in this world the devil as the master of Deceit operates with the aim of obscuring the truth about the fleeting nature of life and the ultimate importance of being rich towards God his strategy aligns with what Jesus warned about in John 8:44 where he referred to the devil as the father of Lies one who does not stand in the truth the Devil's Ploy involves luring Humanity into a false sense of security and attachment to the transient things of this world in the parable of the rich fool in Luke 12: 13- 21 we see a clear
representation of this deception we will review this Parable further on in this sermon but in summary the rich man engrossed in his possessions plans for a life of ease and luxury unaware of the impending end of his Earthly Journey the devil Delights in such scenarios where the focus is entirely on Earthly gain he blinds the minds of unbelievers as 2 Corinthians 4:4 states to prevent them from seeing the light of the Gospel by doing so he ensures that people remain fixated on the Here and Now rather than on their Eternal Destiny this is a lot
like the world we live in today everyone everywhere is just focused on stuff and even in this time of year people are just focused on buying and acquiring more stuff yet they are neglecting what really matters in life yet they are neglecting how quickly time is moving and how life is passing them by but all they are focused on is stuff cars bags homes jewelry makeup games Sports entertainment money in the bank and stuff furthermore the devil seeks to instill a worldview that negates spiritual realities as 1 John 2:16 mentions for everything in the world
the lust of the flesh the lust of the eyes and the pride of life comes not from the father but from the world the devil's deception lies in making people believe that life is only about what they can see and touch wealth pleasure and power and this is what the devil continues to try to do to you and to people he wants your eyes to be so focused on the here and now that you forget about eternity he masks the truth that these are temporary and ultimately unfulfilling without a relationship with God the devil's tactics
also include the normalization of greed and self-centeredness directly opposing what Jesus taught about a life of giving and serving Jesus warning in Luke 12 12:15 watch out be on your guard against all kinds of greed life does not consist in an abundance of possessions goes directly against the devil's narrative he doesn't want people to know that their true worth and security are found in God not in their material wealth or achievements moreover the devil's strategy involves distracting Humanity from contemplating their mortality and the afterlife as Hebrews 9:27 reminds us just as people are destined to
die once and after that to face judgment the devil strives to keep this reality hidden he does not want individuals to consider their end and the accountability that follows leading them away from repentance and a life devoted to God the devil also employs the tactic of encouraging procrastination in spiritual matters he wants people to believe that there is always more time that they can always turn to God later this is contrary to 2 Corinthians 6:2 which emphasizes now is the time of God's favor now is the day of salvation the devil's deception is in making
people believe they have plenty of time to live for themselves before turning to God this life is short this life is so brief and so short at its greatest human length 70 years 80 years even 90 years is relatively short Luke 12: 13- 21 someone in the crowd said to him teacher tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me Jesus replied man who appointed me a judge or an Arbiter between you then he said to them watch out be on your guard against all kinds of greed life does not consist in an abundance of
possessions and he told them this Parable the ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant Harvest he thought to himself what shall I do I have no place to store my crops then he said this is what I'll do I will tear down my Barns and build bigger ones and there I will store my Surplus grain and I'll say to myself you have plenty of grain laid up for many years take life easy eat drink and be merry 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 this is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God this rich man was standing on a hill overlooking his vast and wonderful estate he was looking at his crops his abundance of cattle his sheep his cows and his grain he had crops as far as the eye could see this man was feeling accomplished because of all his self-made achievements look at the Empire I have built I deserve everything I have because I have worked hard for it
and I am going to store it all up and enjoy a lifetime of reaping from my own handiwork I am going to spend a whole lifetime eating drinking and being marry look at all that I own but little did this rich man know that because he neglected God and was not saved the only thing he really owned was a place in Hell little did he know he was not going to enjoy any of the Earthly riches he had stored up for himself little did he know that his time on Earth was over little did he
know that that very night his life was going to be demanded of him he made a mistake a mistake that leads millions of people to hell and this mistake is that he lived for this world look at how his only concern was this life look at how he was self-centered Luke 12: 17-19 he thought to himself what shall I do I have no place to store my crops then he said this is what I'll do I I will tear down my Barns and build bigger ones and there I will store my Surplus grain and I'll
say to myself you have plenty of grain laid up for many years take life easy eat drink and be merry all he was concerned about was the here and the now and that is a mistake there are so many people on this Earth who are living exactly like this man they are living like fools because all they care about is this life all they care about is their stock portfolio the money in their bank account the profits in their businesses owning a new home and owning a new car not knowing that just like the rich
man the only thing they really owned was a place in hell yes you can say I own the title Deeds of this land I own the title Deeds for this house and I own this car and that car but are you sure you own it will you be able to take those lands with you into eternity or will those lands and cars will be here after you are gone you don't own anything you are simply borrowing those things for a brief moment in time while you are here on Earth you can attempt to beat your
chest and say I own this and that but in essence we own nothing in this world we only borrow or hold something for a period of time job said it best job 1:21 and said naked came I out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither the lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord title Deeds mean nothing in the face of the fact that we are simply passing through this Earth ask yourself who used to own that piece of land 400 years ago and where is
that person now they are gone and forgotten from this world what really matters in this life is not the things we acquire things mean nothing handbags cars houses clothes all will be left behind but your place in either heaven or hell is eternal to focus completely and utterly on the here and the now is wrong and foolish there are people who work hard attempting to provide a better life for themselves and their families and that is the right thing to do there is nothing wrong with that it only becomes a problem when all you do
ends here when you only think of this side of Eternity and I have been a preacher for many years many years and I have watched people and one thing that has been a massive Revelation to me is that when people die the world does not stop the world Carries On Moving yes their loved ones miss them and grieve their loss but eventually those loved ones begin to cope and carry on with their life and a generation passes and those people who died 70 years ago are now a distant memory a forgotten memory and the graveyard
is full of people like this full of Forgotten people full of people no one on this Earth remembers anymore because that is a harsh truth about life when a person leaves this world life goes on it doesn't grind to a halt the world will one day forget me and forget you and anytime I am in a graveyard or drive past one I look at all the Forgotten people and I ask myself where are they now the world has forgotten about this person but this person hasn't ceased to exist this person is either in the presence
of the Lord or in Hell itself that is a sobering thought that is a very sobering thought that puts things into perspective it is sobering to know that my days on this Earth are limited it is sobering to know that my life and my decisions on this Earth will affect my eternity it is a sobering thought that the world will one day forget me it is sobering to know that I will not always be alive and that one day I will also be forgotten from this Earth it is a sobering thought that our lives which
seem so significant to us now are just a brief moment in the grand timeline of existence the years we we spend on this Earth whether they are many or few are but a whisper in The Eternity that follows it is sobering to consider that the Pursuits and achievements we deem important today might be insignificant in the grand scheme of things it is a sobering thought that there are people listening to me right now who are not going to take heed of this message it is a sobering thought indeed but people tend not to view this
life as being as brief as it is it is brief but when this brief life ends you will meet God right now we do not know how many remaining days we have on this Earth we don't I don't and you don't but you and I do not have to live with impending sense of Doom with Christ we can live our remained days with rejoice and gladness let us live our days on this Earth in fellowship with God this is the Christian experience for us New Testament Believers we are the Temple of the Holy Spirit we
can fellowship with God wherever are we can fellowship and commune with God some of the most wonderful prayers I have prayed have been around other people and they had no idea that I was praying in my heart communing with my Lord and Savior right now this very moment whether you are driving whether you are on a bus bus in the gym or at your home you can pray and commune and fellowship with the Lord do not allow this world and the devil to Cloud your judgment this life can do that to you this life and
the devil can Cloud your judgment so much so that you get caught up in it
