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20 - Gain That is Loss - Christ's Object Lessons · Philosophy and Faith

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty Gain, that is loss, Christ was teaching, and
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  Speaker 1: as usual, others besides his disciples, had gathered about him.
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  Speaker 1: He had been speaking to the disciples of the scenes
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  Speaker 1: in which they were soon to act apart. They were
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  Speaker 1: to publish abroad the truths he had committed to them,
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  Speaker 1: and they would be brought in conflict with the rulers
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  Speaker 1: of this world for his sake. They would be called
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  Speaker 1: into courts and before magistrates and kings. He had assured
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  Speaker 1: them of wisdom which none could gainsay his own words
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  Speaker 1: that moved the hearts of the multitude and brought to
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  Speaker 1: confusion his wily adversaries. Witnessed to the power of that
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  Speaker 1: indwelling spirit which he had promised to his followers. But
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  Speaker 1: there were many who desired the grace of heaven only
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  Speaker 1: to serve their selfish purposes. They recognized the marvelous power
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  Speaker 1: of Christ in setting forth the truth in a clear light.
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  Speaker 1: They heard the promise to his followers of wisdom to
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  Speaker 1: speak before rulers and magistrates. Would he not lend his
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  Speaker 1: power for their worldly benefit? And one of the company said,
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  Speaker 1: unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide
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  Speaker 1: the inheritance with me. Through merses, God had given directions
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  Speaker 1: concerning the transmission of property. The eldest son received a
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  Speaker 1: double portion of the father's estate, while the younger brothers
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  Speaker 1: were to share alike. This man thinks that his brother
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  Speaker 1: has defrauded him of his inheritance. His own efforts have
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  Speaker 1: failed to secure what he regards as if his due.
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  Speaker 1: But if Christ will interpose, the end will surely be gained.
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  Speaker 1: He has heard Christ's stirring appeals and his solemn denunciations
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  Speaker 1: of the scribes and pharisees. If words of such command
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  Speaker 1: could be spoken to his brother, he would not dare
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  Speaker 1: to refuse the aggrieved man his portion. In the midst
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  Speaker 1: of the solemn instruction that Christ had given, this man
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  Speaker 1: had revealed his selfish disposition. He could appreciate that ability
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  Speaker 1: of the Lord which might work for the advancement of
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  Speaker 1: his own temporal affairs, But spiritual truths had taken no
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  Speaker 1: hold on his mind and heart. The gaining of the
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  Speaker 1: inheritance was his absorbing theme. Jesus, the King of Glory,
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  Speaker 1: who was rich yet for our sake became poor, was
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  Speaker 1: opening to him the treasures of divine love. The Holy
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  Speaker 1: Spirit was pleading with him to become an heir of
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  Speaker 1: the inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth
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  Speaker 1: not away. He had seen evidence of the power of Christ.
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  Speaker 1: Now the opportunity was his to speak to the great Teacher,
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  Speaker 1: to express the desire uppermost in his heart. But like
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  Speaker 1: the man with the muckrake in Bunyan's allegory, his eyes
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  Speaker 1: were focused on the earth. He saw not the crown
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  Speaker 1: above his head. Like Simon Magus, he valued the gift
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  Speaker 1: of God as a means of worldly gain. The Saviour's
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  Speaker 1: mission on Earth was fast drawing to a close. Only
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  Speaker 1: a few months remained for him to complete what he
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  Speaker 1: had come to do in establishing the Kingdom of his grace.
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  Speaker 1: Yet human greed have turned him from his work to
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  Speaker 1: take up the dispute over a peace of land. But
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  Speaker 1: Jesus was not to be diverted from his mission. His
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  Speaker 1: answer was, man who made me a judge or a
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  Speaker 1: divider over you? Jesus could have told this man just
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  Speaker 1: what was right. He knew the right in the case.
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  Speaker 1: But the brothers were in a quarrel because both were covetous.
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  Speaker 1: Christ virtually said, it is not my work to settle
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  Speaker 1: controversies of this kind. He came for another purpose, to
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  Speaker 1: preach the Gospel, and thus to arouse men to a
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  Speaker 1: sense of eternal realities. In Christ's treatment of this case
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  Speaker 1: is a lesson for all who minister in his name.
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  Speaker 1: When he sent forth the twelve, he said, as ye
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  Speaker 1: go preach, saying, the King of Heaven is at hand.
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  Speaker 1: Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast
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  Speaker 1: out devils freely. Ye have received freely give. They were
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  Speaker 1: not to settle the temporal affairs of the people. Their
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  Speaker 1: work was to persuade men to be reconciled to God.
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  Speaker 1: In this work lay their power to bless humanity. The
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  Speaker 1: only remedy for the sins and sorrows of men is Christ.
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  Speaker 1: The gospel of His grace alone can cure the evils
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  Speaker 1: that curse society. The injustice of the rich toward the poor,
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  Speaker 1: the hatred of the poor towards the rich alike have
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  Speaker 1: their root in selfishness, and this can be eradicated only
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  Speaker 1: through submission to Christ. He alone, for the selfish heart
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  Speaker 1: of sin gives the new heart of love. Let the
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  Speaker 1: servants of Christ preach the Gospel with the spirit sent
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  Speaker 1: down from heaven and work as he did for the
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  Speaker 1: benefit of men. Then such results will be manifest in
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  Speaker 1: the blessing and uplifting of mankind, as are wholly impossible
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  Speaker 1: of accomplishment by human power. Our Lord struck at the
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  Speaker 1: root of the affair that troubled this questioner, and of
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  Speaker 1: all similar disputes, saying, take heed and beware of covetousness.
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  Speaker 1: For a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of
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  Speaker 1: the things which he possesseth. And he spake a parable
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  Speaker 1: unto them, saying, the ground of a certain rich man
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  Speaker 1: brought forth plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, what
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  Speaker 1: shall I do, because I have no room where to
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  Speaker 1: bestow my fruits? And he said, this will I do.
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  Speaker 1: I will pull down my barns and build greater and
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  Speaker 1: there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
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  Speaker 1: And I will say to my soul soul, thou hast
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  Speaker 1: much goods laid up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink,
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  Speaker 1: and be merry. But God said unto him, thou fool,
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  Speaker 1: this night thy soul shall be required of thee. Then
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  Speaker 1: whose shall these things be which thou hast provided so
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  Speaker 1: is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is
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  Speaker 1: not rich towards God. By the parable of the foolish
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  Speaker 1: rich man, Christ showed the folly of those who make
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  Speaker 1: the world. There all this man had received everything from God.
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  Speaker 1: The sun had been permitted to shine upon his land,
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  Speaker 1: for its rays fall on the just and on the unjust.
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  Speaker 1: Showers of heaven descend on the evil and on the good.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord had caused vegetation to flourish, and the fields
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  Speaker 1: to bring forth abundantly. The rich man was in perplexity
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  Speaker 1: as to what he should do with his produce. His
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  Speaker 1: barns were full to overflowing, and he had no place
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  Speaker 1: to put the surplice of his harvest. He did not
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  Speaker 1: think of God, from whom all his mercies had come.
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  Speaker 1: He did not realize that God had made him a
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  Speaker 1: steward of his goods, that he might help the needy.
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  Speaker 1: He had a blessed opportunity of being God's armaner, but
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  Speaker 1: he thought only of ministering to his own comfort. The
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  Speaker 1: situation of the poor, the orphan, the widow, the suffering,
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  Speaker 1: the afflicted was brought to this rich man's attention. There
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  Speaker 1: were many places in which to bestow his goods. He
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  Speaker 1: could easily have relieved himself of a portion of his abundance,
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  Speaker 1: and many homes would have been freed from want. Many
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  Speaker 1: who were hungry would have been fed, many naked clothed,
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  Speaker 1: many hearts made glad, many prayers for bread and clothing answered,
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  Speaker 1: and a melody of praise would have assented to heaven.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord had heard the prayers of the needy, and
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  Speaker 1: of his goodness he had prepared for the poor. Abundant
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  Speaker 1: provision for the wants of many had been made in
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  Speaker 1: the blessings bestowed upon the rich man. But he closed
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  Speaker 1: his heart to the cry of the needy, and said
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  Speaker 1: to his servants, this will I do. I will pull
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  Speaker 1: down my barns and build greater and there will I
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  Speaker 1: bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will
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  Speaker 1: say to my soul, soul, thou hast much goods laid
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  Speaker 1: up for many years. Take thine ease, eat, drink, and
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  Speaker 1: be merry. This man's aims were no higher than those
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  Speaker 1: of the beasts that perish. He lived as if there
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  Speaker 1: were no God, no heaven, no future life, as if
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  Speaker 1: everything he possessed were his own, and he owed nothing
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  Speaker 1: to God or man. The Psalmist described this rich man
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  Speaker 1: when he wrote the fool hath said in his heart
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  Speaker 1: there is no God. This man has lived and planned
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  Speaker 1: for self. He sees the future is abundantly provided for.
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  Speaker 1: There is nothing for him now but to treasure and
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  Speaker 1: enjoy the fruits of his labors. He regards himself as
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  Speaker 1: favored above other men, and takes credit to himself for
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  Speaker 1: his wise management. He is honored by his fellow townsman
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  Speaker 1: as a man of good judgment and a prosperous citizen.
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  Speaker 1: For men will praise THEE when thou doest well to thyself.
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  Speaker 1: But the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.
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  Speaker 1: While the rich man is looking forward to years of enjoyment,
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  Speaker 1: the Lord is making far different plans. The message comes
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  Speaker 1: to this unfaithful steward, thou fool, this night, thy soul
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  Speaker 1: shall be required of thee. Here is a demand that
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  Speaker 1: money cannot supply. The wealth he has treasured can purchase
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  Speaker 1: no reprieve. In one moment, that which he is toiled
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  Speaker 1: through his whole life to secure becomes worthless to him. Then,
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  Speaker 1: and whose shall these things be which thou hast provided
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  Speaker 1: his broad fields and well filled granaries pass from under
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  Speaker 1: his control. He heapeth up riches, and knoweth not who
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  Speaker 1: shall gather them, the only thing that would be of
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  Speaker 1: value to him. Now he has not secured in living
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  Speaker 1: for self. He has rejected that divine love which would
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  Speaker 1: have flowed out in mercy to his fellow men. Thus
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  Speaker 1: he has rejected life. For God is love, and love
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  Speaker 1: is life. This man has chosen the earthly rather than
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  Speaker 1: the spiritual, and with the earthly he must pass away.
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  Speaker 1: Man that is in honor and understandeth not is like
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  Speaker 1: the beasts that perish. So is he that layeth up
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  Speaker 1: treasure for him, and is not rich towards God. The
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  Speaker 1: picture is true for all time. You may plan for
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  Speaker 1: merely selfish good. You may gather together treasure. You may
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  Speaker 1: build mansions great and high, as did the builders of
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  Speaker 1: ancient Babylon. But you cannot build walls so high or
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  Speaker 1: gates so strong as to shut out the messengers of doom.
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  Speaker 1: Belshazzar the King feasted in his palace and praised the
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  Speaker 1: gods of gold and of silver, of brass, of iron,
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  Speaker 1: of wood, and of stone. But the hand of one
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  Speaker 1: invisible wrote upon his walls the words of doom, and
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  Speaker 1: the tread of hostile armies was heard at his palace gates.
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  Speaker 1: In that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldeans, slain,
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  Speaker 1: and an alien monarch sat upon the throne. To live
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  Speaker 1: for self is to perish covetousness. The desire of benefit
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  Speaker 1: for self's sake cuts the soul off from life. It
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  Speaker 1: is the spirit of Satan to get, to draw to self.
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  Speaker 1: It is the spirit of Christ to give, to sacrifice
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  Speaker 1: self for the good of others. And this is the
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  Speaker 1: record that God hath given to us eternal life. And
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  Speaker 1: this life is in his son. He that hath the
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  Speaker 1: Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son
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  Speaker 1: of God hath not life. Wherefore he says, take heed,
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  Speaker 1: and beware of covetousness, for a man's life consists of
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  Speaker 1: not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth
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  Speaker 1: end of Chapter twenty