Wise Investment

Let's pray while we're standing.

Gracious God, we ask as we open up your word now,

you would pour out your spirit amongst us.

We pray that we would understand your word

and that you might give us through the power of your spirit

the courage to obey it,

to live our lives in accordance with it,

that we might more and more reflect your glory.

And we ask it for your sake.

Amen.

Please be seated.

I want to begin this morning

with the life of one of the greatest philosophical thinkers,

one of the sharpest political minds,

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 to be a nobody

until his hands wrapped around a barbell for the very first time.

By the age of 18, he was travelling the world,

competing in bodybuilding championships.

At one point, as he was living in England,

his coach, Wag Bennett, asked him,

Arnie, what do you want to do with your life?

His response was astounding.

18 years of age.

I want to be the greatest

and the richest 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.

He saw the future,

he saw what he wanted,

and he just went for it.

Just went for it.

Jesus told a similar story

about a man who saw the future,

saw what he needed to do,

and he just went for it.

It's that passage that was read out to us.

If you'd like to grab your Bibles

and open up to Luke 16,

it's a passage in the Bible

that on the surface

seems to be a bit of a problem for us.

Is Jesus actually saying

that it's okay to steal from your employer?

We know that can't be right.

Surely he wouldn't be saying that.

So let's have a look

and see what Jesus is actually saying

in Luke 16.

Fundamentally,

it has nothing to do with dodgy deals.

It has everything to do

in terms of acting now

in view of the future.

Acting now in view of the future.

So verse 1,

Jesus told his disciples

there was a rich man

whose manager was accused

of wasting his possessions.

So he called him in

and asked him,

what is this I hear about you?

Give an account of your management

because you cannot be manager any longer.

The manager said to himself,

well, what shall I do now?

My master is taking away my job.

I'm not strong enough to dig

and I'm ashamed to beg.

I know what I'll do.

So that when I lose my job here,

people will welcome me

into their houses.

You see,

the issue in first century Palestine

was that there was no unemployment benefits.

You had a choice.

You begged or you worked.

Clearly,

this manager wasn't going to get

another manager's job

after his poor handling

of his previous position.

And he says,

I'm too ashamed to go right

to the other end

of the social scale and beg.

And frankly,

I haven't got the muscles

to go and dig holes for a living.

And so the issue for this

manager was,

if I'm not going to beg

and I'm not going to work,

how am I going to eat?

That's the issue.

The issue that this man

was faced with

was a life and death decision.

And so in verse 4,

he sees what's going to happen

in the future

and he acts accordingly.

For that short period of time,

for this manager,

he still has his laptop

on the desk,

he still has

the company checkbook,

he still has

his name

on the plaque

at the front of the office,

and he can still act now

in view

of the future.

And he grabs

his opportunity.

He went for it

in verse 5,

so he called in

each one of his master's

debtors.

He asked the first,

how much do you owe

my master?

800 gallons

of olive oil,

he replied.

The manager told him,

take your bill,

sit down quickly

and make it 400.

Then he asked the second,

and how much do you owe?

1,000 bushels of wheat.

He replied.

He told him,

take your bill

and make it 800.

And in the process

of acting for the future,

he won the favour

and obligation

of his master's

debtors.

He calls in people

who owes his boss

money,

and he substantially

cuts the debt,

potentially just taking

off the top

his own commission.

He substantially

cuts the bills.

and the people

are naturally

pleased.

The really strange

thing is those,

the master's response,

the master says to him,

in effect,

well done.

Well done.

Verse 8,

the master commended

the dishonest manager

because he had acted

shrewdly.

It's incredible,

isn't it?

I mean,

he's just ripped him off.

And he says,

well done.

That was really clever

what you just did.

He didn't commend you

for being dishonest.

He commended him

for shrewdness.

So this parable

is not about

being dishonest.

It's about being

shrewd

and especially

shrewd

in regard

to the future.

He acted

because he knew

what the future held.

But it's a really

logical choice,

isn't it?

If you're going to die,

you want to make sure

you do things

so you don't die.

It's fairly logical.

But as we read

in the second half

of verse 8,

this logical

and shrewd action

is not a logical

and shrewd action

that the people

of God

often make.

Verse 8,

for the people

of this world

are more shrewd

in dealing

with their own kind

than are the people

of the light.

What he's saying

there is

that the non-Christian

knows what they

want to do

and they live

by their philosophy.

They live

day by day

as if God

doesn't exist.

But the Christian,

well,

they muck around

with their relationship

with God

all the time.

But the non-Christian,

they live by it.

Take, for instance,

Philip Adams.

He's a journalist,

a writer,

and an outspoken

atheist.

Philip Adams

believes that

when he dies,

he faces oblivion,

that is,

he faces nothingness,

and he said this,

when I die,

that is my lot.

I don't have

any form of afterlife,

any form of survival

of the ego.

To me,

the end of life

which is rushing

towards me

with increasing

velocity

is very real.

I once worked out

that the average person

was born

with approximately

600,000 hours

to live.

You spend

approximately

one-third

of those asleep,

another 20,000

to 50,000

hours sitting

on the toilet,

and when you

eliminate

all the wasted

hours,

there are not

many left

which are going

to be of any

use.

So if I have

50,000 to 60,000

good hours

left in me,

then that's all

that I can expect.

Therefore,

I don't waste

time on trivia

or irrelevancies

anymore.

I want to get

it right.

That is an

atheist

speaking

who has

no hope

for the future.

How much

more the

Christian

with a certain

hope of eternity

in the presence

of God

be wanting

to get

it

right.

But Jesus

says that we're

not shrewd

enough in acting

now in view

of what is

around the

corner,

and so this

parable is a

parable that

is meant to

focus our

attention to

live each

day with

the end

in mind.

In World

War II,

Germany

occupied

France,

but all

through 1942

and 1943,

the Allies

planned a

massive

counterattack.

General

Dwight Eisenhower

was selected

to command

the assault,

and so

during the

night of

Jude the

6th,

about 2,700

ships carrying

loading craft

and 176,000

soldiers crossed

the English

Channel.

At dawn,

battleships

opened up

on the

beaches.

They stormed

ashore in

the largest

seaborne

invasion in

history.

By the end

of D-Day,

all five

Allied landing

beaches were

secure.

Over the

next few

months,

more than

one million

Allied troops

poured into

France,

and they

cleared the

Germans out of

most of

northwestern

France.

The German

generals knew

that they were

defeated.

They didn't

have enough

troops or

enough fuel

to turn

back the

tide,

but Hitler

refused to

admit defeat.

By April

1945,

Soviet troops

had surrounded

Berlin,

and from

his underground

bunker,

Hitler ordered

German soldiers

to fight

on.

But on

April 30,

Hitler himself

committed

suicide.

Seven days

later,

the 7th of

May 1945,

the new

Chief of

Staff of

the German

Armed Forces

signed a

statement of

unconditional

surrender to

Eisenhower.

World War

II in

Europe had

ended.

The Allies

declared the

8th of May

1945 as

VE Day,

Victory in

Europe Day.

The decisive

day was the

6th of June

1944,

D-Day.

The final

Victory Day,

VE Day,

was the

8th of May

1945.

Friends,

the death

and resurrection

of Jesus

2,000 years

ago was

our D-Day.

It was the

decisive day.

That was the

day when Jesus

dealt with our

independence and

now we live

remembering D-Day.

We live in the

light of D-Day and

we are waiting for

the final reckoning,

waiting for our

independence and

all the independence

of this world to

finally be overrun.

We are living

through the last

days of cosmic

war and the

outcome is

certain.

The outcome

is certain.

D-Day has

happened.

The cross of

Christ is

heralded the

final victory.

The decisive

victory has

been won.

D-Day has

happened in the

death and

resurrection of

Jesus and we

wait for VE

Day to come.

Every person

will stand

before his

throne and give

an account on

that day.

How should we

live therefore?

We live each

moment as if

VE Day was

today.

We live each

moment as if

VE Day was

today.

That's what it

means to be

shrewd.

That's what it

means to be

shrewd.

But the

warning of

this parable

is that too

many Christians

are not

shrewd enough.

You can't

tell the

Christians from

the non-Christians

in their

priorities by

the way they

use their

time and

their money

and their

relationships.

In verse

9, Jesus

tells us one

way that we

can live as

if VE Day

were right

here, right

now.

I tell you,

use your

worldly wealth

to gain

friends for

yourselves.

So that when

it is gone,

you'll be

welcomed into

eternal dwellings.

Jesus isn't

saying you can

buy your way

into heaven.

We know that

for sure from

other places,

that it's only

through him,

through his

death and

resurrection.

What he is

saying is use

your possessions

now in view

of the future,

in view of

eternity.

Use everything

you have now to

please God and

not yourself.

What he is

saying here is

what he has

said consistently

through the

gospels is

build up

treasure in

heaven.

Build up

treasure in

heaven.

So let me

give you a

scenario.

The sort of

thing I think

Jesus is talking

about here,

opening scene.

You have

$200 that

you've saved

up and

there is an

MP3 player,

forgive me if

you're from a

different generation

on this one.

There's an

MP3 player that

you've had your

eye on for a

little while,

but you hear

someone struggling

to put themselves

through Bible

college,

you've got your

$200,

it's a hard

call,

you know it,

but you give

it to them to

help them get

through Bible

college.

Next scene,

you're dead.

Sorry about

fast forwarding

your life

there.

You're dead,

you're in

heaven,

and this guy

comes up to

you and says,

while I was

on earth,

I used to

live in

Chile,

and you know,

one day an

extraordinary

thing happened.

This guy came

up to me in

the street and

told me about

Jesus,

thank you,

thank you for

that,

and you think

this guy's gone

mad.

You've got no

idea what he's

talking about,

what he's

saying is that

that $200 that

you gave and

many others like

you allowed that

student to get

through Bible

college.

That person

worked in a

church,

discipled young

Christians,

one or two of

those people went

into Bible

college themselves,

and years,

generations later,

one of their

kids went as a

missionary to

Brazil and

evangelized some

people in

Brazil,

and the guy

who came up to

you in heaven

is a grandchild

of one of the

people who

brought Jesus

to Brazil,

but who ended

up working and

living and

ministering in

Chile instead.

If you can

follow that,

you're better

than me.

But the point

is your $200

has an enormous

impact not just

for now and

this generation,

but for

generations to

come because

you are building

treasure in

heaven.

When you give

to gospel

ministry, you

are making

an investment

for generations.

You are not

balancing the

budget of

St. Paul's.

It's an

investment for

generations to

come, building

treasure in

heaven for all

of eternity,

and it may

not seem like

you get an

immediate return

because you

can't stick ear

plugs in your

ears and get

your mind blown

out by music,

but the value

is priceless.

For all of

eternity, you

will never

regret what

you did

with that

$200.

Never

regret it.

And that

is, if that

is the

Christian

perspective on

life, if

D-Day is

happening, V-E-Day

is about to

come, and we

are to live in

the light of

V-E-Day, and

all of our

giving is an

internal

investment,

then why are

churches nearly

always under

resourced?

Why is it

the missionaries

have to return

home through

lack of funds?

Why do

Christian

organisations have

to waste so

much time and

energy on

fundraisers and

fairs and

Lamington

drives to

try and

raise money?

Why?

Because we've

forgotten the

gospel.

Because we've

forgotten the

gospel.

we've

forgotten that

V-E-Day is

just around the

corner.

We've forgotten

Jesus' words

builds up

treasure in

heaven, not

on earth.

Jesus' words

use worldly

wealth to

gain friends

with yourselves,

eternal

friends who

will rejoice

with you

around that

throne for

time and

eternity.

Jesus sums

up the idea

in verse 13,

no servant

can serve two

masters,

either he

will hate

the one

and love

the other

or he will

be devoted

to the one

and despise

the other.

You cannot

serve both

God and

money.

Strong

words,

but very

clear words.

Jesus didn't

say it wasn't

a good idea

to try and

serve two

masters.

He actually

says here that

it is impossible

to serve two

masters.

It is impossible

to serve both

God and

money.

your life is

focused in one

of two

directions,

God and

serving him

or serving

yourself and

what you want

in life.

You cannot

do both,

is what Jesus

says in this

passage.

So friends,

we stand at

the edge of

something big

for us as a

church and I

want to ask

you, what are

you going to

do?

What are you

going to do?

You and I

are in exactly

the same boat

as this shrewd

manager.

The books are

still open.

We still have a

chance to act

now in view

of eternity.

A chance to

make sure that

we are not

mastered by

money, but to

give it generously

because of the

impact of such

an investment

will be felt

for ages,

for all of

eternity.

It is the

greatest legacy

that you could

leave your

generation.

It's the

greatest legacy

that we could

leave the

generations to

follow us

at St.

Paul's and

the greatest

legacy we

could leave

our children's

generations.

Investment in

people's lives

with our

time, our

prayers, our

energy, our

encouragement, and

from this

passage, our

money.

In view of

the fact that

VE Day is

just around the

corner, I'm

calling you to

do what Jesus

is calling us

to do as his

disciples, give

it up.

Give it up for

the kingdom.

Stake everything

in this world on

the world that is

to come.

So today we

stand on the

edge of 11

year ministry

plan.

And the

bottom line of

this plan is

a call for

us to

strongly,

single-mindedly,

doggedly be

focused on the

kingdom of God

and the coming

VE Day when

Jesus will

return and he

will wind up

this whole show.

Today I'm

calling you to

act now in

view of

eternity.

I'm calling the

whole church to

make wise

investments.

God calls

us to

demand our

allegiance, he

demands our

time, our

energy, our

prayers, our

money, our

lives.

He helps us

see that for

all of us we

only all have a

few good hours

left.

We all only

have a few good

hours left.

people

who are

going to

go to the

church.

But because this

passage is specifically

about money

primarily, I want

to call you to put

your money behind the

ministry of the

gospel in this

church and from

this church.

We need money to

build disciples and

to reach the

nations.

Christians, I

was very

comforted to

discover this

week that the

good news is that

God has given us

all the money we

need to realise the

plans that he has

for this church.

The bad news is it's

in your pockets.

And so our giving

to gospel ministry

should never be

haphazard.

It needs to be

planned.

It needs to be

generous.

It needs to be

sacrificial.

And I want to say

a step further, it

also needs to be

open.

Over the last few

months I've been

preaching from here

that money is

never a financial

issue.

It is a spiritual

issue for the

church.

John Dunn said the

same thing when he

preached a couple of

months ago.

It is a spiritual

issue for us.

And because it's a

spiritual issue, it

is never to be off

limits for the senior

minister and the

leaders of this

church.

It is never to be

off limits.

And to that end, you

have all received an

envelope with

information, a card to

pledge your giving

for next year.

Between now and the

29th of November, which

is our commitment

Sunday, I want you to be

prayerful.

I want you to be

considerate about your

pledge for next year

and your one-off

donation to the

internal and external

projects we have.

In the week ahead or

weeks ahead, you're

going to hear more

from me about this,

where I'm going to

explain my thinking

behind it.

What I'm calling us to

do as a church is

something that is not

culturally acceptable,

even amongst churches,

religious, but I

believe it's strongly

biblical.

In fact, there is more

biblical evidence for

your giving to be

public than there is

for it to be private.

Your staff and parish

council will be setting

the pace in a couple of

weeks' time when we

meet and we pledge our

commitment for 2010.

We'll be calling the

church to follow our

example just over a week

later.

It's all new for us as

a church, but it's

also exciting.

It's an exciting time

for us as the people

of God will stop

keeping secret what is

at the heart of

Christian discipleship.

I look forward to

seeing what God will do

amongst us in the

coming weeks and months

and years.

I want to remind you

that our giving to

gospel ministry in this

place is not so that

we might balance the

budget.

It's to realise the

vision of the

nations coming under

the cosmic lordship of

Jesus and building

treasure in heaven.

So we stand on the

edge of a new day for

us as St.

Pauls and I'm

calling everyone here

gathered today to

give yourself

wholeheartedly to a

biblical vision,

to build up

treasure and to

act now in view

of the certain

VE day which

is just around the

corner.

Amen.