Generous Investing

Well, good morning, everyone. We are continuing our journey with Jesus.

As he resolutely set his face to Jerusalem, focused on the way there in order to die for the sins of humanity.

And so I want to begin today by quoting, as I have, in fact, a few times in the past,

quoting one of the greatest philosophical thinkers, one of the sharpest political minds,

one of the most gifted artists and possibly the most quoted individual of the past 100 years.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born the son of a low-ranking Austrian police officer.

And he was destined for a life of obscurity until his hands wrapped around a barbell for the very first time when he was 14 years old.

By the time he was 18, he was living in London and travelling the world competing in bodybuilding championships.

When he was 18, at that time, his coach, a guy named Wag Bennett, asked the young Arnold,

Arnie, what is it that you want to do with your life?

And Wag said, I've never heard such a clear statement from such a young person.

He said, I want to be the richest and greatest bodybuilder of all time.

I want to live in the United States.

I want to be a movie actor, a movie director.

I want to own an apartment block and I want to be a politician.

His teammates said of him at that point,

whenever Arnold fixed his mind on something, he could never be dissuaded from it.

And whenever you beat him in any way in training,

he would look at you and say, you will never do that again.

He worked and worked and worked to be the best.

That is, the point that I'm trying to make from Arnold Schwarzenegger,

who I don't think is actually the most gifted of artists,

or the sharpest political minds, or the greatest philosophical thinkers,

the point that I want to make is someone so young sees the future and he just goes for it.

He sees life planned out for him.

He sees what he wants for the future to be.

And he works now day in and day out in order for that to be his future.

And so as we open up Luke 16,

Jesus tells a similar story about a manager who saw the future.

So grab your Bibles.

Luke 16.

And also the St. Paul's app has got an outline for today's talk in it.

This is a manager who knew what he needed,

what he needed to do now in order to ensure that his life in the future

was the way that he wanted it to be, that it was secure.

And he just went for it.

So first of all, first point is wise investing if you're looking at the St. Paul's app.

The manager like this in the first century Palestine managed the owner's estate

and also invested his money.

So he was sort of like a chief operation officer and a CFO as well.

This manager has been doing a poor job.

And so he gets a termination notice.

And so at this point he's in trouble.

See, when word gets around that this manager has not done a great job in managing,

he's not likely to get another manager's job.

He's been sitting too long in an office to start digging trenches for a living.

And he won't lower himself personally to start begging on the streets.

And there's no social services in first century Palestine.

And so this is a big question of how am I going to live?

How am I going to live?

How am I going to survive?

Is the question.

And so he makes a decision in that moment that will ensure that his future is secure and that it continues to pay benefits for him.

That's the key idea in this story.

But it's the details around the story that's somewhat distracting.

Here it is, verse 5.

Now the master's response in this is in verse 8.

Now the dishonesty bit is connected to his management experience.

It's connected to the first bit of the parable.

He's commended here by the manager.

Why would the manager commend him for this?

One of the best theories is that the manager had been, in his dishonesty,

had been adding his own fees to the master's investments.

Putting his own slice on top of it.

Now this could be the right reason why he's called dishonesty.

The manager, the master, sorry, was getting interest.

Sorry, the manager was getting interest on the investment.

As well as the master getting interest on the investment.

And so at this point, it's quite, the best plausible option is that the manager, when negotiating here,

is taking his own fees out of it.

And not only does he make these debtors happy,

but he also gives the master a great name around town.

Now whether that's exactly how it worked,

Jesus' point is the man is living his life,

he's using his wealth,

in this moment, his opportunities,

everything he has with an eye on the future.

And the master here commends the manager

because he acted shrewdly.

That is, you have made a really wise decision.

You've acted very cunningly.

But the second half of verse 8 is kind of hard to hear

because what Jesus is saying here,

this is to his disciples,

he's saying this is something that,

you guys don't do that well.

He's saying here,

this is something that Christians fail in.

It's a rebuke.

He says,

for the people of this world

are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind,

more shrewd in dealing with their own generation,

than are people of the light.

He's saying here,

you've got the Arnold Schwarzeneggers of this world

who know what they want to achieve,

they've got their investment portfolio that they want to get,

and they work for it.

They have their life focused on achieving that.

He's saying,

but the people of the kingdom are not so shrewd.

Which gets me to the second point

of what we think life is about

and we are God's investment managers.

The first thing we learn

is that we are all stewards of someone else's resources.

That's what Jesus is saying here,

is that we,

people of the kingdom,

are this manager.

We are stewards of someone else's resources.

We're not the master,

we're the managers.

The word manager here can be translated as steward.

This man is managing someone else's money.

And as a fund manager,

as a steward of someone else's resources,

you can't do whatever you want with those resources.

They're not yours.

See,

if we understand that there is a God,

we'll know that whatever we have

ultimately comes from him

and it's not ours.

Now,

that's pretty hard for us to hear

in our modern society

because we have such an attachment

to our wealth and our possessions.

It's mine.

I've worked hard.

I've done this.

And yet,

as a Christian,

there is a much broader theological picture,

context to put this into.

Christians believe

that God made everything

and that he sustains everything

and that every single human being

has life,

has skills,

has opportunities

that he has gifted us with.

And without those gifts,

we would not make any money at all.

Without the life he gives us day by day,

without the skills he gives us,

we'd have no ability to make money.

Now,

that is particularly hard.

What I've just said

is very hard for anyone

with a Western mindset

to grapple with.

Western individualism.

We just think

poor people in the world

need to pull their socks up

and try a bit harder.

The reality is

if we were born

in a particular time

in this world,

in particular places

in this world,

we would have no ability

to advance ourselves whatsoever.

It's a gift

that what you have now

in this time

and this day

is a gift.

It's a gift

to be healthy enough

to work.

and being born

in this time

and this place

and all its opportunities

is nothing more

than a gift.

We work with the life,

the circumstances,

the talents

that God has given us.

We are stewards

of it all.

Let me just

point you to a prayer.

A prayer

that the

fabulously

wealthy

and powerful

King David

prayed

in 1 Chronicles 29.

Everything

in heaven

and earth

is yours.

Wealth

and honour

come from you.

You are the ruler

of all things.

Who am I

and who are my people

that we should be able

to give as generously

as this?

Everything

comes from you

and we have given you

only what comes

from your hand.

All this abundance

that we have provided

for building

your temple

for your holy name

comes from your hand

and it all

belongs

to you.

As stewards

of God's

resources

what are

his

expectations

conditions

of how

we might

manage

his

resources.

It's a term

we keep using

here regularly

at St. Paul's

radical generosity.

That is

if we are not

being radically

generous

it's fraud.

It's robbery.

It's not just

a lack of

compassion

or it's not

just a lack

of integrity.

It's fraud

and robbery.

In fact Malachi

Malachi 3:8

chapter 3

verse 8

says that's

exactly what

it is.

Will a mere

mortal rob

God

yet you

rob me

but you

ask well

how are we

robbing you?

In tithes

and offerings.

The people

of the Old

Testament

were told

that 10%

of their

income

needed to

be given

away

as a

starting

point.

That was

the starting

point.

The New

Testament

standards

are not

lower than

that.

Especially

when we

have a

greater

hope

when we

have a

greater

revelation

we have

a greater

grace

and we

have a

greater

benefit.

If we

think

that 10%

is an

awful lot

of money

then maybe

we're entirely

thinking about

this investment

idea from

the wrong

way.

The wrong

perspective.

Imagine

I'm an

investment

I'm a

wealthy

man

and

imagine

and

I

get

I sign

you on

to be

my

investment

manager

and I

say to

you

these are

the terms

you get

to keep

90%

of

everything

that's

produced

90%

of

everything

that's

produced

for

your

living

expenses

and you

just need

to give

me back

10%

each

year.

I mean

anyone

want to

sign up

to that

deal?

Anyone?

No one's

going to

knock back

those terms.

That is

how incredibly

generous

this God

is.

But if

we love

money more

as the

Pharisees

did

than God

himself

then frankly

those terms

won't be

enough.

We are

stewards of

money that

is not

ours.

And what

is the

goal of

our

stewardship?

Third

point,

investing in

France.

I think

this is the

amazing thing

here.

Verse 9

is the

goal Jesus

has in

mind with

our stewardship

of his

resources.

The goal

is ultimately

our

happiness,

our love,

our security.

The goal

is a

circle of

friends.

That's

incredible.

He says,

I tell you

use worldly

wealth to

gain friends

for yourselves.

He could

have said

use my

wealth to

gain friends

for me,

but he

says use

wealth to

gain friends

for yourselves

so that

when it's

gone you'll

be welcomed

into eternal

dwellings.

And the

point of

that is

that these

friends will

welcome you

into the

eternal

dwelling.

So this

manager here

puts aside

short-term

financial gain

for the

sake of

gaining

something

that was

long-term

more

valuable

and that

is

networks

and

friends.

Networks

and

friends.

Every

single

wise

investment,

as my

investment

manager tells

me,

and it

makes a lot

of sense,

is where

you put

your money

into something

that will

increase in

value.

I mean,

that's just

no-brainer,

right?

Increase in

value.

And the

point here

is put

your money

into something

that will

truly last,

really last.

Jesus gives

us a very

helpful perspective

here when

he says in

verse 9,

so that

when it

is gone,

when it

is gone,

in other

words,

there is no

investment in

this world

that will

last.

Not a

single investment

will last.

There is no

material thing,

there is no

asset,

there is no

place where

you put your

money that

will really,

really last.

And he's

calling his

disciples here

to put their

money into

something that

will literally

last forever.

Building up

a circle of

eternal friends.

And he puts

it in relational

terms.

Relational

terms.

Use your

money in

such a way

that you

make friends,

eternal friends

for yourself.

What I love

about the way

Jesus puts

it here,

he doesn't

just stay

on the

abstract

level.

Now,

I'm,

as a

forward-thinking

person,

logically

convinced by

the argument

for long-term

investment that

grows in

value forever.

I'm logically

convinced by

that.

But what

Jesus says

next is

what moves

my heart

and it

causes me

to open

my wallet

and I

hope it

does for

you.

You see

how Jesus

describes the

eternal dwelling

in verse

nine?

Friends.

That's it.

Friends.

Not clouds

and harps

and hymns.

Friends.

That's heaven.

Friends.

Friends.

Use your

money now

to gain

friends who

will welcome

you into

eternal dwelling.

Let me just

quote one

commentator who

wrote on this

verse.

It's the main

point of the

parable.

Although these

things, your

property, ability,

time, belong to

this life only,

says Jesus,

yet what will

happen to you

then when you

pass into that

life will depend

on what you

were doing with

them here and

now.

And make sure

that your use

of them brings

you into a

fellowship of

friends which

will survive

beyond death.

See the point?

We look

in the

materialistic

west, we

look to

our money

to give us

security and

significance.

But genuine

security and

significance is

ultimately

relational, not

material.

It's relational,

not material.

In the end,

all we need is

love.

We feel

truly wealthy

when we are

loving people

and surrounded

by people who

love us back.

That's when you

feel truly

wealthy.

And the

older you get,

the more that

value increases.

That's when you

feel truly alive.

love.

And yet the

love that we

all need is

ultimately out

of reach in

this life.

We get a

taste of it

now, just a

taste of it, but

the best is yet

to come.

You see, the

thinking that

heaven is a

place of

harps and

crowns and

gold doesn't

move me in

the same

way as it

being a

place of

people,

relationships,

connection,

love.

A place of

friendships, deep

relationships, real

love.

A love where

there is no

barriers.

And it's a

place that you

can hope in

now and

invest for and

put your

investment into

it now.

the love

that we

have in

this world,

the taste

of the

relationship

we have in

this world

is a

foretaste

of what

will be,

but every

single

relationship

in this

world falls

short of

it.

Fall short

of it.

And it

makes heaven

such an

incredible

prospect.

So I just

want to throw

some barriers

to genuine

and real

love that

we have in

this world

now that

won't be

then.

For instance,

in this

world we

are not

often loved

for our

own sake.

It's actually

quite painful

when we

discover that

people are

not loving

us for

our own

sake,

but actually

using us

to get

something.

It's very

rare for

people,

for any

of us,

to love

another

person

completely,

totally for

their own

sake.

Most of

us love

love to

get something

out of

it.

And in

heaven,

we will

be loved

absolutely

and completely

and fully

for who

we are

without any

barriers.

Another

barrier is

the ability

to express

love without

hindrance.

Pride,

selfishness,

defensiveness,

pettiness,

coldness,

means that

we can

very rarely

express love

without any

hindrance.

It's like

so many

of us

describe it

as having

an ocean

of love

in the

heart

that can

only be

expressed

through a

straw.

It's there,

I just

can't get it

out.

I'm too

afraid to

actually

let it

all,

just in

case you

reject it.

we can't

get close

to expressing

our love

without

hindrance

but in

heaven

we will

love

without

any

form

of

impediment

or sin

or pride

or selfishness

or pettiness

or defensiveness

will be

gone.

We also

struggle

to find

a mutual

love

in this

world.

Is there

anything

more painful

than to

love someone

more than

they love

you back?

It is

very rare

for love

to be

mutual

all the

time.

I mean

all the

time.

In this

life

many of

the people

we love

we love

them more

than they

love us

back

and there

is nothing

more painful.

But in

heaven

everyone

will love

everyone

else

mutually

and

fully.

There's

also the

barrier of

the

unhappiness

of those

you love.

Think about

this for a

moment.

This is for

the parents

in the

room.

Once you

start having

children

sorry guys

I know

you're

launching

into this

real soon.

Once you

start having

children

for the

rest of

your life

you are

never

happier

than the

unhappiness

of your

children

of your

unhappiest

child.

You are

never happier

than your

unhappiest

child.

We can

never be

happier

than the

people that

we love.

Their

heart

becomes

our

heart.

If you

love more

than five

people

in your

life

you will

always be

unhappy.

And that's

why C.S.

Lewis said

if you don't

want your

heart to be

broken

then stop

loving

people.

That's

the only

option.

Just

pull back

from everyone.

Of course

at that

point you

become such

a hard

person and

you are

frankly right

on your

way to

hell.

At that

point.

Love

is such

an incredible

source of

pain but

not in

heaven.

Everyone

will be

perfectly

happy and

filled with

a never

ceasing

joy.

But

ultimately

the

greatest

barrier

to

love

is

separation.

We

want a

love

that will

never be

separated

from the

people that

we love.

Ultimately

that's the

greatest

pain.

My

family is

going through

my extended

family is

going through

that right

now.

Some of

you will

be aware

of this.

Little

Teddy died

a couple

of days

ago.

And so

the separation

of that

love for

my

family,

the grief

that they're

feeling right

now,

a baby

less than

two weeks

old.

That's

the pain,

that's

separation.

We are

made to

desire the

kind of

relationships

and friendships

and love

that is in

the kingdom

of God.

We have

been designed

for what

Jesus says

heaven is

going to be

like.

knowing and

experiencing the

pain of

relations with

this world

is, it's

hard for us

to imagine

what heaven's

going to be

like.

And yet

that's the

problem of

loving this

world.

And

ultimately

it's the

separation

from those

that we

love.

It's one

of the

greatest

difficulties

about getting

older.

as you

get older

your circle

of friends

disappears.

My

grandmother

died at

102,

didn't have

a single

friend left.

All

gone.

Over the

course of

40 years

saw them

all die

off.

That's

the pain

of separation.

So what

would it be

like,

imagine,

what would it

be like to

be completely

sure of

the future

because of

what Jesus

Christ has

achieved for

us.

Imagine

that to

believe in

Jesus is

to be able

to live

with God

and to

live with

friends in

absolute

perfect love

forever

without any

barriers,

forever.

Just imagine

how that

would change

your perspective

of life

right now.

Would we

not use

our worldly

wealth now

knowing what

really lasts

ultimately is

love,

is people,

is relationships,

is friends,

and that

ultimately

as life

moves on

for me

and I

feel the

pain of

loss of

love in

this world

that I

have the

greatest love

to look

forward to,

the best

is yet

to come.

Use your

money now

to create

a fellowship

of eternal

friends.

When people

find hope

and love

and faith

in Jesus,

they will

be your

friends

forever.

I just

think it's

incredible

to imagine

that I

could be

in heaven

and I

could be

in heaven

for a

thousand

years

and people

are being

added into

that over

that course

of time

because somehow

it's been

connected to

my investment.

The radical

investment is

to put the

money that

you are a

steward of

into connecting

people with

their God

who will

love him

and love

you

forever.

Why would

we do

this?

Ultimately,

we are

recipients of

the wisest

of investments.

All of

this hope

and joy

is possible

because we

have

received

ultimate

love and

ultimate

friendship

in Jesus.

2 Corinthians

8,

the apostle

Paul is

encouraging the

church of

Corinth to

give generously

to a

great need

in the

same way

that other

churches had

done previously.

He doesn't

order them

to do it.

He doesn't

order them

to do it.

He shows

them how

they can do

it and he

shows them

love.

He says,

just think

about this

for a minute.

Jesus

Christ,

though he

was rich,

yet for

your sake

he became

poor so

that you

through his

poverty

might become

rich.

What he's

showing the

church of

Corinth there

and he's

showing us

is Jesus

is the

one friend.

He's the

master

but he

became the

one friend

who emptied

himself of

everything

to turn

his enemies

into his

friends.

For the

joy that

was set

before him

he endured

the cross.

We are

his joy.

Jesus

is the

true

steward.

As

recipients of

the ultimate

friendship we

get to live

with him

forever in

perfect love

and he's

calling us

to use

our time,

our talents,

our gifting,

our treasures,

all of it

is controlled

by that

knowledge.

And so

right now

today

you and

I are in

exactly the

same position

as this

shrewd

manager.

The books

were open

and he had

a chance

to act.

He had a

chance to

act.

So what's

your next

step?

What's your

next step?

Make your

eternal joy

complete and

invest in

eternal

friends.

Thanks.

Thank you.