Eternity Portfolio | Pastor Chip Parker | Week 1

Well, here's a question for you to think about.

What would it look like if you could intentionally convert your temporary resources into eternal investments?

I think that's a fascinating question.

Like if we could just take these temporary resources we have, our time, our energy, our finances, what if we could take those things and convert them into something that's gonna matter forever, into something that's gonna outlive us.

Well, here's the thing.

I I believe that you can.

I think this is absolutely possible.

Our founding pastor here at the church, Pastor Eddie, introduced me to this idea decades ago by giving me a little book by a man named Alan Gothart called Eternity Portfolio.

And that book's where we get the name for this series from.

As a matter of fact, uh it is uh a name that I think a lot of people have latched on to since the book was written a long time ago.

And what we want to do in this series is not go through the book like chapter by chapter, or even really go through the book at all.

What we want to do is we want to talk about this biblical idea that the book puts forward.

And the idea is simply that we can build an eternity portfolio in the here and now.

We can take what we have now, what God has given and blessed us with now, and we can invest it in eternity and create for ourselves an eternity portfolio.

But before we jump into that series, I just want to start off by maybe acknowledging a few things.

Uh, first, here's the thing.

I know life is expensive, I know budgeting is hard, I know money gets tight, and paychecks tend to run out before the bills do.

And what we're not gonna do in this series is like yell at you because we think you're up here blowing all of your money on avocado toast.

Now, maybe you are, and that's a separate issue, but that's not the stance that we're gonna take in this series.

It's not if you would just stop buying Starbucks, you could afford riverfront property.

That that's not the idea of this series.

The second thing I want you to say is this, uh, I want you to hear me say is this.

I don't believe that you are living in sin if you're not giving 10% of your paycheck to the church.

That idea of 10% giving is referred to as the tithe.

And I believe that the tithe is biblical.

The tithe is biblical, it is clearly taught, but I believe that the tithe is not binding legally for the New Testament believer.

And we'll talk more about that on the podcast this week.

So tune in to let's talk about that and we'll dive into it.

But what I do want you to hear me say is this generosity is a natural outflow of the redeemed life.

So just because you're not, in my mind, living in sin, if you're not giving a full 10% of your paycheck to the local church, that is not an excuse not to give.

That is not an excuse not to be generous with your finances.

The teaching of Jesus in the New Testament over and over is that our hearts follow our wallet and not the other way around.

Your wallet doesn't follow your heart as much as you think.

Your heart follows your wallet.

And if Jesus doesn't have your wallet, he probably doesn't have your heart.

So don't hear the idea that we don't believe the tithe is necessarily binding in the New Testament to say that giving and generosity is not important.

And I think the third thing is this the reason that most of us struggle with giving is because we misunderstand stewardship.

When we think of stewardship, you know, maybe a lot of thoughts can't come up.

If you grew up in a traditional church like I did, they had stewardship committees that were all about church finances.

Um, and I want to say this we we misunderstand stewardship.

But I want to be clear, when I say stewardship, giving and generosity, that that's more than just stewardship.

Stewardship is a part of it.

Giving is more than that.

I think it's important that we say up front, giving is an act of worship and obedience, right?

Primarily giving is that worship and obedience.

But stewardship is something maybe a little bit more nuanced.

And our personal stewardship, what it means to personally steward what God has given you is not about just saving as much as you can.

And I think that's the idea of stewardship committees in traditional churches, is that we are good stewards when we save as much money as we can and put as much money in the bank as we can.

But what I would say is that that's not what stewardship is.

Stewardship is not about saving or just about budgeting, stewardship is about investing.

That's what biblical stewardship is.

It is investing in what matters.

And I think when we understand that our call as followers of Jesus is to steward the temporary resources that God has given us by investing them in areas that bring eternal gain, when we understand that it will change our view on generosity and giving completely.

So when you understand that your role as a follower of Jesus is to steward what he has given you temporarily so that you can invest it into eternal gains, that puts giving in a whole new perspective.

That's really what we're gonna be talking about in this series.

But before we can really even get started in that, that investing in areas that bring eternal gains, I think we have to lean into a very obvious question about finances.

And the question is simply how much is enough?

And again, I'm not saying how much is enough to give.

Matter of fact, I hate that question.

How much is enough to give?

Because that feels like how little can I give and get away with it.

And that's why I think the tithe isn't binding in the New Testament, because New Testament giving is about generosity, not just a requirement set upon you.

Maybe you can give 10%, but yet you're robbing God because you could give so much more, right?

The idea isn't I'm obligated to give, worship is giving.

Giving is worship.

So when we say how much is enough, it's not, well, how much do I have to give?

That's not the idea.

The question is, like for you, for your family, how much is enough?

How much is enough for you to be happy?

How much is enough for you to be comfortable?

How much is enough for you to take care of your family and your obligations?

How much is enough?

Because I know this, if you ask the average American how much is enough, uh, the research has a fascinating answer.

Most Americans would answer the question, how much is enough, by saying, Well, more than I have right now.

And I think that's probably true of us.

Honestly, I know that's true of me at times.

Just a little bit more.

A 25 uh bank rate survey found out that 50% of Americans say they need to earn more than they currently earn if they are ever going to feel financially comfortable.

Only 23% of Americans say that they are financially secure.

Even beyond that, in 25, Schwab did a modern wealth survey and found that Americans believe it takes about$839,000 in net worth to feel financially comfortable.

But get this, to feel wealthy, not just comfortable, but wealthy, that number jumps up to about 2.5 million.

Why is that important?

Because I think a lot of us wait to invest in eternal things until we feel like we're wealthy.

And the point that these surveys show us is that that's never going to be a reality for you.

You're never going to, on your own, feel like you have enough.

And scripture teaches this clearly.

Ecclesiastes chapter 5, verse 10 says it like this the one who loves silver is never satisfied with silver, and whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with income, this too is futile.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

So what scripture is saying is that there is something in us that no matter how much we says, how much we have, says that's not enough.

No matter how much we make, that's not enough.

No matter how much is in the bank, that's not enough.

No matter how big the house is, that's not enough.

No matter how many cars are in the driveway, that's not enough.

And the answer to the question, how much is enough?

It just can't always be more.

And I know maybe there's a defense mechanism kicking in for you right now where you're thinking, well, Chip, you don't know.

Cost of living increases have gone up every year.

Absolutely, it has.

Do we need to have more to keep up with cost of living?

Yes, I get that.

That that is not what I'm saying.

What I'm saying is that we're not chasing after an increase in our income to keep our current standard of living.

Most of us are chasing an increased standard of living.

Because no matter what we have now, there's always something out there we don't have that we're still chasing.

Now, on the opposite side of that, 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 6 starts out and says, But godliness with contentment is great gain.

1 Timothy 6:6

He goes on, For we brought nothing into the world and we can take nothing out of it.

If we have food and clothing, we will be content with ease.

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

So here's what I want you to hear me say.

You don't need to feel wealthy if you're gonna begin to invest in eternity, but you have to feel content.

Before you can be generous and invest in eternal things, you have to learn to be content with what you have now.

So hear me.

Take care of your family.

Go on a vacation, do the things, but learn to be content there and don't keep chasing after more.

Don't keep running after more.

Learn to be content where you are.

Pastor John Piper says it like this He says, the rich are not always godly, but the godly are always rich.

I think it's a good word because we know what it is to be content.

So there's one more big scripture I want to talk about, but we're not gonna fully flesh it out like completely in this message.

Next week we're gonna uh finish unpacking the scripture we're about to look at, but it's I think a defining picture of what generosity looks like in this passage of scripture, just a few verses later in 1 Timothy chapter 6.

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

So in 1 Timothy chapter 6, we're gonna read verses 17 and uh 18 and 19, and we're gonna deal with most of it this week, but next week we're gonna kind of wind it out.

1 Timothy 6 · chapter mention

So if you got your scriptures, 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 17, Paul writes this: He says, Instruct those who are rich in this present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.

1 Timothy 6:17

Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life.

Now I love this passage.

Again, Pastor Eddie introduced me to this passage a long time ago, but I think there are so many practical keys in here for how we can begin to invest in eternity.

And it starts with this, and I'm just gonna talk about a few ideas out of this passage today.

Uh when we look at money, when we look at wealth, one of the things I think you need to see from this passage is enjoy it.

Enjoy it.

Enjoy what you have.

This is what the passage says that God Himself richly provides us with all things to enjoy.

Now, I I want to pause here because when I say we need to enjoy what God's blessed us with, I mean it.

Because here's the thing: you are rich.

If you are watching this right now, I am very comfortable saying you are rich.

You have a screen, you have access to the internet.

If you eat more than one meal a day and have a roof over your head, you are in the top quartile of wealthiest people in the world.

We are rich, and I'm not just saying subjectively, very objectively, and I think this is important for us to acknowledge, and I'm just gonna shoot you straight, and this may be hard to hear, but you need to hear.

If you are driving around a nice SUV, you have a big house, your kids are involved in sports, you take a couple vacations a year, you go get coffee in the drive-thru, and you visit Chick-fil-A for some food.

Hear me, when people hear you complain about how broke you are, you are demeaning people who really are broke.

People who have no roof over their head.

People whose kids go to bed hungry at night.

It has become so in vogue for us to all complain about how broke we are, that we are doing a disservice to our neighbors by demeaning them, and we are dishonoring the Lord who has richly blessed us with more than we deserve.

Maybe if we're gonna start investing in eternity, it needs to begin with us acknowledging, no, we are rich.

We have been blessed, and we cannot let culture and comparison continue to redefine what we feel is rich because somebody else has more than we do.

No, we are rich and we are blessed because God is good and he wants us to enjoy the things that he has blessed us with.

The second part of that is when we think about wealth, yes, God gives it to us so that we can enjoy it, but listen, don't trust it.

You can't trust it.

Again, what does Paul say?

He says, Don't be arrogant and don't set your hope, here's his words, on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God.

Here's what Paul knows, here's what Jesus knows.

Our hearts follow money, and that's dangerous.

There's a reason that Jesus taught on money as often as he did.

Jesus knew that money and wealth and possessions are a stumbling block for the sin nature of the human heart.

But I think when we even step back and think about this a little more objectively, we have to admit that no one loves money for money's sake, right?

None of us are Scrooge McDuck swimming in a vault of gold coins.

We don't just love money, money, money because it's pretty.

No, we love money because of what it can give us, what it can do for us.

Money can make us comfortable, money can make us happy, money can make us safe and secure until it can't.

Right?

Because this is the uncertainty of wealth.

It creates this false illusion of comfort, this false illusion of happiness, this false illusion of safety.

And then in an instant it's gone.

And so what we have to learn is that that comfort, satisfaction, maybe the word here is contentment, happiness, joy, security, health, and safety, those things don't come from money, they come from Jesus.

And we cannot continue to try to buy with money those things that we should only seek from the Lord.

That's why money is such a dangerous stumbling block for the human heart, is because our default is to trust what money can accomplish for us instead of trusting the Lord who wants to give us these things freely.

So we look at wealth, we enjoy it, we don't trust it, but then, and finally, here, we have to invest it.

God does not bless us to just increase our standard of living, God blesses us to increase our standard of giving.

And that's what Paul says.

We need to be rich in good works, we need to be generous and willing to share.

And we'll lean more into that idea next week.

I told you we weren't gonna have time to cover it this week.

So we're gonna lean more into that idea of what it means to invest in eternity, specifically what that looks like next week.

But what I want to leave you with today is I want you to wrestle with that idea how much is enough.

Are you truly already rich?

Where are you letting culture and comparison drive greed and covetousness instead of being content and how you've been blessed?

I think maybe we need to stop, step back, and think about all that the Lord has given us and how he's blessed us and what we have that so many around the world and throughout history have never dreamed about.

Because the last thing I want to happen is when I get to heaven and stand before Jesus.

When we get there, let's just make sure we have more to show for all that he's given us than just saying, hey, thanks, we enjoyed it.

When we stand before him, I want to say, this is how I invested what you've given me, and here's how that's made a difference in eternity.

Let me pray for you.

God, thank you for the time today to look at this truth from your word.

And I pray that you would remind each of us watching this right now that we are rich and that you have blessed us.

That we would find contentment in those blessings, and then because of a grateful, overflowing heart, we would learn how to invest it to reap eternal rewards.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.