The Man God Called A Fool Luke 12:16-21 Luke 12:16-21 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 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. 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. 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? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God. Introduction: A. We should be extremely careful about calling anyone a fool. A fool is one who makes bad decisions; one who is simple; does not use good judgment, etc. B. But God is Sovereign. He makes no mistakes, and no misjudging is possible with Him. C. Here was a man who made a tragic mistake. May we learn from him. I. His Farming (v 16) A. I consider myself a fortunate person because I was raised on the farm. There is nothing quite like it. I feel sorry for kids these days who will grow up in cities. B. Life was not nearly as bad on the farm as people might think: 1. Ham and eggs and cat-head biscuits and thick gravy for breakfast. 2. Your own boss. 3. Go swimming in the lake or river every afternoon, after the day's work is done. 4. Go fishing and hunting when you wanted to. C. The old farmers were not quite as ignorant either as people thought they were. 1. There was this smart city dude who spotted the farmer's horse. A beautiful horse indeed he was. The dude thought to himself, "swindle this old ignorant farmer out of that horse, and I'll sell him for at least $1,000.00."  He approached the old farmer and made him an offer of $200.00. The farmer said, "No he don't look so good. I would not want to sell him to you."  The guy chuckled to himself, and thought, "boy what a pushover. This old dumb farmer will fall for my next offer."  He then offered him $300.00 and the farmer took him up. The dude came back the next day in a rage, and said, "I want my money back. The horse is blind. He can't see a thing."  The farmer said, "A deal is a deal. I told you he did not look so good." II. His Fortune (v 16) A. Some wonder why non-Christians prosper. Sometimes they do better than Christians. He was a good farmer. B. God had been merciful to him. His life, his ground, the seed, the rain and the sunshine were in his favor because of God's mercy. III. His Figuring (v 17) He had a plan. God did not condemn the man for his wisdom. You have to have a plan at any thing you go at. 1. I once heard a motivator make a weighty statement in his address. He said, "If you are going to be a success you must have a plan." IV. His Failure (vs 18-19) A. He made a number of mistakes. 1. He worshipped the wrong God: himself. Just look at the times "I" and "my" are used in verses 17-19. 2. He was indifferent to the needs of others. 3. He was greedy and hoarded all he could get. 4. He gave no thought to eternity and his soul's salvation. 5. He thought he had plenty of years left in which to live. B. The greatest mistake one will ever make is to neglect the salvation of his soul. V. His Fate (vs 20-21) A. His death was unexpected      Prov. 27:1 Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. 1. Almost every day we hear of those around us being snatched away by death. B. Death came without warning. C. Death left him unprepared for eternity. 1. Illustration: Dr. John R. Rice tells of preaching in a prison chapel. Two young men were sitting on the front row; both in their early twenties. The warden told Dr. Rice that these two men were to die the next day in the electric chair. Dr. Rice said, "What a horrible feeling came as I realized that this would be the last sermon they would ever hear, and the last invitation song they would hear."