Eternal Investing: A Biblical Framework for Money, Stewardship, and Kingdom Currency

Let us be still and know that you are God and

your goodness is running after us. Lord, that's

such a song. It means so much to me because your

goodness is running after me and tackling me

and putting me back up on my feet to do the things

that you want me to do and not the things I want

to do. Lord, I just pray that you would give

us all ears to hear what you want us to hear

this morning, and that I would say just what

you want me to say, and that we'd have a little

fun. Amen. So don't worry. I've asked the elders

not to lock the doors because I'm going to talk

about tithing, so we'll... We'll get to that

in a little bit. So the doors are open for a

while, but when I get to the tithing part, I'm

going to ask them to lock the doors. So if you've

got to go to the restroom, go ahead. So what

I'm going to talk about today has to do with

eternity. It has to do with long -term investing.

It's kind of like an investment seminar that

you've never heard before. And my business quest

is investments, but I'm asking myself, the older

I get, I say, does eternity exist? And does it

matter? Does it even matter if it exists? So

I'm asking myself, okay, am I ready? Am I ready

to go? I mean, I've had, many of us have had

experiences where we've had like near -death

experiences. Well, I've had a couple in my life

as well. Some surfing, some driving race cars.

Some at my Cooper Clinic, they told me I've got

something that they didn't like, but turned out

to be nothing, but I was thinking about, am I

ready again? So how much time have you spent

thinking about that? The pastor's greatest responsibility

is preparing us for eternity. And, of course,

the time when we're here in this life is short

compared to our eternity, but that's what we're

supposed to be preparing for eternity. So let's

look a little bit about eternity. Now, my past

has not been all that great from the standpoint

of being a believer. Now, I was raised in a Baptist

church. Now, don't hold that against me. But

I did do all the things that a good Baptist kid

is supposed to do by raising their church. I

had perfect attendance pins. You know, I tithe.

I kept the Sabbath holy. I did all the things

that you're supposed to do. I was really good

at Bible drills. I could get to the faster than

everybody else. I memorized scriptures. I was

like the Pharisee of the Baptist church. It's

like I had no clue as to what it was all about,

even though I was baptized when I was 10. I had

no clue as to what it was all about. And I never

thought about Judgment Day. Who cares about Judgment

Day when you're a kid? You don't think about

that at all. So I knew I had my ticket because

I was baptized when I was 10. So I had my ticket

to heaven. But so what did that have to do with

my life right now? So I had some problems with

money. This is my high school picture in my yearbook.

And that... Underneath me is Diane McDougal.

She was in my Sunday school class. Now, if you

look closely at our lifetime goals, you'll see

something interesting here. I wanted to be a

highly paid engineer because I had accepted an

engineering school, but that's my life goal.

So Diane said to do God's will. So my mother

was really upset with this. My mother said...

My mother was the church secretary. She was the

president of the PTA. She said, son, you've embarrassed

me. Why couldn't you put on what I am? I said,

that's not what I want. I want to make the big

bucks. So I had a money problem. In fact, I had

a money problem. They arrested me when I was

in high school for shoplifting. So here I am,

a tithing Baptist who's arrested for shoplifting.

I said, what's going on here? So I had kind of

a lifelong issue with money. But after college,

I said to the Lord, okay, Lord, what do you want

to do with my life? I was 23 years old then.

And I said, Lord, I'll do whatever you want me

to do except. Have you done some exceptions?

I said, except I won't be a life insurance salesman,

and I won't be a missionary. So I went a couple

more years, and I got my first job, and I was

in that highly paid engineer. I was doing really

well. Then when I was 26, I went to a retreat.

Things happen at retreats that don't happen in

normal life. You go to retreats. So the Lord

spoke to me, and I said, Lord, I've got this

engineering job. It's a really nice job. I said,

Lord, I'll do whatever you want me to do. I fully

commit to you. Within six months, I was in the

life insurance business. But the life insurance

business wasn't as bad as I thought, because

I realized I could make a lot of money in the

life insurance business. I found that I could

call on the very wealthy people, business owners,

estate owners, peanut farmers. I did a lot of

work with farmers, and they needed some insurance

to pay for the estate taxes. I would call on

the most wealthy people I could find, sell them

these gigantic policies, $100 ,000 premium policies.

Of course, you get paid based on the premium,

not the face amount of the policy. I was looking

for the old guys and the sick guys because they

had the really higher premiums. In working with

their estate planning, I found out that these

people who had lots of money were very unhappy.

and I would think that people with lots of money

would be really happy. Well, I was realizing

that I was being unhappy because I didn't like

what my life was all about. So at the same time,

Pat Robertson had Regent University in Virginia

Beach, and I decided I would go to his college

and take my master's in biblical studies. So

I decided, oh, this is like a letter that...

Some kid named Raphael wrote to God. It was like

my story right there. I'll give you anything

you want except my money, you know. So anyway,

I went to Regent University, and I said the course

I took was The Life and Teachings of Christ.

And I said, okay, I wonder what Jesus has to

say about money. It turned out that Jesus had

a lot to say about money. In fact, the most he

talked about in the whole New Testament was about

money. So I decided to find out. So I took my

Bible and I went to the four Gospels and I took

my green highlighter and I went to my Bible and

I underlined everything that had to do with money,

wealth, gold, silver, mammon, the whole thing.

I went through there and I realized I had lots

of information, but then I reduced it down and

reduced it down and reduced it down to one page.

And what was that one page? I said, what did

Jesus say? There were three main topics that

he covered. The first thing was, he says you've

got to pick one, God or mammon. Like Bob Dylan

says in his song, you've got to serve somebody.

You may be the devil or you may be the Lord,

but you've got to serve somebody. Well, mammon

turns out to be one of those things that's really,

really tricky. And he's kind of warning us about

it, which is the second thing he talks about,

the temptations of mammon. and the deceitfulness

of it. And we're going to cover these in a little

more detail in just a second. But the third thing

he talked about was judgment. I said, judgment?

What does that mean? Rewards and penalties for

dealing with money. So what I've done for you

all here is I've made a QR code that takes you

to... I just read this paper a couple weeks ago,

and I said, this paper is really good for a basic...

understanding of wealth from a biblical perspective.

And it's a term paper I wrote. You can get a

copy of it by just clicking on that thing. And

this paper became the foundation for the rest

of my life in terms of handling money. And I've

got lots of stories from there. The process of

sanctification does not happen overnight. You

don't become all of a sudden a generous giver.

I was the cheapest guy at the office. They wanted

United Way. I wouldn't give to United Way. Give

me a break. I work for my money. You work for

yours. I'm not giving to anything. So I was at

the top of the list of being cheap. So anyway,

let me move on to what Jesus had to say. He said,

first of all, you've got to pick one, God or

mammon. So what is mammon? Mammon is the worldly

system of wealth. And Jesus, because it's kind

of interesting, he didn't need any mammon in

his life because if he needed something, he just

would ask the Father for it and he would provide

it. Now, we have to deal with mammon. We have

money to deal with. Money is not kingdom currency.

Money is worldly currency. But it gets in the

way of our kingdom currency. But you can use

it for kingdom currency, which I'll get to in

just a little bit. But serving mammon is like,

you remember that TV program they had one time

where they said, they went out into the street

and said, well, would you do something for $50?

It was something stupid. And they'd say, well,

no, I wouldn't do that for $50. He said, well,

would you do it for $100? Now, I won't do that

for 100. How about 500? Yeah, I'll do it for

500. That's serving mammon. Now, in God's kingdom,

the price of something shouldn't interfere with

your decisions. It's what the Lord says about

it. And the Lord provides whatever that number

is, whatever the thing is. So that's serving

mammon. And we all do it. I mean, I still do

it now, but not to the extent that I used to

do it. So here's some of the questions that I

had to deal with when I first found out about

this. Did I pick my career based on how much

it paid? Yeah. Must I always buy things on sale?

Not that there's something wrong with buying

them on sale, but if you have to buy them on

sale, what does that say? What does that say?

Aren't you having like a, if the Lord tells you

to buy something and it's not on sale, do you

still buy it? Well, good answer that one. So

how about Jesus? Would he pay retail price for

a new car? How about if you loved the salesman

and the salesman needed the money? See, there's

no money that's lost in a transaction. If one

gives it, the other benefits from it. No money's

lost. So did I eat more food if someone else

paid for it? Did I fear being taken advantage

of financially? How about some unforgiveness?

Did I react to requests for money? with indignation

or anger? Do I treat people who are wealthy differently

than people who are poor? Did I have trouble

spending money even when I had it? Because I

did. I had trouble because just because I had

it didn't mean I could pay up for something.

I just had to get a good deal because that's

the way I was raised and my parents taught me

to make sure that you bought everything on sale.

That's an idol. You have to understand. Nothing

wrong with being a good steward, but if you have

to do something on the basis of its cost, that's

why you have to pray for all your financial decisions.

Were personal relationships ever compromised

due to a money issue? How about the guy who borrowed

money from me and didn't pay me back? Oh, I struggle

with that one. It was a lot of money. I had to

finally deal with that and walk away from it.

and forgive him. You know, he's still a good

friend of mine, but he still hasn't paid me back.

I mean, what do you do with that? Did I ever

deduct a personal item as a business expense?

I won't want to go there, okay? Because in my

past life, I did stuff like that. Did I ever

fudge on my taxes? Fudge, that's a nice name

of saying cheat, okay? Was I using money or was

money using me? And here's a question you could

answer and probably write a term paper on. Why

did Jesus let Judas be the treasurer and hold

the money bag? Maybe it says something that he

knew something that we didn't. Maybe he's telling

us a little lesson. It doesn't matter if someone

steals from the church treasury. Now, I'm not

saying they should do that, but I'm just saying

that's what Jesus' mentality on this system.

So the second thing, Jesus talked about here

was wealth, being deceitful. Because if you have

a lot of money, what do you need God for? If

you have plenty of money, you can just make your

decisions based on what the heck you want to

do. You have enough, you buy it. But you have

to be careful because it's deceitful. Like a

fishing lure. A fishing lure is something that's

not... what the fish think it is. And money is

the same thing. It's not something that you think

it is. And you can use money to do things that

you really shouldn't do. You have other temptations.

Probably the most unfaithful people in the world

are people who have a lot of money. They figure

they can buy whatever they want to. It develops

an independent spirit. And Jesus talks about

that. He said, you know, faith and wealth are

kind of incompatible. He talks about the camel

going through the eye of a needle. He said it's

very, very difficult for a rich man to inherit

the kingdom of heaven. So let me move on to the

next topic, judgment, rewards and penalties,

which I'll spend some time doing. In fact, what

I wanted to do here is I have, this is my book,

which I've got some copies in the back if they're

still there, if you want to pick one up. Because

I was struggling with money and I hated my job.

And my job, I invest, I do investments. So back

in 1987, the market crashed. In 1987, that's

the year when I decided I'm not doing this anymore.

I hate my work. I'm going to retire. And I had

amassed enough money that I could retire. I had

enough. So I said, I'm out of here. So I went

to a retreat, like I always get my insights on

retreats. So I went to a retreat in West Virginia.

I went to the top of this mountain. And I had

this conversation with the Lord. And I just want

to read a section of this book. This is my conversation.

This is almost word for word of what we were

talking about. I said, God is whispering. Truth

to me, a whole lot more than I am listening to

it. But I'm either not interested in it or I'm

tuning out because I'm busy going to Niagara

Falls in a barrel every day. My best listening

times come from when I wake up in the morning

or at a church worship service or a retreat where

I can get quiet for several days before abstaining

from my daily activities. So on this retreat,

I was about to have a dialogue with God. and

make a deal that changed my whole perspective

on the money business. It went like this. Good

morning, Lord. What a spectacular sunrise. I

made it just for you to enjoy, Ralph. Well, you're

pretty cool, and I acknowledge and worship you

for your creative genius. I love you. Why? I

haven't really done anything worthwhile. I know.

But I love you no matter what you do. Why is

that? He said, that's who I am. Well, I'm struggling

with my life. I know. Can you help? You are not

made to handle money the way you do. It will

destroy you. I know. I certainly can't invest

for clients and enjoy my life. Why do you say

that? Because the market turns me up so much

that my life becomes too painful. I get upset.

Depressed. And the result is all my relationships

suffer. My wife, my kids, my employees. I become

an emotional basket case. I've noticed. It makes

me sad. Well, it won't happen anymore. I'll do

something else with my life. So, you're running

from the problem? Well, what other options do

I have? I hate every day. Do you really want

to know? Yes, help! Whose money are you investing?

Mine. Yours? Well, I suppose it's actually yours.

And who owns the business you run? I do. You

do? Well, the money I invest is yours, but the

business, that's mine. You need to rethink that.

What do you mean? Well, when you own the business,

all the responsibilities and stress falls on

you. I didn't make you to withstand those pressures.

You mean all these years I thought I was in charge

and tried to get you to work for me? Yes, you

asked me to bless you and make you rich, but

you weren't built to handle all those responsibilities,

and you weren't built to handle all the profits

either. Oh, I'm beginning to see what you're

saying. Instead of you working for me, I should

work for you? It'll be your business? Yes, but

you don't get the profits. They're mine. Wait

a minute. Let me get this straight. You get the

profits? What do you want with them? There are

lots of very important things that I would like

to do, but the people who want to accomplish

them don't have the funds. Even as we speak now,

they are in tears petitioning me for funds to

do very urgent and necessary things. So, you

want my profits to be given to them? No, I want

my profits to be given to them. Oh, I'm beginning

to see, but if I do this business venture, how

am I supposed to deal with the stress, which

is why I quit in the first place? I'll take it

from you, since it's no longer your business,

you'll find peace. Okay, Lord, you're the boss,

but if I have these problems again, I'll quit

and do something else. Agreed, you have a deal.

I went right back into the business I got out

of. That's 39 years ago. And my business has

prospered like amazingly, and I have been able

to work for the Lord, and I've set my affairs

up in such a way that not only does my family

benefit, but the kingdom benefits. But the process

was still a hard process. The process, I went...

I joined this organization called the Ministry

of Money, which is like Alcoholics Anonymous

is for the alcoholic. This is like Money Lovers

Anonymous. And we'd go in a group. We'd talk

to each other. We'd encourage each other. We

went on this trip to India. I went to work with

Mother Teresa in Calcutta with the poorest of

the poor. It was a life -changing experience.

And I thought when I got back home from that

meeting that I was going to have to give all

my money away and be poor because of the people

I was working with was poor. And just the opposite

happened. He made me go back into business and

to make money so that I could make some changes

to expand the kingdom. So then I finally realized

why Christians have money. It's to expand the

kingdom. So that's... That's the whole reason

why we have more money than we actually need.

So the stewardship concept is, this is where

we can lock the door. I was going to talk about

tithing here for a minute, because I've not actually

heard anyone talk about tithing. But what is

tithing? And what is stewardship? Let's talk

about that. See, tithing is the first 10 % of

the increase of what you have. And it's not,

I call it earth rent because it's just not optional.

It's like if you would make a deal with a farmer

and say, oh, I want to rent your land and I'll

pay you 10 % of whatever my profits are as a

rent. That's kind of like the deal. Well, that's

kind of the deal that the Lord's made with us.

He says he wants to benefit. And it's your local

church. That's my interpretation of what the

tithe is for. Not to say that that's legalistic,

but I feel like wherever you're getting fed,

that's where your tithe goes. Anyway, the stewardship

is the other 90%. And the whole thing about tithing

is... I think the Lord's done that to us so that

we can recognize where our money comes from,

where our income comes from. I had a funny thing

happen this week. I gave my dog a really meaty

bone. And he was chewing on it, and I kind of

went over to him after he was chewing on it,

and I asked him for it back. And so what do you

think he did? He gave it back to me. So he understands

where is that bone coming from? It's like if

you can't give it back to the Lord, then maybe

you shouldn't have had it in the first place.

So anyway, it's just recognizing that. So what

about the stewardship? I know people who stop

going to church because they preach tithing from

the pulpit. Well, that's like voiding the oncologist

if you have cancer. I mean, it's just not...

So a steward and a servant are different. A steward

is a servant in charge of property belonging

to the master. And he's given charge of it in

order that it may be kept secure for the master

can be enriched by his activity. whereas a servant

is present with the master, but the servant doesn't

know the master's mind. That's a difference.

So the stewardship is we take whatever he has

given us, the steward, and do what he wants us

to do with it, whatever that might be. I have

a steward who runs my business for me. She's

been with me so many years, she wouldn't want

me to tell you how many years, but I hired her

out of college. She's the president of my firm,

and she is... An ideal steward. She has power

of attorney over all my stuff. And she asks herself

the question, what would Ralph want me to do

under these circumstances? And if she doesn't

know, she asks me what I think. Otherwise, she

does what she thinks I would do. That's the same

situation we have with what the Lord's given

to us. So, talking about rewards. There are so

many rewards mentioned in the Bible, but you

don't really see them all in the same place.

So I kind of lined a few up here, what we get

rewards for. Exchanging your life on behalf of

Christ. Giving possessions. Hospitality. Persecution.

Compassion. and prayer. So let's take one at

a time. Let's give you some scripture verses.

Exchanging your life on behalf of Christ. This

is Matthew, Jesus saying, For the Son of Man

is going to come in his Father's glory with his

angels, and then he will reward each person according

to what he has done. Keep in mind, these are

all reward, reward, reward. That reward is epididomi

in Greek. It's to give back, to repay, to restore,

to reward. Let's take giving of possessions.

Jesus answered, if you want to be perfect, go

sell your possessions and give to the poor, and

you'll have treasure in heaven. Then come and

follow me. And that word for, the word is for

treasure or reward. Thesaurus, or deposit, or

wealth. Now, this particular scripture was the

one scripture that I really hated and jumped

over. Because this is where Jesus takes the walk

with the rich young ruler. And the rich young

ruler says to him, what do I have to do to inherit

eternal life? And Jesus said, keep the law. And

then he says, well, I've kept the law. And then

he says, well, one thing you lack. Well, what's

that? Take all you have and give to the poor

and you'll have treasure in heaven. Oh, that

made a bad day for him. He didn't like that.

But that was me. That's why I hated that scripture

for so many years. And I realized there's still

hope for this guy. Because I think he left Jesus

sad. Sad because he was very rich. I think he

went away, but maybe he took some time to think

about it. And maybe he came back and said, well,

maybe I need to reconsider that. So this scripture

now means a lot to me, particularly when it means

that everything that I have, I could give away.

I'm only holding it until he tells me what to

do with it. So it's a whole new concept of it's

really not mine in the first place. The word

mine doesn't exist anymore. It's his. Everything

is his. So let's go on to hospitality. He says,

when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed,

the lame, the blind, and you'll be blessed because

they cannot repay you, for you'll be repaid at

the resurrection of the just. And I have to say

this, that the thing in life that gives me the

most joy is giving to a cause where they cannot

possibly repay you. it's almost like a spiritual

high that I get when I give to a cause like that.

And I encourage you to be more generous with

every relationship that you have, and you'll

find that to be the case. Now this one's kind

of an interesting one. This is one that's a little

different. This is in the Sermon on the Mount.

Blessed are you when men hate you, when they

exclude you and insult you and reject your name

as evil. because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in

that day and leap for joy, because great is your

reward in heaven. See, this is different because

it says leap for joy. He didn't say this in the

other ones. So it seems to me that those who

are persecuted get a bigger reward than someone

who just gives money. And I'm not saying that

out of... I'm saying that of. It just, it seems

he wouldn't have said rejoice when you get persecuted

because he doesn't say that when you lose your

money. He said that when you get persecuted.

So let's go on to compassion. I'll tell you the

truth. Anyone who gives you a cup of water in

my name because you belong to Christ will certainly

not lose his reward. That's, again, the word

epididomi, to give back and to repay. And lastly,

the prayer. But you, when you pray, go into your

room, and when you've shut the door, pray to

your Father who's in the secret place, and your

Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

So all of these are what I call in the law of

unbreakable link, that the choices made in your

life will have consequences on your life in eternity.

Our belief determines where we spend eternity.

That's where we get the sheep and the goats separated.

And each goes to a different judgment. There's

a second judgment for each. And our behavior

determines how we spend eternity. Which brings

us to the bima, the judgment seat. This is a

platform that we're all going to be judged on.

And everything, and this is just going to be

some scriptures to show us some of the things

that we should look at when we consider how we're

going to be judged. So we shall all stand before

the judgment seat of the Bema of Christ. Each

of us will give an account of himself to God.

For we must all appear and be revealed as we

are before the judgment seat of Christ, so that

each one may receive his pay according to what

he has done in the body, whether good or evil,

which is considering what his purpose and motive

have been, what he's achieved, what he's been

busy with, what he's given himself to, and his

attention to accomplishing for the kingdom. And

building on a foundation of Christ is important

because a lot of the things that you do are going

to get burned up because you do them with the

wrong motives or you're not doing it because

the Lord directed you to do those things. But

if anyone builds upon the foundation, whether

it be with gold, silver, precious stones, wood,

hay, or straw, the work of each one will become

plainly and openly known. shown for what it is.

For the day of Christ will disclose and declare

it because it will be revealed with fire and

the fire will test and critically appraise the

character and worth of the work of each person

has done. If the work of any such person was

built on this foundation, which is the foundation

of Christ, any product of his efforts survives

this test, he will get his reward. But, If any

person's work is burned up under the test, he

will suffer the loss of it, losing his reward,

though he himself will be saved, but only as

one who passed through the fire. So our motive

is going to be taken into account here. And what

is the fruit that remains? See, no one knows

until... what happens after the fire. So don't

judge anything before our time until the Lord

comes and each one's praise will come from God.

And what's the reward standard? It's relationship

through Jesus. He says, without me, you can't

do anything. He who abides in me and I in him

bears much fruit. But without me, you can't do,

you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide

in me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered.

And they gather them and throw them into the

fire and they're burned. So the motive would

be to glorify God, not to be seen of men, but

of God. And Matthew 6 .1 says, Take heed that

you don't do your charitable deeds before men

to be seen of them, otherwise you have no reward

from your Father in heaven. So you have to be

careful about your motive. And the test of love.

Love your enemies. Do good and lend, hoping for

nothing in return. And your reward will be great.

And you will be sons of the Most High. That's

in Luke. But then there's a bad part. Suffer

loss. Look to yourselves that you do not lose

those things which we work for, but that we may

receive a full reward. And this brings us to

the parable of the amenas. Now the amena is four

months worth of pay. There's ten servants in

this story. I'm not going to read the whole parable.

I'll read you my version of it in a second, but

there's ten servants, and Jesus says, I'm going

away for a while. I want you to do business until

I come back. So when he comes back, he says,

okay, one of them has ten times what he started

with, and he says, well done, good servant. He

says, you're going to rule ten cities. Another

one did five times. He says, okay, you'll be

over five cities. But he said no well -done comment.

So the well -done was for the best one, the five.

But then the next one just kind of had what he

started with. And so he calls him a wicked servant,

and he takes his money away from him and gives

it to the guy who did ten. So he says, to everyone

who has will be given, and from him who does

not have, even what he has will be taken away

from him, in verse 26. Then the other seven had

a bad day. So what's our conclusions? So God

expects us to take the resources of our lives

and greatly multiply them for his kingdom. So

what does that mean? What did he leave us, what

message did he say to do? He said, go into all

the world and preach the gospel to all nations,

making disciples of all of them. So that's what

he wants us to do, to go and to love your neighbor

as yourself. He wants you to love and to make

disciples. So God will reward our work for him

in direct proportion to how much we've multiplied

our life for him with eternal impact. But if

we don't do what he's placed in our care, we'll

suffer loss of potential reward and eternal service.

And then those who chose not to allow the master

to rule over them were condemned to death. So

I ask myself, am I a ten -minute steward? Because

ruling in heaven is what we're going to get to

do. We're not just going to sit on the clouds.

We've got work to do there. We'll be ruling there

and we'll have authority over cities. So here's

my version of the ten minas. There was once a

man who descended from a royal house who needed

to make a long trip back to headquarters to get

authorization for his rule and then return. He

really was the king, but at the time only a few

were aware of it. He was in the business of changing

wooden puppets into living Pinocchios. His assignment

given to us was to go into all the world and

use whatever I've given each of you to make disciples

everywhere and teach them to study and live by

my instructions. Before leaving, he called his

ten servants together and gave each abilities

of different kinds, some teachers, some businessmen,

some nurturers, some intercessors, some bold

communicators. But some citizens there hated

him because their personal business interests

were different from their bosses. Humming to

the well -known tune, I did it my way. As they

went about their daily activities mumbling, we

really don't want this man to rule us. When the

king came back on the day of accountability,

bringing with him the proof and authorization

of his rule, He called each of those ten servants

to whom he had given the abilities to find out

what they had accomplished. The first said, Master,

I attempted to think like you, tried to conduct

my affairs in a way that pleased you, taking

chances of failure, but being faithful in sharing

your message with as many as would listen. I've

initiated ten true followers, and they are now

multiplying among their centers of influence.

He said, good steward, great work, because you

proved yourself trustworthy in this small job

of giving you a reward and making you governor

of ten towns, which you shall rule for eternity.

The second servant said, master, I didn't expect

you back so soon, but at least I was able to

day trade a bit on the internet with your seed

money and was able to give half my profits to

various causes. that helped fulfill what you

told me to do. I guess I probably could have

done better if I had read your instruction book

you left me instead of the Wall Street Journal

each morning. The king said, I'm putting you

in charge of five towns which you shall rule

forever. The next servant said, Master, I appreciate

what you gave me to use, but I didn't want to

offend anyone sharing your message unless they

asked first. It's controversial, you know. To

tell you the truth, I was a little afraid of

conflict and I get embarrassed when I talk about

you. I don't want people to think I'm weird.

I value their opinion more than yours. But I

really do think you're the master. I know you

have high standards and hate sloppiness and don't

suffer fools gladly. But I did tithe on my gross,

not my net, and went to church almost every Sunday

and occasionally a missions conference. to keep

up on what others are doing to fulfill the Great

Commission. I accumulated a nice IRA and left

my kids an inheritance. Amazingly, it compounded

to 100 times my initial investment. Pretty good,

huh? I spent a lot of time on Facebook encouraging

my friends also. The king said, you're right.

I don't suffer fools gladly, and you've acted

the fool. Why didn't you at least ask yourself

the simple question, what did my master want

to accomplish? Then he said to those standing

there, take all I've given him and give it to

the servant who had a tenfold return. So asking

myself, am I one of the seven servants proudly

singing the Sinatra song? Or am I a one -minute

servant often humming the Sinatra song? Or a

five -minute servant occasionally humming hymns?

Or am I a ten -minute servant waking up singing

one of my favorite songs, which is, Lord, reign

in me. Reign in your power over all my dreams

in my darkest hour. You are the Lord of all I

am, so won't you reign in me again? Randy Alcorn

makes this analogy. He calls it the dot and line.

All that we have now in this life is in that

dot. And everything that's going to happen in

the future is on the line. And what happens inside

the dot determines everything that happens on

the line. And the line is a long time. So where's

our home? Is our home here or is our home on

the line? Some of the changes I've made. The

first one was retirement. from retirement. Retirement

is not a word you find in the Bible. New assignments,

that's in there, but it has nothing to do with

age. It's just like new assignments. So you go

from assignment to assignment. So instead of

retirement, I run a business and the profits

are distributed. Tax giving strategies. I sit

down and try to maximize my business structure

with activities that are profitable and so I

have to pay less taxes and give more. So there's

nothing wrong with paying less taxes as long

as you're doing it in an honest way. I tried

over the years never to give less than 50 % because

50 % of my income was deductible under tax law.

if you give more than 50, you don't get to deduct

it. So I said, okay, how can I figure out a way

to do this in a way that's different? So I set

up another company, a foundation, and we do basically

services for that company, and so that company

gets revenues, and that revenues, 100 % of it

goes to charitable causes. I have another company

that is a profit for company because I have employees

and I have a wife and I have some interest too.

So we have an income as well. But retirement

planning is something that I did as well. I had

accumulated a lot of money in my retirement plan.

It was like a hundred times what I put in it.

And I asked myself, what is retirement? It's

a hoarding account. So some years ago, I decided

when the tax law changed in one year, when Hurricane

Katrina came, you were allowed to give a 100

% deduction for any charitable gifts that year.

So I just basically cashed out about 70 % of

my retirement plan, keeping some of it for my

retirement. And that's kind of an interesting

story, too, because I wanted to give my retirement

to the Lord's work. And I remember, all my life,

my retirement plan, I wanted to give to the Lord's

work, 100 % of it. What's kind of interesting

is I was driving in Costa Rica one time down

this, I remember exactly where I was, and the

Lord just said to me, remember that retirement

plan you gave me? And I said, yeah. He said,

well, I want to give it back to you. I said,

what do you mean, give it back to me? He says,

yeah, I want to give it back to you. So sometimes

the Lord will give back to you what you give

to him. But I still have the retirement plan,

but he's allowing me to use it if I need it.

But that's kind of how the Lord works. I mean,

I have so many stories, amazing stories about

how the Lord sells property, rearranges your

affairs, and it's like his fingerprints are all

over it. It's a whole other topic that I won't

get into today, but he's an amazing financial

planner. And let's talk about family inheritance

and what I did with my family inheritance. That

word, inheritolatry, that's a new word. I just

read, I borrowed a book from Max that I saw at

his house that the Jesus film gave him. And it

basically talks about the idolatry of inheritance.

And the concept of the book was David Wise is

the author. He said, there's enough money in

the hands of Christians to evangelize the whole

world. There's $5 trillion available at the hands

of Christians, but they're not... letting it

be used for evangelism purposes. They're giving

it to their kids. So that's the whole concept

of idolatry is keeping the Lord's money away

from him. So what I've done with my situation

is my kids get an education and a modest inheritance.

I give them something. A big inheritance may

not be, it may be poor stewardship. But it may

be bad for the children's own well -being and

their relationship with the Lord as provider.

See, if you give your kids so much money that

they don't need to even work, then how do they

look at God as their provider anymore? They can

kind of do whatever they want to. I took my family

some years back on a trip around the world. I

said, I want you to see. where your inheritance

is going. So we took a three -week trip, and

we went to India, and we went to... Where did

we go? We went to lots of places in Africa. We

went to see surgeries for cleft palates that

we had sponsored, some children's hospitals,

some church buildings. It was just kind of an

exciting trip. I remember in India with a...

the little kids would come up, the beggars would

come up, and it gave my kids a real understanding

of what the world was like. And sometimes when

you're in the United States, you don't even understand

what the world looks like. So I wanted them to

experience that. In fact, Gandhi has seven deadly

sins, one of which is wealth without work. Another

one is worship without sacrifice. But anyway.

But so I asked, sometimes I said, if you have

a trust set up for your financial affairs and

you have a bank as the trustee of the trust,

you set that up for your kids. How do you feel

about your trust officer giving your money to

his kids? That's kind of what we're doing. If

it's the Lord's money, and I'm the trustee of

that money, I want to keep the money in the Lord's

hands. So we've got the foundation. I had a foundation

set up at one time, and it made a lot of money.

It was like way more money than, and then I read

my scripture that talks about building bigger

barns. So I had to just like distribute almost,

not all of it, I wanted to keep a little bit

for certain ministries currently. But I realized

that foundations were just bigger barns keeping

money under my control in the guise of philanthropy.

So it's like I want to get it all out of my hands.

It's like, because... if I give it away, at least

I know where it's going. If you leave it to a

foundation or to a family member, you don't really

know where it's going. So, and my net worth statement

has changed drastically. My net worth is now,

I set up a lifetime giving goal, which I've not

accomplished yet, but I also have broken down

eternal net worth and temporary net worth. And

temporary net worth is what I still control.

My eternal net worth is what I've given. And

it's gotten really lopsided now so that what

I've given is a lot more than what I've kept.

In fact, that's how you basically determine levels

of philanthropy is how much do you keep compared

to how much do you give. The biggest philanthropist

I've ever heard about was the widow who gave

two mites. She gave it all. I want to meet her

sometime. I really want to talk with her. She's

my idol. Idol, that's not a good word. She's

my example. Multiplication stewardship, I give

to just a few causes. that use a multiplication

factor. I'm looking for, like I would for an

investment, I'm looking for someone who's accomplishing

good stuff. They're very effective in what they're

doing. Effective ministries. I remember, well,

last year, for example, I just found out that

the Jesus film is a film in 2 ,000 languages

that is all over the world shown. It's a very

effective, evangelical tool. Last year, they

had 671 million exposures to the film, 12 million

decisions. So each decision cost about one or

two dollars. So I'm asking myself, gosh, for

a dollar or two, I get one salvation? I said,

that's a good investment. So I'm looking for

good investments. Forbes magazine has been my

favorite all my life. And it's just all about

money. And I still get it because I don't read

it like I used to. They have an annual Forbes

400 richest people, which I love to see who's

got it and who's new in the list and who's off

the list. But I was always in the back of my

mind thinking, you know, If you wouldn't have

given so much stuff away, maybe you could have

made the Forbes 400 richest people. But I wanted

to let you know that there's another publication

coming out, and that's the one you want to be

in. And that's the one I want to be in, and it

looks like this. It's the Bema 400. So who's

in that one? Okay, pastors? humanitarians, evangelists,

martyrs, missionary, prayer warriors, philanthropists,

and I know that the lady, the widow who gave

two mites, she's going to be there too. I know

she's going to be in that thing. So I asked myself,

is my life centered directly or indirectly on

the Great Commission and building? Kingdom currency.

And I ask you, have you wasted your best years?

You can still make up for it. E .V. Pierce in

his book, The Supreme Beatitude, talks about

making up for lost time if you've accumulated

wealth. A lot of people say, you know, should

I have been called in the full -time ministry?

And they've decided not to. They've decided to

go into business. Well, those people have accumulated

something that they can still convert. into kingdom

currency by giving it into the cause of evangelism.

I remember if you don't give it while you're

still alive, you know, you don't get credit for

it. When I was in Ethiopia for some travel one

year, I remember I had some Ethiopian, I think

you can call them burrs, their currency. And

I was told that if you take that home, it's good

for nothing. You can't convert it to anything.

So I said, well, I better convert it here before

I leave this place. So I took it to the jewelry

stop and I bought a little cross, a little gold

cross from the jewelry store there. So I did

my kingdom conversion because when I got home,

that money's going to be not worth anything.

So that's kind of like it's going to be if we

die with our money. with our stuff, and it's

not converted, we don't get any credits for it.

There was a woman, I gave a talk to the Jesus

film back over probably 20, over 20 years ago,

and she came up to me in the elevator at this

convention, and she said, I want you to know

that because of what you said, I gave away my

kids' college money. And, you know, that kind

of hurt me when she said that. I said, oh, I

did that. She said, yeah, but the Lord really

encouraged me to do that. So I forgot about that.

I mean, I've completely forgotten about it. And

last year, I got a call from her 20 years later.

I didn't even remember her name. She called and

she said, the Lord put your name on my heart

to call you, and I want to tell you what's just

happened to me. So this is 20 years later. She

said, my kids got through college fine. The Lord

provided for them. She funded the whole Swahili

language of the Jesus film in Africa. That was

what she was led to do. And she said, and I've

just inherited several million dollars. And I

want you to invest it for me. So it's like, that's

how the Lord works. He'll take whatever you give

him, and he'll multiply it like he does loaves

and fishes. He does it with whatever you're doing.

Mother Teresa said it this way. She said, everything

that's not given is lost. So what did Jesus say

on the last page of the New Testament? He said,

behold, I'm coming quickly and my reward is with

me to give to everyone according to his work.

And that Greek word reward literally means paycheck.

So if we really lived our life knowing that there's

a paycheck waiting for us, I mean, some say it's

wrong to give with the motive to get. Well, I

think it... it's not quite that easy to understand

it that way. Because here you're not really getting.

Now, if you give, if you're in the prosperity

preaching mode, you say, if you give, you're

going to get. That's mammon. If you want more

money, but if you want more investment in the

kingdom, Jesus encourages self -interest, not

selfishness, but self -interest. And that's what

we can... And he commanded us to lay up treasures

for yourselves in heaven, not here on earth.

So some of us are going to get to heaven with

no kingdom currency. Your pockets will be inside

out and you're going to say, why didn't someone

tell me? Well, I just did. So I want you to know

and I want you to continue to read the scriptures

with that in mind. There's nothing wrong with...

wanting to live in eternity with that, like Jesus

said, I'm going to prepare a mansion for you.

Well, I want you to have a nice big mansion so

I can come visit, okay? So to close here, I wanted

to say, This is why Jesus talks about rewards.

Because he loves you. And he wants you to know

what's ahead. He says, no eye has seen, no ear

has heard, no mind has imagined or heart can

understand the things which God has prepared

for those who love him. So, do you love him?

If you love him, he said, if you love me, I will

keep my commandments. And he said, if you love

me, greater love has no man than you give your

life for your friend. So are you giving your

life for him? Because it's not always easy to

give your life, but that's what he wants of us.

So I'd like to just end with a short video from

the Jesus film. It just will speak for itself.

Give, and it will be given to you. For the measure

you give will be the measure you get back. How

happy is the mother that bore you and nursed

you. Rather how happy are those who hear the

word of God and obey it. My hands. I commit.

My spirit. Lord, we just thank you for what you've

done for us. We offer everything we have for

you. Our time, our money, our worship. We love

you. Amen.