Wealth & Love

Good morning, everyone.

Nick asked us earlier about what you give thanks to God for in the past week.

And I got a message the other day from someone who was sitting in church last week

who, as a result of being convicted in terms of the message,

but also blown away by the gospel, decided to basically quadruple their giving.

And I just want to say that that's what this series is about.

It's about heart work.

It's about doing...

We're not seeking to raise funds for any particular project,

but to do heart work as one of the things that is closest to our hearts

in a materialistic world,

and to sort of rethink about that from a kingdom of God perspective.

That's what we're seeking to do in this series.

So if you'd like to come with me today, which would be great,

you've got an outline here with the Bible verses,

but also an outline in terms of where we're heading with this passage.

We could take some notes, but also on the St. Paul's app,

you can get the same thing and type it all in as well.

Let me pray, and then we'll launch into this text.

Gracious Father, we thank you for the abundance that you have given us in the Lord Jesus Christ.

As we have sung this morning already,

in him we can be satisfied, totally satisfied.

As your prophet Habakkuk says,

that all other things can be stripped away,

but because we have Christ, we have God, our Redeemer,

then we have everything,

everything that we need to get out of bed in the morning and rejoice.

Help us to put our materialism, our money, our resources,

all good things that come from you in their proper place.

We ask that you would do heart work with us,

which would see transformation in our lives and our priorities, we pray.

In Jesus' name.

Amen.

I want to begin today, as I've done a few times before,

reflecting on the life of one of the greatest philosophical thinkers,

one of the sharpest political minds,

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

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

and destined for a life of total obscurity, in fact,

until his hands wrapped around a barbell for the very first time at 14 years of age.

By the age of 18, he was living in London,

travelling the world, competing in bodybuilding championships,

and his coach through those years was a guy named Wag Bennett.

And one day, Wag asked the 18-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger,

what do you want to do with your life?

And he said Arnold's response for an 18-year-old was remarkable.

He said he just looked at me and said,

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

I want to live in the United States.

I want to be an actor, a movie director,

own an apartment block,

and dabble in politics.

18 years of age.

This is my future.

This is what I'm gunning for,

and I'm going to go for it.

And those who trained with him said he was highly focused.

Highly focused.

One day he was doing some sort of press-up thingy

with one of his training partners,

and this training partner beat Arnold.

He did 150,

and Arnold did 149,

or something like that.

And Arnold looked at him and said,

you will never,

ever beat me again.

He said,

no matter what I did,

I couldn't do it.

So focused.

Luke 16.

Jesus tells a story about a man who saw the future.

He knew what he wanted,

knew what he wanted to do,

what he needed to do,

and he just went for it.

He's known as the shrewd manager.

Now,

in Jesus' time,

the manager like this

was like a COO,

a chief operating officer,

and a CFO,

a chief financial officer,

rolled into one.

They not only managed

the whole estate

for an owner of an estate,

but they also invested the owner's money.

They had control over the finances

and chose where it was going to be spent.

And it turns out,

according to this text,

that this manager's been doing a pretty poor job,

and so he gets a termination notice,

and he's now in trouble.

Word gets around that this manager

has not been making some wise decisions,

then it's unlikely that he's going to get

another management role.

And he's been sitting in an office for too long

to start digging trenches for a living,

and he won't lower himself to begging.

And what's more,

there are no social services.

There's nothing here in terms of

center link to fall back on.

So for this manager,

in this moment,

he has a life and death decision.

How's he going to live?

What's he going to do?

And so he makes a decision

in that moment

that will pay benefits for him

into the future.

Not immediately,

into the future.

And that's the point of this parable.

Living now,

making decisions now,

that have long-term benefits.

And what he does next

is the bit of this parable

that I think,

if you get caught up in the details,

gets a little bit distracting.

So here it is,

verse 5.

So he called in each one

of his master's debtors.

He asked the first,

how much do you owe my master?

900 gallons of olive oil,

he replied.

The manager told him,

take your bill,

sit down quickly,

and make it 450.

Then he asked the second,

and how much do you owe?

A thousand bushels of wheat,

he replied.

He told him,

take your bill,

and make it 800.

Now the distracting bit is,

you're working on the assumption here,

that this manager,

is ripping off his master.

You pay me the money.

You give me 450 gallons of olive oil.

That's not really what's happening.

But what happens here is,

what's the crucial focal point,

is the outcome of his actions

creates friendships

that didn't exist before.

He now has connections and friendships

that didn't exist before.

In acting for the future,

he won the favor and the obligation

of his master's debtors.

And the master's response,

in verse 8,

is,

the master commended the dishonest manager

because he had acted shrewdly.

Why would the owner commend the manager

for his action here?

One of the best theories

is that this manager

was putting his own fees

on top of the investment,

getting his own interest share in it

as well as the owner of the investment.

And this could be the reason

why he's been called dishonest

in the beginning.

You are putting extraordinary fees

on top of my assets

and getting a cut yourself.

So he's entering into contracts here

with very high interest.

So the master's getting interest

and the owner's getting interest

and then it all gets found out.

And so what apparently he's done here

is he's now all of a sudden

taking his own cut out of it.

He's not getting anything more

from these deals.

Takes his own fees out.

Not only does he make his debtors happy,

but he also gives the master

a better name in town too.

Now that's,

well that's exactly how it worked,

but it appears that that's how it worked

in the first century Palestine.

But the point of Jesus here is

that this man

is living his life

and using his wealth

with an eye for the future.

This master commended him

because he had acted shrewdly.

It was a good decision.

You've made a wise decision,

a smart judgment.

You're astute.

Or what we might call a rat cunning.

Very, very clever move.

But the rebuke in the second half

of verse 8

is a little bit stinging.

It says this shrewd,

this wise,

this astute action

is one that the disciples

of Jesus fail in.

For the people of this world

are more shrewd

in dealing with their own kind

or with their own generation

than are people of the light.

Jesus is saying

that this manager

is wiser

in the use

of the master's wealth

than his own disciples

are in using

their master's wealth.

in making long-term investment

with their master's wealth.

And that's my second point.

We are God's investment managers.

That's the first thing

we learn here.

We are stewards

of someone else's resources.

The word manager here

is quite literally steward.

This man

is a steward

of someone else's resources.

He is a fund manager

if you like.

When you manage

someone else's funds

you can't do

anything you want

with it

because

it's not yours.

You don't own it.

So first up

Jesus is saying

that if you understand

that there is a God

at all

you've got any concept

that there is a God

you will know

that whatever you have

is not yours.

We are stewards

of God's money

of his resources

and so

we are

stop acting

as if it's ours.

That's pretty hard hitting

because we have

a strong attachment

to our wealth

and our possessions

because we've worked for it.

We have this sense

in the materialistic wealth

of the West

that we believe

in the self-made individual.

It's my money.

I've worked hard for it.

I've worked really hard.

I deserve this

because I work really hard.

How often have you heard

your self

say that?

Jesus says

no.

That's not yours.

If you're a Christian

there is a much broader context

to put all

of this truth into.

As Christians

we believe

that God made everything

that he sustains everything

that we have life

and skills

and opportunities

that he has gifted us with

and without those things

we would not make

any money

at all.

It's not because of us

it's because of him.

Let me just push this point

a little bit further.

It is a gift

that you happen to exist

in Sydney

at this particular time and age.

Absolute gift.

you would understand

it as a gift

if you were born

400 years ago

and living in a

third world country.

Without the gifts

we have no capability

of doing what we do.

Without the life

that he gives us

day by day

we have no ability

to have any form

of possessions.

Without life

it's extremely difficult

to do anything in fact.

If you have health

and able to work

that's a gift.

The fact that you're born

in this time and place

have these opportunities

those are gifts.

We work hard

for what we have

with the life

circumstances

talents

that God has given us

we are stewards.

And I think

that's where

1 Chronicles 29

is really helpful

for us

because this is

the prayer

of the fabulously

wealthy and powerful

King David.

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 only

given to you

what has come

from your hand.

All this abundance

that we have provided

for building you

a temple

for your holy name

comes from your hand

and all of it

belongs to you

still belongs to you.

So if we are stewards

it's not ours

and God calls us

to be radically generous.

And if we're not

radically generous

it's not called

stinginess

or a little bit

tight.

God calls it

robbery.

You're a fund manager

who's taking the funds

and investing it

elsewhere.

You're the dishonest

manager

is what you are.

It's not just a lack

of compassion.

It's not just a lack

of generosity.

It's a lack

of integrity.

Malachi 3.8

Will a mere mortal

rob God?

And yet you

rob me.

But you ask

well how are we

robbing you God?

In tithes and offerings.

As I said last week

the people of the

Old Testament

were told that

10% of their income

as a baseline

need to be given away.

That's the starting point.

That's the baseline.

And I'm not convinced

the standards of the

people in the New

Testament are any

lower.

Especially when they

have a greater hope

a greater revelation

a greater grace

greater benefit.

However

if you're sitting

there at the moment

you're thinking

10%

is a lot of money

then maybe

you're approaching

it from the wrong

direction.

Imagine

imagine this scenario

you go to work

on Tuesday

and

someone

asks you

to manage

their money

for them

and the

terms

of that

were that

every year

you get

to keep

90%

of the returns

and you've

got to give

the owner

10% back.

Do you

think that's

a good deal?

What fund

manager wouldn't

want to sign

on the dotted

line ASN?

You immediately

go

there's got to

be fine print

here somewhere.

There must

be fine print

here somewhere.

That's how

generous God

is

and that's

what God

is offering

us.

But if we

love money

more than

we love God

who gives

us those

things

even those

terms won't

be enough.

We won't

be generous

we won't

give

and it won't

be stinginess

it's robbery.

We are stewards

of money

that is

not

ours.

And I

would suggest

I want to

go a little

bit harder

here and I

would suggest

that includes

the estates

that you've

accumulated

over the

years.

I want to

ask whether

even in

your will

have you

included for

gospel ministry

after you

have long

gone.

Even the

estates that

are in

your name

are not

yours.

Imagine

stewarding

our resources

in such a

way that

in our

wills

we are

also

giving a

portion to

gospel ministry

and charity

after we

have long

gone.

Imagine

continuing to

build rewards

in heaven

when we are

already there.

Next point

investing in

friends.

There's

something even

more amazing

here.

This is the

connection between

wealth and

love.

Verse 9

is the

goal Jesus

has in

mind with

our stewardship

of his

resources and

the goal

is our

happiness,

our love

and our

security.

I tell you

use worldly

wealth to

gain friends

for yourselves

so that when

it is gone

you will be

welcomed into

eternal dwellings.

See what this

manager does

here which is

the astute

wise thinking

is he puts

aside short

term financial

gain for the

sake of gaining

something that

was long term

more valuable.

It's a wise

investment is

where you put

your money into

something that

will increase in

value.

That's called a

wise investment.

And so what can

we put our money

into that will

last forever?

Jesus gives

us a very

helpful perspective

here when he

says in verse

nine so that

when it is

gone.

He's saying

that no matter

what investment

you put into

in this world

it will go.

It will not

last.

You won't take

it with you.

There is no

material thing,

no asset,

no piece of

property where

you can put

your money

into that

will really

really really

last.

And he's

calling his

disciples to

put their

money into

something that

will literally

last forever.

Use your

money in such

a way that

there is glory

in the end.

need.

Now what I

love about the

way that Jesus

puts it here

is that he

doesn't say,

he doesn't just

stay there at

some sort of

abstract level.

Now because for

me personally I'm

logically convinced

I'm just kind of

the way that I'm

wired I think

long term about

most stuff.

And I'm

logically convinced

by the argument

for long term

investment that

grows in value

forever.

Logically,

yeah got that,

that makes sense

to me.

What Jesus

says next

however is

the thing that

if you like

moves the

heart and

causes me to

open the

wallet and the

bank balance.

And I hope it

does for you

too.

Look at how

Jesus describes

the eternal

dwelling in

verse 9.

friends.

Friends.

Use your money

now to gain

friends who

will welcome

you into

eternal

dwellings.

Let me quote

one commentator

who wrote on

this verse.

It is in his

view the main

point of this

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

are doing

with them

here and

now.

Make sure

that your

use of

them brings

you into

a fellowship

of friends

which will

survive

beyond

death.

A

fellowship

of

friends

that

survives

beyond

death.

Now this

is definitely

what Jesus

is saying

here.

You see,

because we

look to

money to

give us

the security

and the

significance

in our

culture,

but genuine

security and

significance

is relational.

It's not

material.

In the

end,

the thing

we all

need is

love.

Every

single one

of us

needs

love.

We feel

truly

wealthy

when we

are loving

people and

are surrounded

by people

who love

us back.

The person

who has

got great

bank balance,

got a

secure piece

of property,

they got

their retirement

funds sorted,

but is

totally lonely,

doesn't think

for a

moment,

that they're

wealthy,

when all

the relationships

around them

are breaking

down.

And yet,

the love

that we're

seeking for

in this

life is

consistently

out of

reach for

us.

Money can't

buy you

love.

love.

You can

get a

taste of

the love

we're

searching

for in

this

world,

but the

best is

yet to

come.

That's

what Jesus

promises.

The

thinking that

heaven is a

place of

harps and

crowns and

clouds and

gold doesn't

kind of move

me so much

in terms of

wanting to be

there as a

world of love

does.

Heaven is a

place of

friendships,

a place of

deep

relationships,

a place of

real love,

a place where

we love and

we are loved

without any

barriers at

all.

It's a place

to really hope

for and invest

in now.

The love we

experience in

this world is

a foretaste

of what will

be, but it

falls way short

of what it

will be in

heaven.

Love now is

all too often

a source of

pain.

There are

barriers of

loving and

being loved

in this world

that won't

exist in

heaven and

that makes

heaven an

incredible

prospect.

I've got a

list of a

variety of

barriers that

we have now

for love.

One barrier

that we face

now that we

want them is

that we are

often not

loved for our

own sake in

this world,

which the

person who

has got more

and more

possessions and

wealth always

has in the

back of their

mind.

Am I being

loved because

of what I

have or

because of

who I am?

It's painful

when we discover

that people are

not loving us

for our own

sake, but

actually using

us to get to

something else

or to someone

else.

It's very rare

for any of us

to love another

person totally

for their own

sake.

Most love in

order to get

something.

In heaven we

will be loved

absolutely and

completely and

fully for who

we are.

Another barrier

is the inability

to express love

without hindrance,

pride,

selfishness,

defensiveness,

pettiness,

coldness,

means that we

can't do it.

This is even

the case with

those who we

are the closest

to in this

world.

It's like having

an ocean of

love in the

heart that it

can only get

expressed through

a straw.

We can't

even get

close to

expressing our

love fully

without hindrance.

But in

heaven we

will love

without impediment.

All sin,

all pride,

all selfishness,

pettiness,

defensiveness will

be gone.

We also

struggle to

find a mutual

love in this

world.

Is there

anything more

painful than

to love

someone and

not to be

loved back?

It's very

rare for love

to be mutual

at the same

time.

In this

life,

many of

the people

that we

love,

we love

them more

than they

in fact

love us

back.

That is

nothing but

pain.

But in

heaven everyone

will love

everyone else

mutually and

fully.

There's also

the barrier

of the

happiness of

those that

you love.

Think about

this for a

moment.

Once you

start,

and if you're

a parent,

you'll know

this,

once you

start having

children,

for the

rest of

your life,

you are

no more

happier than

your unhappiest

child.

Well,

there's an

incentive to

have kids.

But you get

that,

don't you?

You're no

more happier

than your

unhappiest

child.

We can

never be any

happier than

the people that

we love,

and that's

the reason

why most

of us are

so miserable.

Their heart

becomes our

heart.

If you

love more

than five

people in

your life

at any

one time,

you're bound

to be

miserable.

Someone's

going to be

unhappy.

The great

C.S.

Lewis said,

if you

don't want

your heart

to be

broken,

then just

stop loving

people.

Maybe you

know those

kinds of

people who

have got

that happening

for them.

That is the

only option,

and some

of us,

in fact,

find it so

difficult to

love anyone

because we

are so

broken in

our hearts

inside.

We are so

damaged.

And of

course,

you become

a hard

person,

and let

me say

it clearly,

you are

right on

your way

to hell.

Love is

such a

source of

pain,

but not

in heaven.

Everyone

will be

perfectly

happy and

filled with

a never

ceasing

joy.

The

greatest

barrier to

love would

have to be

the separation.

We want

a love

where we

will never

be separated

from the

people that

we love.

It is

painful knowing

that when

you marry

someone,

it is

highly likely

that one

of you

will bury

the other.

In my

case,

I've got

five people

sitting around

the table

at home,

and it's

highly likely

that one

of us

will be

sitting at

that table,

will see

everyone else

dead and

gone.

One of us

will be put

in that

position.

And as

a type

one

diabetic,

it's

unlikely

to be

me.

I think.

That's

my mother's

experience in

the last

couple of

years.

One of

four

sisters,

all gone,

only one

left.

And that's

the way of

our relationships

here,

love.

But not

there.

Not

there.

We are

made to

desire the

kind of

relationships,

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

relationships in

this world.

It is hard

for us to

imagine it,

hard to

believe in

fact.

Just imagine

what it would

be like to

completely believe

in it,

though,

that that

is what

heaven is

going to

be like.

That is

my future.

Imagine what

it will do

to your

life day

by day

when you

grasp that

that is

the joy

and the

reality that

I'm

shooting for.

Imagine what

it would be

like to be

completely sure

of the future

because of

Jesus Christ

and what

he's done.

Imagine that

to believe

in Jesus

is to be

able to

live with

God and

friends in

absolute

perfection,

perfect love

forever,

love without

any boundaries

forever.

Just imagine

what it will

do with the

way you

live now.

Imagine what

it will do

to your

possessions

and your

money.

Knowing that

real,

what really

lasts is

love,

people,

relationships,

friends,

do not

put your

money

before people

which is

what our

materialistic

society says

you must

do.

Put your

money into

solving people's

needs.

Use your

money to

create a

fellowship of

friends that

will survive

beyond death.

love.

When people

find hope and

love and

faith in

Jesus,

they will

be your

friends forever.

They will

love you

and be loved

by you

without any

barrier.

That's the

radical investment

that Jesus is

calling us

to.

To put the

money that

you are a

steward of

into connecting

people with

their God

who loves

them in a

way that

is incomprehensible

to them.

Now all of

this hope

and joy

is possible

because we

ourselves are

recipients of

this ultimate

love and

friendship.

In

1 Corinthians

8,

the Apostle

Paul is

encouraging the

church in

Corinth to

give generously

to a great

need in the

same way that

other churches

had done.

And he

doesn't order

them to do

it.

He showed

them how

they can do

it.

And what he

does is he

shows them

love.

He says

just think

about Jesus.

Think about

Jesus Christ

that though

he was rich

yet for

your sake

he became

poor.

He divested

himself of

everything so

that you

through his

action of

diversity

himself of

everything that

you might

become rich.

You might

know true

wealth.

You might

know love

without barriers.

Jesus is the

one friend who

emptied himself

of everything to

turn his

enemies into

his friends.

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

here in

this passage

to use your

money in a

way that is

controlled by

that knowledge.

So friends

right now

right now

you and I

sitting in this

room while we

have breath in

our lungs

we're in

exactly the

same boat

as the

shrewd

manager when

he got his

termination

notice.

The books

are still

open and

you've still

got a chance

to act right

now in view

of the future.

make your

eternal joy

complete and

invest in

eternal

friends.