Farming Fool

Prepare for the
Bad Times and
Eternity

Scripture

Luke 12:16 "And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:"
Luke 12:17 "And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?"
Luke 12:18 "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."
Luke 12:19 "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."
Luke 12:20 "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?"
Luke 12:21 "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Most of the time in Scripture the word "fool" applies to the lost. Sometimes it is applied to the backslidden.
When we talk amongst ourselves, we refer to the lost as fools and the backslidden as foolish.

We should never call someone a fool, because to do so would judge them as being lost.  Only God knows who is Lost and who is Saved.
He looks on the heart, we can only look on the flesh.

We often hear people say: "By their fruits you shall know them."  This is true.  If they are acting sinful, you will know that they are either fools or foolish.
If they are acting righteous, you will know that they are either saints or saintish.

Of course, we can make judgments about others and should.  The Bible says "Judge not, that ye be not judged."  The rest of the passage explains.  We cannot judge unless we remove the beam from our eyes.  But when we do, we are to help those needing it.  Of course we cannot know who to help, lest we make a few unhindered, beam removed, judgments.
Don't judge their eternity.  Judge for their needs.
gsa

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Luke 12:16 "And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:"

Farming is an honorable means of making a living
This farmer had some ground that brought a good harvest to him.

Of course it was by God's grace.
Fertility of the ground helps.
Good timing for rain helps.
Good farming techniques help.
But if God is not in it, even these things will come to naught.

Farming is not a bad life
Farmers seem to always eat good, no matter what the condition of the economy.

There seems to always be
eggs for scrambling
bacon for frying
makings for biscuits
cream and bacon grease for gravy

There seems to always be
a pond for fishing
and a deep place for swimming

There seems to always be
something to hunt
something to trap
something to skin and a hide to tan

There seems to always be
just a little more work
than hands available

I would consider farmers
maybe not all of them smart, but at the very least having common sense.

Illustration
A clever city dude saw a farmer's horse and recognized a good piece of horse flesh and decided to skin the farmer out of the animal and sell it else where for a lot more money.
He told the farmer he would give him $200 for the horse.
The farmer told him, "No, he don't look so good, can't sell him."
The clever man offered him $300.
The farmer declined again, saying "He don't look that good."
Finally when the farmer was offered $400, he took it.
The next day the new owner of the horse came back in a rage, saying "I want my money back, this horse is blind."
The farmer told him "A deal is a deal, I told you several times, he don't look so good."

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The farmer had good fortune, God had blessed
the work of his hands
the timely rain
the sun when it was needed
the greatness of the harvest
and the help to get it in.

"if God be for us, who can be against us?"

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Luke 12:17 "And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?"

The farmer had a plan
He was looking back
He was looking ahead
He was attempting to cover every step of his farming.

We must have a plan
Dream the plan
Formulate the plan
Work the plan
Inspect the progress of the plan
Shut down the plan when it is finished

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Luke 12:18 "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."
Luke 12:19 "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."

Worshipped the Wrong God
Notice the number of times "I" and "my" are used.

He worshipped himself
neglected the needs of others
neglected the God of his Fortune
neglected everything but farming
neglected to consider the length of his life

"it is appointed unto me, once to die, after this the judgment"
John 3:18 "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

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Luke 12:20 "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?"
Luke 12:21 "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."

Death was unexpected

Prov 27:1 "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."

The daily news paper
has always got at least a name or two of those that are no longer with us. Many of those did not expect to die the day it occured. Everyone expects to one day die, but hardly ever does that day come expected.

Death came without warning

Many years ago
on the island of Martinque, a volcano blew up and killed everyone on the island but, two people. One of those two, was sentenced to die the next day.
The ones who were not expecting death, received it.
The one who was expecting to die, lived.

Death met him unprepared for eternity

Dr. John R. Rice used to tell the story
about preaching in a prison chapel with 2 men sitting on the front row and both were to die the next day in the Electric Chair.
He said that once he realized their fate, a horrible feeling came over him, because this would be the last sermon they would hear.
He didn't describe the feelings the two men experienced.

James Crawford, Pastor
P.O. Box 1933
Sherman, TX 75090

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