Wise With Wealth - Brendan Hurley - 31st May 2026

Let's pray. Let's ask God for help as we look

at his word now. Heavenly Father, we thank you

that you speak to us in your word. We thank you

that your word is full of life -giving wisdom.

And we pray, Father, that you would help us to

see how to have true riches this morning. And

we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well in 2016

a new book came out written by an Aussie actually

it was a smash hit sold over 2 million copies

Many families found this book to be a lifesaver

Anyone know for a free cup of coffee what that

book is? No, it's the Barefoot Investor by Scott

Pape And the book aims to help people be smarter

and wiser with what they've got. It does so by

challenging false scripts. So we've got false

scripts, according to Scott Pape, that we rehearse

around money. Think like false narratives, beliefs

and assumptions. And we have these false scripts

and we internalise them and we never question

them. Things like... I can't get on top of my

finances because I'm just not good with money.

Or I don't earn enough so investing is not for

me. Or I've left it too late to invest and save.

And what Scott Pape does in the book is he confronts

those false scripts and he reshapes how people

see themselves and their money. And he helps

them become wise with their wealth. Well today,

I kind of want to do the same thing as we look

at Proverbs and as we look at the whole Bible.

There are some things here in the Bible that

I reckon would make Scott Pape nod his head and

go, yeah, that's pretty wise. I think there are

things here that Scott Pape would find very confronting

as well. I think all of us probably will. I know

I did as I was preparing this. We've all got

these false scripts, these false narratives,

and we need to see what our false narratives

are about money. And the big one we need to see

that we tend to get stuck in is we see money

as only for this life, as it's only a thing for

this material world. Let me show you how to be

wise with wealth. Here's the big point for today.

We use our wealth wisely when we have an eternal

perspective. You want to be wise with wealth?

That's the key. We use our wealth wisely when

we have an eternal perspective. We're going to

look at three things about money that Proverbs

is teaching us. Money can be a useful tool. Money

can be a deadly trap. and money is not everything.

Three things we're going to look at about money,

and the big overarching thing is we use our wealth

wisely when we have an eternal perspective. So

let's start with the first one. Money can be

a useful tool. I mean, money makes the world

go round in many ways. Have a look at this. A

man's gift makes room for him and brings him

before the great. So Proverbs is telling us that

money opens doors. I think of my uncle, he used

to be a senior partner at KPMG and he would go

out on the most exquisite expensive lunches.

He had a cool little company credit card and

he'd go out and he'd take people out on expensive

lunches to get potential new clients because

Yeah, oh, they took me out to lunch. I think

I'll go with them, you know. Or I remember a

few times going out with my dad to the SCG and

watching the swans and some test cricket in one

of those fancy boxes. Now, I actually reckon

they're overrated. All the good food is found

down in the other area. They have all these,

like, little hand things that, you know, you

need a solid meat pie when you're at the footy.

You know, my dad got invited to these fancy boxes

because people were trying to win his business.

You know, people go, there's a law of reciprocity.

You know, if I treat you well, you're probably

going to go with me for the business. If the

deal's good, it might just get me over the line.

See, money can be used to buy gifts and lunches

and things like that that gets you noticed. Now,

is that manipulative? Possibly. Doesn't have

to be. If your motive is loving, it definitely

isn't. But it can be. But it's also wisdom, isn't

it? Money can be used to win favour. It can be

used to help influence people. Yet the reverse

is true as well. Have a look at this. Many curry

favour with a ruler. And everyone is the friend

of one who gives gifts. The poor are shunned

by all their relatives. How much more do their

friends avoid them? Though the poor pursue them

with pleading, they are nowhere to be found.

So if you're rich or powerful, it's saying, you're

probably going to be more popular. Because people

are all trying to curry favour with you. They

all want to get a bit of influence from you.

That's why it's very hard when you're rich and

powerful. to make authentic friends, isn't it?

Because are they loving me for my money? Are

they loving me for me? You know, it can be really

tricky, especially when someone's, you know,

people who are celebrities and rich and things

like that, they love to go back to their roots,

the friends they had before they became famous

or before they came rich. Because it's like I

at least know they'll treat me for me, or more

likely to anyway. But the poor and the needy,

it's saying here, they often drive people away.

I'm not saying we should like that, I'm not saying

that's a good thing, but it's trying to tell

us how the world works, isn't it? Especially

if these folks are seeking a handout all the

time. I remember a couple of years ago, we went

down to Sydney and we had a little stave as a

family in a Airbnb enduro and we were out in

the bush. and there was a nice little creek and

I said to some of our kids, let's go for a bush

walk. Well, this little short bush walk, we got

lost and it turned into an hour and a half bush

walk and it started to rain and we're in by the

creek and we get back and we find all over our

legs and things there are leeches everywhere.

And so we had to like get them off and it was

like, oh, you know. But rightly or wrongly, that's

just how the world works. No one wants to be

leeched off of. And it's the same with actual

leeches and it's the same with money, isn't it?

That sort of leeching repulses people. And so

the wise person understands this and acts accordingly.

They see money as a useful tool and they try

to wield it with skill so that they can reach

their goals. If in need, they try to sort it

out themselves or they ask sparingly or they

try to reciprocate in some way. I mean, even

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4, 11 and 12 that

Christians should seek not to be dependent on

anyone. So there is a good side here, isn't there?

But when it comes to money, just as a skilled

craftsman looks after their tools so they work

well, it's the same with the wise. They look

after their money and grow their wealth so it

can be a useful tool for them. And here's how

they do it. Look at this first. Dishonest money

dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little

by little makes it grow. So the wise person doesn't

steal or con to get more. They squirrel away

their money. They save it. Some might have a

budget. You know, it's a great thing to plan

it out and have a budget. I think it's even a

good thing to do with your kids is to at least

try and teach some of the concepts and the principles.

So you could do something like this. You could

get three buckets in front of your kids and you

say, okay, with your money, have you ever thought

about what you want to do with it? You want to

put your money into three different buckets.

You want to have a bucket for spending? So that

would be your bills and your fun things. Maybe

you put 70 % in that bucket and then 20 % in

the savings bucket and then 10 % in the giving

bucket. Now, that's just one idea, one way to

teach it to kids. But you want them to learn

how to be wise and we all want to be wise. We

want to try and avoid debt. We want to sharpen

our tool and grow our wealth. Now, don't get

me wrong. I'm oversimplifying something very,

very complex. I mean, I haven't talked yet, and

probably won't, about the state of the economy

or the wage to house price ratio. I'm still kicking

myself that I didn't buy property in Sydney when

I came out of the womb. That would have been

really good. All you can do... is be wise with

what you've got during the times you live in.

But the wise see the value and the help that

money can give. And so they think about how to

grow it, how to steward it and how to best use

it. Now let me ask, what false scripts do you

have about money? I think for some Christians

one would be It's all too hard. I know, I struggle

with that one. It's all too hard. Oh man, there's

that many bills and there's that thing to navigate

and oh, I've got to deal with that and how do

I? If it's all too hard, hey, you know, it's

great to get a bit of help, get someone to come

alongside you, or maybe just start with one thing

you can change. Okay, I'm just gonna work on

cancelling unnecessary subscriptions. Do I need

Netflix, Stan, Prime, Apple TV? I might just

take it down to 27 or to maybe two, whatever

it might be. Maybe another false script is stewardship

doesn't matter. Well, no. I hope you've seen

money matters. It's a useful tool. It's got a

purpose. We want to be wise. We want to use it

well. So it's important to reflect on how we're

using our money and seek to improve it where

we can. So money is a great tool. We want to

wield it well, but with that said, there's a

dark side to money too. Because money can be

a deadly trap. Money can be a deadly trap. And

both physically and spiritually. Have a look

at this. The ransom of a man's life is his wealth.

But a poor man hears no threat. Many, many years

ago, I was an Ozkink umpire. Do you know what?

In all my years as an Ozkink umpire, I never

got violently robbed. I used to also be a bank

teller. I did get robbed as a bank teller. Guy

ran in with a screwdriver and pushed someone

out of the way, got past the teller door and

took a bunch of money. And that's nothing. I

had it easy. I had one colleague I worked with.

She'd been robbed five times at gunpoint. See,

poor footy umpires are rarely targets for robbery.

They're targets for verbal abuse. I've got plenty

of that. But banks, they hold a lot more money.

And so they're a common target. Actually, when

I worked at the bank, we had 10 robberies in

nine months in our 16 branches. It was nuts.

But see, like, our money, in many ways, paints

a target on us. It reminds me a bit of this far

side picture. I don't know if you've ever seen

this one. I love that. Bummer of a birthmark

howl. And there you've got Howl, who's this deer

with a giant target on his chest. I think that's

awesome. But that's the thing with money. In

one way, we never think about this, but money

paints a bullseye on our chest. That's why people

invest so much in insurance and security systems,

isn't it? Yet the danger of money is not just

physical, actually more importantly, it's spiritual.

Have a look at these verses. Whoever mocks the

poor insults his maker. He who is glad at calamity

will not go unpunished. Whoever closes his ear

to the cry of the poor will himself call out

and not be answered, presumably by God. Proverbs

is littered with passages that show that God

is serious about caring for the poor. Those who

have no heart for the poor are actually angering

and insulting Yahweh. So how we treat the poor

is no small thing to God. And the reason people

often ignore this and we're tempted to ignore

this is because we often become self -deceived

into idolatry. Have a look at this verse. The

name of the Lord, the name of Yahweh is a strong

tower. The righteous man runs into it and is

safe. A rich man's wealth is his strong city

and like a high wall, he's the key bit, in his

imagination. Some people trust money to keep

them safe. If I have enough dollars I can get

enough fences and enough good doctors and enough

things that will handle the problems of life.

And look, there is some truth to that. Yet, if

we're being real, we need to remember that money

is so fragile. Money can't always protect us

from war or betrayal or death or crime. Plus,

money can disappear very quickly. You know, think

of some of the economies, like I think it was

Argentina and Greece where just the dollar devalued

instantly. Big market crash. Not worth the paper

it's written on. See, money reminds me a bit

of the three little pigs. Think of the three

little pigs. You know, you've got the straw house

and the wood house, and money is a bit like those.

We think, yeah, I'm safe from the big bad wolves

out there. No, actually, you're not. It's very

fragile. The only thing that is like brick is

God. And actually to be on the wrong side of

him is scarier than any wolf as well. Only God

can protect us. And only God can give us treasures

that won't rust, corrode or wither away. Only

God can give us eternal riches that can't be

stolen or lost. I mean money... You know, it's

got some great things. It can keep death at bay

a bit longer. It can buy you more time. But only

Jesus, only the risen Jesus can give you life

after death with eternal heavenly riches. See,

money can be a trap. We've got a bug zapper in

our backyard. I think here in Cairns it works

over time. And for flies, have you ever tried

to get yourself into the head of a fly? I think

that's what the people who made the bug zapper

did. But for the flies, it's glorious. They see

this light and it's like, whoa, I can't wait

to get there. But for them, it's a deadly trap,

isn't it? And they're gone. But that's the danger

of money for us, isn't it? We think, it's glorious.

I'll have ultimate safety, security and satisfaction

if I just have enough money. But those things

are only found in the grace and salvation of

the risen Lord Jesus. So how do you stop yourself

from being trapped by money? Well, we've got

to expose the false scripts the world is telling

us. I mean, that's what the advertisers and marketers

are all trying to do, aren't they? You'll be

happy, your life will be satisfied, you'll be

secure if you have this product, if you bank

with our bank, you know, whatever it might be.

And we need to keep reminding ourselves as God's

people. that actually satisfaction and security

are found in Jesus alone. But not only that,

we've got to put our money where our mouth is.

We can't just think the right things, we've actually

got to do things that will help us. And that

involves joyfully giving our money away. Because

here's what happens, if you hold money too tightly,

It sinks into your bloodstream and runs up into

your heart. And it takes over. Well, of course

you're saying that, Brendan. Your income comes

from our giving. True. But it's not based on

commission. If the giving goes up, I don't get

a bonus. But no, I mean, maybe we could work

that. No, no, no. See, I'm so glad when people

give to Northern Hope. Because I believe in our

mission. Remember our mission? We exist to see

souls from Cairns and beyond saved on the last

day. Now, I hope you give to that. I hope you're

invested in that. But I want to encourage you

to give, not because just, I mean, I want to

encourage you to give for that. But I want to

encourage you to give for the sake of your own

heart, to protect your own heart. And if you're

going, well, that Brendan's a sleazy, you know,

scumbag, okay. For the sake of your own heart,

give to something else. Give to Compassion. Great

organisation. Helping kids all over the world

through the local church. caring for their physical

needs as well as their spiritual ones. Give to

open doors. I'd love you to give to our church.

I believe in that. I hope you do too. But there

are so many ways you can protect your heart by

giving. Don't let money trap you and capture

your heart. So money can be a tool and it can

be a trap. But there's one last thing that Proverbs

teaches us about being wise with our wealth.

And it's that money is not everything. And this

applies to life now and also to the life to come.

Here's how it applies to life now. Better a little

with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with

turmoil. And better a small serving of vegetables

with love than a fattened calf, which is like

rich, indulgent luxury in the ancient world,

better a small serving of vegetables with love

than a fattened calf with hatred. See, as important

as money is in this life, I hope we all know

other things are far more important. But sometimes

we need that reminder, don't we? I mean, I'd

rather be a poor Christian who takes God seriously

and trusts Jesus, who has a loving family, but

struggles to put food on the table, than be a

rich, agnostic hedonist. I'd rather know God,

I'd rather know the hope that is found in Jesus,

I'd rather have the love that comes from knowing

him. Because the money stuff doesn't sort out

those deeper heart problems. There was some American

billionaire, I can't remember if it was Henry

Ford or Rockefeller, but one of them, and they

said, how much money would ever be enough? And

they said, just one dollar more. It's never going

to satisfy. But knowing the infinite God gives

me so much. And that's now, isn't it? It's so

much better to have spiritual riches than material

ones. But it's also beneficial for the future,

not just now. Riches do not profit in the day

of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.

So think of monopoly money. Monopoly money, it's

fun, but it's only valuable during the game,

isn't it? It's no good trying to buy a house

in Cairns with monopoly money. I mean, you might

want to try, see how it goes, but you'll only

be able to buy Mayfair. You can't get anything

else. And after the game, it's worthless. It

has no value. Well, it's the same with money

in this life. There will come a day when the

money we have now will be worthless. When we

stand before the Lord Jesus, our money will have

no value. You can't slide Jesus a 50 under the

table and get into heaven. It doesn't work like

that. But you know what? Jesus' death and resurrection

proves just how serious this is. Because the

game is ending. There's an ultimate GFC that

is coming. A global financial crisis is coming.

An eternal one. And being ready for that day

is what ultimately matters. Have you got heavenly

riches? Because they're the riches that count.

They're the things that have real value. See,

some Christians have a false script that money

doesn't matter at all. And I hope you've seen

it's a tool for eternity. But some Christians

struggle with a false script that money matters

way too much. And looking at the cross is what

reorients us. back into balance. When money is

becoming too important in my heart here's a verse

I come back to. For you know the grace of our

Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet

for your sake he became poor so that you by his

poverty might become rich. It's saying We were

spiritually bankrupt. We were facing God's wrath

for eternity because of our idolatry and our

sin. And Jesus, he had infinite riches because

he's the second person of the Trinity. He's God's

only begotten son. But what did Jesus do? He

did a swap at the cross. He traded places with

us. He experienced ultimate poverty for us. He

took our punishment, God's wrath, for our idolatry.

And then, as if that wasn't enough, he gave us

eternal riches that we could have what he deserved.

Eternity in paradise. When I reflect on that,

When that is my beating heart, I have a new perspective

on my money. It puts money back in its place.

Yes, it's important, but it's not everything.

Do you have a verse like that that you can go

back to? Do you remember to put money in its

place? Because sometimes that's what we need

to do. All right. Well, let's draw some threads

together. We saw three things that Proverbs is

telling us about how to be wise with wealth.

We saw that money can be a useful tool. We saw

that money can be a deadly trap. And we saw that

money is not everything. And what binds these

things together is eternity. We use our wealth

wisely when we have an eternal perspective. We

use our worth wisely when we have an eternal

perspective. But, Brenda, what's all this mean

for us? How's this shaped my day to day? Well,

it depends. Because there's two types of people

here in the room today. Two different heart postures.

Remember, we had extra bang for your buck. You

got three Bible readings today, two from the

New Testament. We had the one about the rich

fall and the one about the shrewd manager. So

the rich fool, he's not rich toward God, and

the shrewd manager, he's one who plans for the

future. See, what did the rich fool do? He stored

up possessions for himself. He was not rich toward

God. I mean, many would say he was very wise.

I mean, he was an astute businessman. I mean,

he got to early retirement, living well, living

it up. I mean, it sounds great, doesn't it? And

in some ways, he used wisdom. But ultimately,

it was foolish. Because he was too short -sighted.

Ultimately, he died. And when he did, he wasn't

ready to meet his maker. He lived for comfort

and stuff, not for God. Not for eternity. And

that's why God calls him a fool. how well you

can grow your wealth in this life if you're not

living for God. You can make more money than

Elon Musk and Bill Gates combined and it's of

no value if you forfeit your soul. What did Jesus

say? What good is it to gain the whole world

if you lose your soul? Don't be foolish. There

might be some of us in this room who are living

like that rich fool. But what we want to be doing

is living like the shrewd manager. Now the shrewd

manager in Luke 16, it's a fascinating little

one and the point here is not to be dishonest.

It's Jesus not commending dishonesty. It's saying

to be wise and to be shrewd. And the key to that

is seeing the big picture and acting accordingly.

It's preparing for the future. I mean, the application

Jesus makes is this. He says, and I tell you,

make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous

wealth, worldly material possessions and money,

so that when it fails, they may receive you into

the eternal dwellings. Jesus saying, using money

and possessions as a tool to save souls. That's

what it's there for. And it stops money being

your master and your idol. It helps you be rich

toward God because God's heart is for the lost

and so if you're using your money toward saving

the lost and seeing people know and love Jesus

then you're on about the things God's on about.

At least with your money. But are you doing that?

What's it look like to be doing that? Now let

me say it doesn't mean liquidating everything

you've got and giving it to the church. Because

far out that would mean I'd have a much bigger

pastoral care list that I'd have to deal with.

No, it's okay if you've got responsibilities

to look after yourself. That's good and right

and proper. But what it does mean is stewarding

all you have for the cause of Christ. So yes,

give. I hope you do. Give to the cause of Christ.

But use everything you have for the cause of

Christ. Back in Broken Hill, we had some friends

who were school teachers, Jesse and Mez. And

at their school, they had a few other teachers

who were interested in finding about Jesus. And

so they went, OK, we're going to do something

about that. And they went, I've got an idea.

We're going to do Bible Book Club. That's what

they came up with, Bible Book Club. And they

all got together, and they had dinner together,

which Jessie and Mez paid for and organised.

They opened up their home, and they bought their

friends' Bibles, as well as some other books

as well, and they sat together and they read

Mark's Gospel. They used their money, they used

their home, they used the resources they had

to try and help people know and love Jesus. Or

think of a dad. He's trying to be a good dad

with his kids. He reads the Bible with his kids.

He prays for them. He sets routines. You know,

sometimes they're like, Dad, you're always so

harsh, you know, but he's just trying to love

them and lead them well. But he's there and he

feels like, gee, work's busy and I'm not connecting

with my kids. So he uses his money to take them

out for a milkshake. Occasionally, maybe they

go go -karting up at Smithfield, whatever it

might be. because he wants to connect with them,

because he wants his kids to grow up having a

great time in a Christian family. That's a wise

way to use money, isn't it? Or think of a Christian

at work. They buy coffee for the co -workers

occasionally. They take some of their co -workers

to lunch because they're going, I want to build

relationships with these non -Christians. And

just as, you know, Jesus here, he says, you know,

in Luke 16, I thought this is a fascinating one,

for the people of this world are more shrewd

in dealing with their own kind than are the people

of the light. Just saying, we've got to get better

at this. God's people need to get better at this.

Is that we're shrewd with our money. You know,

this is the one time in the Bible, I think, where

it tells us, hey, maybe go read the business

section of the newspaper. Go find out what other

people are doing in the world, how they're shrewd,

how they're wise, and then copy some of those

ideas as long as they're godly, but copy them

so that you can help people know and love Jesus.

I mean, it's going to look different for each

Christian, but the heart is the same. There's

an eternal perspective where to have driven by

God's generosity to us. That's what shapes us,

that's what controls us. So which one are you

like? Are you like the rich fool or the shrewd

manager? If you're like, if you think, yeah,

I might be like the rich fool, let me or another

Northern Hope person buy you coffee. I'd love

to take you out for coffee and let's talk about

if you have a false script or not. You can convince

me and try and convince me that I've got the

false script. Well, I'm happy to do that. But

if you're trying to be like the shrewd manager,

keep going. Keep growing in wisdom. Keep thinking

it through how you can invest in eternity. Because

Jesus' death and resurrection gives us confidence

it will be worth it. Let me close with this.

Imagine for a second you could jump into a DeLorean

and go back to the future. Michael J. Fox style.

You've got your own time machine. How good would

it be to go back into the past and buy shares

in Apple or Google, or maybe buy some of those

Sydney properties? But I want to suggest as cool

as that would be, What if you went to the future

first? I mean, the movie is called Back to the

Future, right? They're always going back to the

past. Go to the future for a bit. See what it

would be like at the last day. I wonder how that

would shift how you use your money, how you think

about your money. I even reckon it would shift

how Scott Pape, the barefoot investor, sees his

money. Let's keep eternity in sight as we use

our money. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank

you so much for the riches you've given us in

the Lord Jesus. And we ask that you would help

us to use the things of this world well in the

light of eternity. Please keep us from greed,

guard us from covetousness and help us. to enjoy

you more than anything else. Amen.