting ahead, too busy working on their career, too occupied with their retirement plan, too involved with their vacation plans, or too overwhelmed with the issues of life. They changed what was first in their life and started seeking first His (God’s) kingdom and His (God’s) righteousness.

Phil 4:19 (NIV) And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Does that mean that if you spend all your time praying, reading your Bible, going to church, and memorizing Scripture that God will knock on your door and hand you money? No! 2 Th 3:10 (NIV) For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.”

If God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus, then it becomes obvious that He will have to pick the source for sending you your resources. He would have to pick your career, your jobs, your work involvement, your commitments, your contracts, your involvements of the day, and your projects.

Luke 12:16 (NIV) And He told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. Here is a successful business man; all of a sudden he is blessed, prospered, and wealthy. What he didn’t know from all his business training, personal career experiences, and all his financial planning was, why did all this wealth come his way? It would be easy to get the impression that God is against properity from this spiritual illustration.

The point is best understood through that final exam you are going to be taking in your near future. When God propers you, what was HIS purpose. Sure, you know exactly what you want to do with a big windfall. But, will your plan measure up with Jesus’ final exam?

Luke 12:17 (NIV) He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Here is your biggest clue for where this man went wrong: He thought to himself. Why did God put you here? What is His plan for your life? What do you need to do to be pleasing to God? Are you currently on target with God’s will for your life? Are you aware that God expects you to accomplish something before you die? Do you know what IT is?

If you can’t adequately answer the above questions, all you have to do is ask God. He holds all the answers to all these and many more VERY important questions. AND, you really need the answers ASAP. If you are busy thinking to yourself rather than asking God what to do, then you are heading down the same path this man was.

Luke 12:18 (NIV) “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. Here is this man’s second mistake: Then he said, “This is what I’ll do.”

This man didn’t consult God; and, he came up with his own plan. What is the chance of you making a decision that is wrong? What is the chance of you making a decision by consulting your own mind and it be life-destroying? Is it possible that you are currently off track from where you should be? Is it possible that you are getting ready to make some decisions that would create a chain of damaging events? How would you keep from making decisions that hurt you in the long run? ASK GOD!

Luke 12:19 (NIV) And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” Out of all the times you have spent your entire day consulting yourself, how would you have invited Jesus into your thought processes? If you just turn your attention to Jesus while thinking and ask Him what He wants you to do, then rather than saying all these things to yourself, you will have invited Jesus into the discussion.

This man could have turned to God and ran the plan past Him. Then rather than the man finding that the plan was a bad one when it was too late to change, he would have received a brilliant plan from God. What do you think God would have told this man to do with his money?

Do you know the difference between a river and a lake? This man was building a lake for his money. What God wants you to do is put it inside two banks of earth and let it run like a river. If you build a lake with your money, then you are concerned that this is all the money you may get in the future. So you store it up for your future. If you put it into a river system, you take what you need for this time in your life and let the rest go on out to the needs of others. Then, IF GOD COMES THROUGH, as that money flows out to other’s needs, more money flows in to take its place.

Luke 12:20 (NIV) “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?’

It isn’t like God can’t talk to you; just like this man didn’t have any problem hearing from God, He WILL tell you those things He wants you to know. But, wouldn’t you rather hear from God before you make a life-shaking decision? This man’s life is over; he has just been declared a “goat” and will end up in eternal punishment. But, did he have to go the path he went? No! He just decided to make all his plans by consulting himself rather than including God in his decision making procedures.

Luke 12:21 (NIV) This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God. What was Jesus’ purpose for giving this spiritual illustration? He was giving everyone the rules of life; He was making it clear what He expects of people as they go about their life, as they go about planning their future, as they set up their career, as they make their investments, as they make decisions that will make them a “sheep” or a “goat.”

Why did this man get money (crops)? He got it so he could secure his future. But, did it secure his future? Once a person forgets that eternity is our future, they start making the wrong plans for securing their future.