Investing in Friends
Series: Mision Month 2026
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 4th October 2026
Passage: Luke 16:1-15
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Well, good morning, everyone.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 I'd be grateful if you could keep your Bibles open at that point.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:07 and also on the St. Paul's app,
00:00:07 --> 00:00:11 a good bit of an outline as we kick off our mission month for this year.
00:00:12 --> 00:00:16 What we do in life echoes in eternity.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:22 The movie, it was one of the more quotable quotes.
00:00:22 --> 00:00:25 You can actually get it on a T-shirt as well now
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 with Russell Crowe's face on it, the old face, not the new one.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:36 From his character Maximus Decimus Meridius, the movie Gladiator.
00:00:37 --> 00:00:43 The point of the statement is that every choice and action that we make now
00:00:43 --> 00:00:50 leaves a mark that goes beyond our brief time here on Earth.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:56 Now, he said it in the movie to motivate his troops just before a battle,
00:00:56 --> 00:01:04 calling them basically to accept the death that was inevitable
00:01:04 --> 00:01:11 and to focus, therefore, if you're able to accept that your death is inevitable,
00:01:11 --> 00:01:16 it means that you will live now and that you will focus on living now
00:01:16 --> 00:01:22 and focus on, in fact, fighting now and dying with a purpose.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:27 What we do in life echoes in eternity.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:35 It's a statement that Christians ought to be more confident of than anyone else.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:39 As we saw last term, if you were here with us,
00:01:39 --> 00:01:46 we focused the term on the idea of Christians are in Christ.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 It's the doctrine of union with Christ.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:55 That is, the summary of it all is that everything that is his is ours.
00:01:55 --> 00:02:02 By virtue of being in Christ, everything that he achieves becomes true for the Christian.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:08 And so his death, his resurrection, his life, his ascension, his reign are ours.
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 We are in him and he is in us now.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:19 And the Christian, by virtue of being in Christ, is rich in every way
00:02:19 --> 00:02:24 and it's entirely a gift from him for us.
00:02:26 --> 00:02:29 In the coming weeks, what we're doing now is,
00:02:29 --> 00:02:33 because we were spending a bit of time focusing on that doctrine,
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 what we were wanting to do now is focus on,
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 what does it look like to live that out practically now?
00:02:39 --> 00:02:43 What does it look like to live out the Christian life of being in Christ?
00:02:43 --> 00:02:51 And so today we pick up a parable that Jesus told his first followers on his way to Jerusalem,
00:02:52 --> 00:02:57 Jerusalem to die on a cross for our salvation.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 And on the way to Jerusalem,
00:03:01 --> 00:03:05 Jesus really told his first followers,
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 what does it mean to follow him?
00:03:08 --> 00:03:10 What does it mean to be in him?
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 What impact does that have on your life?
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 How does it shape your world?
00:03:15 --> 00:03:19 And one of the big things he addressed on multiple occasions
00:03:19 --> 00:03:24 is the perspective of money, possessions and wealth and how we handle them.
00:03:25 --> 00:03:29 And in fact, particularly in Luke's Gospel,
00:03:30 --> 00:03:32 but you certainly see this in the New Testament,
00:03:32 --> 00:03:37 that how we handle our money, our possessions and our wealth,
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 it lies at the heart of the Christian life.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:43 It's not a subset thing over there.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:45 It lies at the heart of the Christian life.
00:03:46 --> 00:03:47 That's not an overstatement.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:52 I'm not using hyperbole because we are short on our budget.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:59 The Bible emphatically demonstrates that what we do with those things,
00:03:59 --> 00:04:01 our money, our wealth and our possessions,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:05 will influence eternity.
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 In fact, it was right here at the end of that passage
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 that Anne just read out to us in verse 13.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:31 It's so important that we grapple hold of this
00:04:31 --> 00:04:38 because what Jesus does there is he sets up money as the alternative God,
00:04:38 --> 00:04:45 our alternative source of salvation, security, life, significance.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:51 And so God has recorded in the Bible everything we need to know
00:04:51 --> 00:04:56 about his investment priorities, his high standards of management
00:04:56 --> 00:05:00 and the rewards he offers his faithful stewards.
00:05:01 --> 00:05:02 So three points today.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:06 If you've got the St. Paul's app, this is where we're heading in this parable.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:12 Now, this parable, the shrewd manager, it's a simple parable.
00:05:13 --> 00:05:17 It's distracting and it's also quite challenging.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 So let's go through it real quick.
00:05:21 --> 00:05:27 There is a manager who's been doing a poor job at managing his owner's estate
00:05:27 --> 00:05:30 and his investment portfolio.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:33 And so he gets his termination notice.
00:05:33 --> 00:05:37 And at this point, he's in a whole heap of trouble.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:45 When word gets around that he's been doing a really bad job at managing,
00:05:45 --> 00:05:49 he's not likely to get a similar vocation somewhere else.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 Those doors are going to close for him.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:56 And he's been sitting in his office too long to start digging trenches for a living
00:05:56 --> 00:05:59 and he's not going to lower himself to begging.
00:05:59 --> 00:06:03 And this is a day and an age and a culture where there's no social services.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 There's no government pension kicks in at this point.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 There's no superannuation to draw down on.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:11 And so how is he going to live?
00:06:11 --> 00:06:13 It's a life and death decision for him.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:14 How am I going to live?
00:06:14 --> 00:06:15 What am I going to do?
00:06:15 --> 00:06:23 And so he makes a decision in that moment that will pay benefits for him into the future.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 That's really the crux of it.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 That's the key idea of the story.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:33 Investing now, making a decision now that pays future dividends.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:36 And that's it.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 That's the key idea there in verses 5 to 7.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:40 This is what he does.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 So he calls in each of his master's debtors.
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 He asked the first, how much do you owe my master?
00:06:46 --> 00:06:48 900 gallons of olive oil, he replied.
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 The manager told him, take your bill, sit down quickly and make it 450.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 Then he asked the second, how much do you owe?
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 A thousand bushels of wheat, he replied.
00:06:56 --> 00:06:58 He told him, take your bill, make it 800.
00:07:00 --> 00:07:04 That's the action he made right there.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:09 So it's pretty simple in terms of understanding what happens.
00:07:10 --> 00:07:12 Verse 8, however, is the distracting bit.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:19 The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.
00:07:19 --> 00:07:24 I mean, why on earth is he being commended here?
00:07:25 --> 00:07:30 Why is he being commended for what appears to be completely dishonest behaviour?
00:07:31 --> 00:07:34 So it seems like, you know, extrapolate.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:42 Jesus might be saying it's okay to cheat with your finances,
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 providing it works out okay for you in the long run.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 That's not what he's saying here.
00:07:47 --> 00:07:52 One of the best theories, there's multiple theories about what's actually being said here.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:59 One of the best theories is that this manager was adding his own fees
00:07:59 --> 00:08:04 on top of the interest of the investment of the manager.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:09 So he's managing his master's investment portfolio.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 He lends out 1 bushels of wheat to somebody.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:18 And on top of that, he's attaching his own fees to that.
00:08:19 --> 00:08:24 And this could be the reason why he's called dishonest at the beginning.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 The master was getting interest on his investment,
00:08:29 --> 00:08:32 but so was the manager as well.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:40 And so in this moment, this is what the commentator is saying,
00:08:40 --> 00:08:45 is that in this moment, when he sits down with the master's debtors,
00:08:45 --> 00:08:47 he's taking his fees off.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 His fees off.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:59 And in that moment, the debtors are going, brilliant.
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 I owe so much less now.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:06 Your master is a great guy for doing that,
00:09:07 --> 00:09:10 unbeknownst to them that it wasn't the master's fees on top of it anyway.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:16 And so he not only wins the favor of his master's debtors,
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 but he also gives his master a great name around town as well,
00:09:20 --> 00:09:22 such a generous guy.
00:09:25 --> 00:09:31 What the master commends him for here is his shrewdness,
00:09:31 --> 00:09:35 not his dishonesty, not his removing of the fees,
00:09:36 --> 00:09:37 but his shrewdness.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:42 In other words, in that moment, when all was lost,
00:09:43 --> 00:09:47 you made a really, really smart decision there.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:52 That was very clever, what you did right there.
00:09:55 --> 00:10:00 And then this is the challenging bit in verse 8.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:07 For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind.
00:10:07 --> 00:10:11 That is, the generation of those who are outside of Christ
00:10:11 --> 00:10:15 than are people of the light.
00:10:18 --> 00:10:23 Jesus is saying that this dishonest manager is wiser
00:10:23 --> 00:10:27 in the use of his master's resources
00:10:27 --> 00:10:32 than the followers of Jesus are in the use of God's resources.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:35 That's the challenge right there.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:42 Now, the word manager here is the same word,
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 it can be translated steward.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:50 This man is managing someone else's resources.
00:10:50 --> 00:10:54 He is a steward of someone else's resources.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:59 In a similar way, you might say a fund manager
00:10:59 --> 00:11:03 can't do anything they want with someone else's money.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 You know, you don't get a fund manager,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:08 give him your resources, say, do whatever you want with it.
00:11:08 --> 00:11:15 And the Bible makes it very clear
00:11:15 --> 00:11:22 that when it comes to the resources that we have,
00:11:23 --> 00:11:27 it all comes as a gift from God,
00:11:27 --> 00:11:30 but they are still all his.
00:11:30 --> 00:11:35 Everything we have is still his.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 And we are stewards of what he has given us.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 The broad context for the Christian
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 is that God made everything,
00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 he's the God who sustains everything,
00:11:45 --> 00:11:47 he's the God who owns everything.
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 Everything that we have in life,
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 including life itself and the skills
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 and the opportunities we have,
00:11:55 --> 00:11:57 are all a gift to us.
00:11:57 --> 00:12:00 And without those gifts,
00:12:00 --> 00:12:03 we would not make any money at all.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:08 I mean, it's quite difficult, in fact,
00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 to make money to turn up to work on Monday if you're dead.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 Very difficult.
00:12:15 --> 00:12:17 And everything that we have,
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 including the skill sets we have,
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 are gifts from him.
00:12:23 --> 00:12:25 Including the opportunities that we have,
00:12:25 --> 00:12:27 are gifts from him.
00:12:27 --> 00:12:31 And you go, hang on a bit, Steve.
00:12:32 --> 00:12:35 I've worked very hard for everything that I have.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:40 Do you think the person sitting in poverty in India
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 does not work hard?
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 Do you think they don't work hard?
00:12:47 --> 00:12:47
00:12:47 --> 00:12:58 If you were born on a hillside in Switzerland
00:12:58 --> 00:13:02 in the year 1000,
00:13:03 --> 00:13:06 you would not have the opportunities that you have right now.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 Everything we have is a gift.
00:13:12 --> 00:13:14 It's a gift to be healthy.
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 It's a gift to be able to work.
00:13:15 --> 00:13:19 Being born in a time and a place like this that we do,
00:13:19 --> 00:13:22 with all its opportunities and resources,
00:13:22 --> 00:13:24 is a gift.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 We work with the life.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 We work with the circumstances.
00:13:28 --> 00:13:31 We work with the talents that God has given us.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:35 We are stewards of his resources.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:43 1 Chronicles 9 is a prayer of the fabulously wealthy and powerful King David.
00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 And he puts it really succinctly, I think.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:50 Everything in heaven and earth is yours.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:53 Wealth and honour come from you.
00:13:54 --> 00:13:56 You are the ruler of all things.
00:13:57 --> 00:13:57 Who am I?
00:13:58 --> 00:14:01 And who are my people that we should be able to give as generously as this?
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 Everything comes from you,
00:14:03 --> 00:14:07 and we have given you only what comes from your hand.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:14 All this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your holy name
00:14:14 --> 00:14:20 comes from your hand and all of it belongs to you.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:31 God's expectations are that we steward his resources with an attitude of radical generosity
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 because that's who God is.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:39 And if we are not being radically generous,
00:14:40 --> 00:14:44 the Bible calls it fraud.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:48 The Bible calls it dishonesty.
00:14:49 --> 00:14:54 The Bible, in fact, calls it robbery.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 We're robbing God.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 That is, to not give generously,
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 to not live a life of pervasive generosity,
00:15:04 --> 00:15:07 not just with money but with all the resources God has given us,
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 is not just a lack of compassion.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:14 It's actually a lack of integrity.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:18 It's a lack of integrity.
00:15:22 --> 00:15:25 That's why Luke 16 here, verses 10 to 12,
00:15:25 --> 00:15:31 refer to dishonesty and trustworthiness with what God has given us.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 Malachi 3.8,
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 Will a mere mortal rob God?
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 And yet you rob me.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 But you ask, well, how are we rob you?
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 In tithes and offerings.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:50 The people in the Old Testament were told that as the absolute bare minimum,
00:15:50 --> 00:15:54 10% of their income need to be given away as a starting point.
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 The New Testament standards are not any lower.
00:15:57 --> 00:16:00 There's no correction to that at all in the New Testament.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 Nothing at all.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:09 And I would even argue that these standards are higher,
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 especially when we have a greater hope, a greater knowledge,
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 a greater grace, a greater benefit of being in Christ.
00:16:16 --> 00:16:22 So let's just have a think for a moment.
00:16:22 --> 00:16:26 You know, we watch the news, we hear about the economy,
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 and we are fearful.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:33 We think that 10%, my goodness, that's an awful lot of money.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:38 And maybe it's quite possible that we need to think about it
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 in an entirely different way.
00:16:39 --> 00:16:48 Imagine someone employs you as their investment manager.
00:16:48 --> 00:16:54 Let's say Gina Reinhart says, I want you to be my investment manager.
00:16:55 --> 00:16:59 And if you don't know who that is, the richest person in Australia.
00:16:59 --> 00:17:02 I don't know, more than $40 billion or something.
00:17:02 --> 00:17:02 I don't know what it is.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:07 And I want you to be my investment manager.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 And here's your terms of employment as my investment manager.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 You're my steward of my resource.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 You get to keep 90% of the returns.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 And I'll take 10%.
00:17:20 --> 00:17:25 You're going to knock back those terms?
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 Anyone going to knock back those terms?
00:17:32 --> 00:17:34 That's how generous God is.
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 That is how exceedingly generous he is.
00:17:37 --> 00:17:43 But if we love money more than we love God,
00:17:44 --> 00:17:47 then those terms won't be enough for us.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:53 When we love money more than we love God,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 then those terms will not be enough.
00:17:56 --> 00:18:00 And so the point here is that we are stewards of money that is not ours.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:09 But verse 9 is the goal Jesus has in mind as we steward his resources.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:12 And frankly, this bit is quite amazing.
00:18:13 --> 00:18:17 The goal that God has in us stewarding his resources,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:20 according to biblical terms,
00:18:20 --> 00:18:24 the goal he has is our, yours, the giver,
00:18:25 --> 00:18:27 your happiness, your love, your security.
00:18:27 --> 00:18:31 That's his goal with it.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:37 It's not just funding budgets and closing gaps and paying for bills.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 It is your joy.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 Use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourself
00:18:45 --> 00:18:48 so that when it is gone,
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 you'll be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:59 So this shrewd manager here puts aside short-term financial gain
00:18:59 --> 00:19:04 for the sake of gaining something that was long-term more valuable for him.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:10 And that is what a wise investment is, is it not?
00:19:13 --> 00:19:18 It's where you put your resources into something that will increase in value.
00:19:18 --> 00:19:27 It's why I buy certain cars rather than other cars.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:33 Because I don't want to drive out of the lot and there it goes, 50% is gone.
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 Just like that.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:43 And Jesus gives us a very helpful perspective here when he says in verse 9,
00:19:44 --> 00:19:47 so that when it is gone,
00:19:49 --> 00:19:56 his point is that there is not a single investment that you make in this world.
00:19:56 --> 00:20:00 Even if you're putting all your money to AI right now,
00:20:01 --> 00:20:05 there's not a single investment that will in fact last.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:08 There's not a single material thing,
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 there's not an asset,
00:20:10 --> 00:20:13 there's not a place where you can put your money
00:20:13 --> 00:20:19 that will really, really, really actually go on just increasing in value.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:24 It will be gone.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:27 You can't take it with you, as they say.
00:20:29 --> 00:20:33 And Jesus is saying that the shrewd stewarding of God's resources
00:20:33 --> 00:20:38 is investing in something that will literally last forever
00:20:38 --> 00:20:40 and continue to increase in value.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:42 Forever.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:47 What I love about the way Jesus puts it here
00:20:47 --> 00:20:51 is he doesn't leave it on the abstract level for us.
00:20:53 --> 00:20:57 You see, I'm logically, personally logically convinced
00:20:57 --> 00:21:01 by the argument for long-term investment that grows in value
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 over the long haul.
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 Logically convinced about that.
00:21:05 --> 00:21:12 However, it's what Jesus says here,
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 the next thing he says,
00:21:15 --> 00:21:18 that in fact moves my heart and fuels my action.
00:21:19 --> 00:21:21 But especially it moves the heart.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:26 You see how Jesus describes eternal dwellings?
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 In verse 9,
00:21:28 --> 00:21:31 he describes it as friends.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 That's what we're investing in.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 Friends.
00:21:36 --> 00:21:38 Use the money that God has given you,
00:21:38 --> 00:21:42 all the resources God has given you,
00:21:42 --> 00:21:48 to gain friends who will welcome you into your eternal home.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:50 Now, don't be confused here.
00:21:51 --> 00:21:53 Jesus is not saying use your money to buy friends
00:21:53 --> 00:21:57 so that God will then welcome you into his eternal home.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 That's not what he's saying.
00:21:59 --> 00:22:02 He's saying use your resources now
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 to gain friends,
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 eternal friends,
00:22:06 --> 00:22:09 who will welcome you into your,
00:22:09 --> 00:22:12 they will welcome you into your eternal home
00:22:12 --> 00:22:14 and you will welcome them.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:20 One commentator summed up the main point of this parable like this.
00:22:20 --> 00:22:22 Although these things,
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 your property,
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 your ability,
00:22:23 --> 00:22:23 your time,
00:22:23 --> 00:22:25 belong to this life only,
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 Jesus says,
00:22:26 --> 00:22:29 yet what will happen to you then
00:22:29 --> 00:22:31 when you pass into that life
00:22:31 --> 00:22:34 will depend on what you were doing with them here and now.
00:22:34 --> 00:22:36 Make sure you use,
00:22:36 --> 00:22:38 your use of them
00:22:38 --> 00:22:41 brings you into a fellowship of friends
00:22:41 --> 00:22:44 which will survive beyond death.
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 Turns out,
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 money can buy you happiness.
00:22:59 --> 00:23:01 It can buy you joy forever.
00:23:01 --> 00:23:04 You see,
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 we tend in this world to look to money
00:23:06 --> 00:23:09 to give us security and significance
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 but genuine security and significance
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 is in fact relational,
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 not material.
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 It's relational,
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 not material.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:20 We were created for relationship
00:23:20 --> 00:23:24 and every single one of us needs love
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 more than anything else.
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 And in fact,
00:23:27 --> 00:23:31 when we feel truly wealthy,
00:23:32 --> 00:23:34 it's in those moments
00:23:34 --> 00:23:36 when we are loving people
00:23:36 --> 00:23:39 and people are loving us back,
00:23:39 --> 00:23:42 when we're surrounded by relationships of love.
00:23:42 --> 00:23:44 That's when we feel like we're truly alive.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 That's when we feel like we're,
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 you know,
00:23:48 --> 00:23:50 all the money in the world can't buy this.
00:23:53 --> 00:23:55 But the pain of this world
00:23:55 --> 00:24:00 is that that kind of love,
00:24:01 --> 00:24:05 we may have momentary experiences of it
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 but it's always out of reach.
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 We don't want it to ever end
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 but it's always out of reach.
00:24:13 --> 00:24:16 Love now for us in this world
00:24:16 --> 00:24:18 is always a source of pain.
00:24:19 --> 00:24:21 Even in the moments of joy,
00:24:22 --> 00:24:22 a source of pain,
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 there are barriers,
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 right now,
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 to loving and being loved in this world.
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 One barrier that we face
00:24:30 --> 00:24:33 is that we're often not loved
00:24:33 --> 00:24:35 for our own sake.
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 It's painful when we discover
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 that people are not loving us
00:24:40 --> 00:24:42 for our own sake
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 but in fact,
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 just using us
00:24:44 --> 00:24:46 to get something that they really want.
00:24:46 --> 00:24:50 and it's very rare for any of us
00:24:50 --> 00:24:52 to love another person
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 totally,
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 entirely
00:24:54 --> 00:24:56 for their own sake.
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 Most love
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 in order to get something.
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 Another barrier
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 is the inability
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 to express love
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 without hindrance.
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 Things like pride
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 and selfishness
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 and defensiveness
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 and pettiness
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 and coldness
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 means we can't do it.
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 We can't even get close
00:25:17 --> 00:25:19 to expressing our love fully
00:25:19 --> 00:25:21 without some form of hindrance.
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 But in heaven,
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 we will love
00:25:25 --> 00:25:27 without impediment.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:28 All sin
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 and pride
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 and selfishness
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 and pettiness
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 and defensiveness
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 will all be gone.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:36 We also struggle
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 in this world
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 with a mutual love.
00:25:37 --> 00:25:39 Is there anything
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 more painful
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 than to love someone
00:25:40 --> 00:25:42 more than they love you back?
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 It's very rare
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 for love
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 to be mutual
00:25:47 --> 00:25:49 at the same time.
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 In this life,
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 many people we love,
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 we love them more
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 than they love us back
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 in that moment
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 and
00:25:58 --> 00:26:00 that means
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 it's painful.
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 And there's also
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 the barrier
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 of the unhappiness
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 of those we love.
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 We can never be happier
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 than the people
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 that we love.
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 What happens to them
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 happens to us
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 because our heart
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 is bound to them.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 If you love
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 more than five people
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 in this world,
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 you will always
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 be unhappy.
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 But the greatest barrier
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 to love
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 would have to be
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 separation
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 of that love.
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 We want a love
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 where we will never
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 be separated
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 from the people
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 that we love.
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 It's painful
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 knowing that
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 when you marry
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 someone,
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 it's highly likely
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 that one of you
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 is going to bury
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 the other one.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 And that's the way
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 our relationships
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 are in this world.
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 That's the way
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 they are.
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 But not there.
00:26:57 --> 00:26:59 Not in Christ,
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 in his presence
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 for all of eternity.
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 We are made
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 to desire
00:27:05 --> 00:27:07 the kind of relationships
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 and friendships
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 and love
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 that is in the kingdom
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 of God,
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 in the presence
00:27:11 --> 00:27:11 of Christ,
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 in heaven.
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 And that means
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 that in Christ
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 the best is yet to come.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 And heaven,
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 whatever images
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 that are floating
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 out there around
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 at the moment
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 in our broader society,
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 heaven fundamentally
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 is a place
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 of friendship,
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 of mutual love
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 relationship,
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 a place
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 of deep relationship,
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 a place
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 of eternal love,
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 a place
00:27:35 --> 00:27:37 where we love
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 and are loved
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 without barriers
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 at all
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 forever.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 Forever.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:46 the love
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 we experience
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 in this world,
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 the fleeting
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 moments of it
00:27:50 --> 00:27:52 is absolutely
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 thrilling
00:27:53 --> 00:27:55 because it's
00:27:55 --> 00:27:55 a foretaste
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 of what will be
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 ours every moment
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 for eternity
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 in Christ.
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 The barriers
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 to loving
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 and being loved
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 that we currently
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 experience
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 won't exist
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 in heaven.
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 So imagine
00:28:09 --> 00:28:12 what it would be
00:28:12 --> 00:28:12 like to be
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 completely sure
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 of that future
00:28:15 --> 00:28:18 which was one
00:28:18 --> 00:28:18 of the points
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 of our whole
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 term
00:28:20 --> 00:28:23 last term
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 of looking
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 at in Christ
00:28:24 --> 00:28:26 is that
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 because
00:28:26 --> 00:28:28 he has done
00:28:28 --> 00:28:28 it we ought
00:28:28 --> 00:28:29 to be sure
00:28:29 --> 00:28:31 that that is
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 our future.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 Imagine
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 that to believe
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 in Jesus
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 is to be able
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 to live with God
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 and friends
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 in perfect love
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 forever.
00:28:38 --> 00:28:40 love with no
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 barriers
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 forever.
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 How
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 would that
00:28:45 --> 00:28:45 shape
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 your life
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 now?
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 Would you
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 not use
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 your worldly
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 wealth now
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 knowing
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 what really
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 lasts
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 is love?
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 People,
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 relationships,
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 friendships
00:29:05 --> 00:29:07 and we
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 have it
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 all to
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 look forward
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 to.
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 If you
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 knew
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 that shares
00:29:15 --> 00:29:16 in Apple
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 Company
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 tomorrow
00:29:18 --> 00:29:20 or Tuesday,
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 let's say
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 Tuesday,
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 were going
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 to skyrocket
00:29:23 --> 00:29:24 by 10
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 times
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 their current
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 value
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 on Tuesday,
00:29:28 --> 00:29:31 what would
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 you do
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 tomorrow?
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 Take
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 out a
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 loan?
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 If you
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 could guarantee
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 that,
00:29:39 --> 00:29:39 would you
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 take out
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 a loan
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 and throw
00:29:41 --> 00:29:41 everything
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 you possibly
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 could
00:29:42 --> 00:29:44 and then
00:29:44 --> 00:29:44 sell them
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 all on
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 Wednesday?
00:29:46 --> 00:29:47 Would you
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 not?
00:29:51 --> 00:29:52 What this
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 parable is
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 calling us
00:29:53 --> 00:29:53 to do
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 is don't
00:29:54 --> 00:29:54 put money
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 before people,
00:29:55 --> 00:29:58 use God's
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 money to
00:29:58 --> 00:29:58 create a
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 fellowship
00:29:59 --> 00:29:59 of eternal
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 friends.
00:30:02 --> 00:30:02 When people
00:30:02 --> 00:30:03 find hope
00:30:03 --> 00:30:03 and love
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 and faith
00:30:04 --> 00:30:04 in Jesus,
00:30:05 --> 00:30:05 they will
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 be your
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 friends
00:30:06 --> 00:30:08 forever.
00:30:09 --> 00:30:10 They will
00:30:10 --> 00:30:10 love you
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 forever
00:30:11 --> 00:30:16 without any
00:30:16 --> 00:30:16 barrier.
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 Now,
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 the motivation
00:30:21 --> 00:30:22 in the end
00:30:22 --> 00:30:23 for us,
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 for all this
00:30:24 --> 00:30:25 life of
00:30:25 --> 00:30:25 radical
00:30:25 --> 00:30:26 generosity,
00:30:27 --> 00:30:28 is that
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 we have
00:30:29 --> 00:30:31 the Christian
00:30:31 --> 00:30:31 in Christ
00:30:31 --> 00:30:32 is a
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 recipient of
00:30:33 --> 00:30:34 the ultimate
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36 investment of
00:30:36 --> 00:30:36 God,
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 if you like.
00:30:38 --> 00:30:38 We have
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 received the
00:30:39 --> 00:30:40 ultimate love
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 and friendship
00:30:41 --> 00:30:42 of the
00:30:42 --> 00:30:43 true steward
00:30:43 --> 00:30:44 of God's
00:30:44 --> 00:30:45 resources.
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 2 Corinthians
00:30:47 --> 00:30:47 8,
00:30:48 --> 00:30:49 the apostle
00:30:49 --> 00:30:50 Paul is
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 encouraging the
00:30:51 --> 00:30:51 church in
00:30:51 --> 00:30:53 Corinth to
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 give generously
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 to a great
00:30:55 --> 00:30:55 need in the
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 same way
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 that other
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 churches had
00:30:58 --> 00:30:59 done previously.
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 And quite
00:31:01 --> 00:31:03 interesting there
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 is that he
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 doesn't order
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 them to.
00:31:06 --> 00:31:06 He says,
00:31:06 --> 00:31:07 I could,
00:31:07 --> 00:31:07 but he
00:31:07 --> 00:31:08 doesn't order
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 them to do
00:31:09 --> 00:31:09 that.
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 He doesn't
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 command them
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 to do it.
00:31:12 --> 00:31:13 He shows
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 them how to
00:31:14 --> 00:31:14 do it.
00:31:15 --> 00:31:16 He shows
00:31:16 --> 00:31:16 them how to,
00:31:16 --> 00:31:17 the motivation
00:31:17 --> 00:31:18 in order to
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 be pervasively
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 generous.
00:31:20 --> 00:31:21 And what
00:31:21 --> 00:31:21 he does
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 is he
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 shows them
00:31:22 --> 00:31:23 love.
00:31:24 --> 00:31:24 He says,
00:31:25 --> 00:31:25 I want you
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 to overflow
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 in radical
00:31:27 --> 00:31:27 generosity
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 in your
00:31:28 --> 00:31:28 giving,
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 and the
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 way to
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 do it
00:31:30 --> 00:31:31 is to
00:31:31 --> 00:31:31 look to
00:31:31 --> 00:31:32 Jesus,
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 your
00:31:34 --> 00:31:34 ultimate
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 friend,
00:31:36 --> 00:31:37 the true
00:31:37 --> 00:31:37 steward.
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 Think about
00:31:39 --> 00:31:40 Jesus Christ,
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 that though he
00:31:40 --> 00:31:41 was rich,
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 yet for your
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 sake he
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 became poor,
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 so that you
00:31:47 --> 00:31:47 through his
00:31:47 --> 00:31:49 poverty might
00:31:49 --> 00:31:51 become rich.
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 You see,
00:31:53 --> 00:31:54 Jesus is the
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 ultimate friend,
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 the one
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 friend,
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 who completely
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 emptied himself
00:32:00 --> 00:32:01 of everything
00:32:01 --> 00:32:03 to turn us,
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 his enemies,
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 into his
00:32:05 --> 00:32:05 friends,
00:32:06 --> 00:32:10 so that he
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 will welcome
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 us with
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 open arms
00:32:13 --> 00:32:16 into his
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 presence for
00:32:16 --> 00:32:16 all of
00:32:16 --> 00:32:17 eternity.
00:32:17 --> 00:32:19 And so
00:32:19 --> 00:32:20 in that
00:32:20 --> 00:32:20 sense he
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 is the
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 true
00:32:21 --> 00:32:21 steward,
00:32:22 --> 00:32:22 and as
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 recipients of
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 that ultimate
00:32:24 --> 00:32:25 friendship,
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 we get to
00:32:27 --> 00:32:27 live with him
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 forever in
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 perfect love,
00:32:31 --> 00:32:34 abundantly
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 rich,
00:32:36 --> 00:32:36 joint
00:32:36 --> 00:32:37 heirs
00:32:37 --> 00:32:37 with him
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 of all
00:32:38 --> 00:32:38 that is
00:32:38 --> 00:32:39 his.
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 And so
00:32:41 --> 00:32:41 what Paul
00:32:41 --> 00:32:42 does in
00:32:42 --> 00:32:44 2 Corinthians,
00:32:45 --> 00:32:45 he says,
00:32:45 --> 00:32:46 steward God's
00:32:46 --> 00:32:47 resources,
00:32:47 --> 00:32:48 in a way
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 that's
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 controlled by
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 that knowledge,
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 by that
00:32:51 --> 00:32:51 hope,
00:32:52 --> 00:32:52 by that
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 future,
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 by that
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 love,
00:32:54 --> 00:32:54 by that
00:32:54 --> 00:32:55 friendship.
00:32:57 --> 00:32:57 And so
00:32:57 --> 00:32:58 I want to
00:32:58 --> 00:33:00 call us
00:33:00 --> 00:33:02 today at
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 St. Paul's,
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 help us
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 to see
00:33:05 --> 00:33:07 that where
00:33:07 --> 00:33:08 we are
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 right now,
00:33:09 --> 00:33:09 where you
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 are,
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 I am
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 individually
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 right now,
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 is that
00:33:13 --> 00:33:13 we're in
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 exactly
00:33:14 --> 00:33:14 the same
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 position
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 as this
00:33:16 --> 00:33:16 shrewd
00:33:16 --> 00:33:17 manager
00:33:17 --> 00:33:17 when he
00:33:17 --> 00:33:18 got his
00:33:18 --> 00:33:18 termination
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 notice.
00:33:20 --> 00:33:21 He still
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 had keys
00:33:22 --> 00:33:22 to the
00:33:22 --> 00:33:23 office.
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 He still
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 had access
00:33:26 --> 00:33:28 to the
00:33:28 --> 00:33:28 boss's
00:33:28 --> 00:33:30 investment
00:33:30 --> 00:33:30 portfolio,
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 and he
00:33:32 --> 00:33:32 had a
00:33:32 --> 00:33:33 chance to
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 act in
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 view of
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 the future.
00:33:36 --> 00:33:41 And so
00:33:41 --> 00:33:42 here's
00:33:42 --> 00:33:43 your
00:33:43 --> 00:33:43 chance to
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 act in
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 view of
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 the future.
00:33:45 --> 00:33:45 Here's the
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 opportunity that's
00:33:46 --> 00:33:46 right before us
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 right now.
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 And why I
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 think it's so
00:33:50 --> 00:33:50 crucial for us
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 to be seeing
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 this and
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 seeing the
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 challenge of
00:33:53 --> 00:33:55 this text
00:33:55 --> 00:33:56 is that you
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 can see our
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 trajectory in
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 our own
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 budget here
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 at St.
00:34:00 --> 00:34:01 Paul's,
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 is that
00:34:03 --> 00:34:03 we're
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 10
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 behind what
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 we were
00:34:06 --> 00:34:06 this time
00:34:06 --> 00:34:07 last year
00:34:07 --> 00:34:08 in our
00:34:08 --> 00:34:09 general
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 giving.
00:34:12 --> 00:34:13 And as I've
00:34:13 --> 00:34:13 said before,
00:34:14 --> 00:34:14 the government
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 doesn't fund us,
00:34:15 --> 00:34:15 the wider
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 church doesn't
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 fund us,
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 we pay our
00:34:18 --> 00:34:18 own bills.
00:34:19 --> 00:34:20 And on top
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 of that,
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 in this
00:34:21 --> 00:34:22 mission month,
00:34:23 --> 00:34:24 we are
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 $50
00:34:25 --> 00:34:27 short of
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 our target
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 in supporting
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 our global
00:34:30 --> 00:34:31 mission partners.
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 And so
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 between now
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 and the end
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 of the year,
00:34:35 --> 00:34:36 we want to
00:34:36 --> 00:34:37 see both
00:34:37 --> 00:34:37 of those
00:34:37 --> 00:34:38 gaps closed,
00:34:39 --> 00:34:41 that might
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 seem massive.
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 But this
00:34:45 --> 00:34:46 time last
00:34:46 --> 00:34:46 year,
00:34:46 --> 00:34:46 in one
00:34:46 --> 00:34:47 month,
00:34:47 --> 00:34:47 we raised
00:34:47 --> 00:34:48 just over
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 $40
00:34:49 --> 00:34:51 to close
00:34:51 --> 00:34:51 that gap.
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 And so
00:34:56 --> 00:34:56 friends,
00:34:56 --> 00:34:57 I hand it
00:34:57 --> 00:34:57 to you.
00:34:59 --> 00:34:59 Make your
00:34:59 --> 00:35:00 eternal joy
00:35:00 --> 00:35:02 complete and
00:35:02 --> 00:35:03 invest in
00:35:03 --> 00:35:03 eternal
00:35:03 --> 00:35:06 friends for
00:35:06 --> 00:35:07 their eternal
00:35:07 --> 00:35:07 joy.
00:35:07 --> 00:35:08 Let's pray.
00:35:15 --> 00:35:16 Gracious God,
00:35:16 --> 00:35:17 we thank you
00:35:17 --> 00:35:17 that all
00:35:17 --> 00:35:18 scripture has
00:35:18 --> 00:35:19 been ordained
00:35:19 --> 00:35:20 by you,
00:35:21 --> 00:35:22 not just to
00:35:22 --> 00:35:23 know you,
00:35:23 --> 00:35:24 but also for
00:35:24 --> 00:35:25 our lives in
00:35:25 --> 00:35:25 this world to
00:35:25 --> 00:35:26 be shaped by
00:35:26 --> 00:35:26 you.
00:35:26 --> 00:35:32 when Jesus
00:35:32 --> 00:35:34 was confronted
00:35:34 --> 00:35:38 with the
00:35:38 --> 00:35:38 rich young
00:35:38 --> 00:35:39 ruler who
00:35:39 --> 00:35:40 wanted to
00:35:40 --> 00:35:40 know what
00:35:40 --> 00:35:41 it was to
00:35:41 --> 00:35:41 be saved,
00:35:41 --> 00:35:42 how to be
00:35:42 --> 00:35:42 saved,
00:35:43 --> 00:35:44 Jesus,
00:35:44 --> 00:35:45 you said
00:35:45 --> 00:35:46 that it's
00:35:46 --> 00:35:47 impossible for
00:35:47 --> 00:35:48 the rich to
00:35:48 --> 00:35:48 enter the
00:35:48 --> 00:35:49 kingdom of
00:35:49 --> 00:35:49 God,
00:35:50 --> 00:35:51 but all
00:35:51 --> 00:35:51 things are
00:35:51 --> 00:35:52 possible for
00:35:52 --> 00:35:52 you.
00:35:52 --> 00:35:55 and we
00:35:55 --> 00:35:55 are mindful
00:35:55 --> 00:35:56 that as we
00:35:56 --> 00:35:56 sit in this
00:35:56 --> 00:35:57 church in
00:35:57 --> 00:35:58 Chatswood,
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 in one of
00:35:59 --> 00:36:02 the wealthiest
00:36:02 --> 00:36:04 times of the
00:36:04 --> 00:36:05 history of
00:36:05 --> 00:36:05 humanity,
00:36:06 --> 00:36:07 in one of
00:36:07 --> 00:36:07 the wealthiest
00:36:07 --> 00:36:08 cities in
00:36:08 --> 00:36:09 the world,
00:36:10 --> 00:36:10 and one of
00:36:10 --> 00:36:12 the wealthiest
00:36:12 --> 00:36:16 places in
00:36:16 --> 00:36:17 the wealthiest
00:36:17 --> 00:36:17 city in the
00:36:17 --> 00:36:18 world,
00:36:20 --> 00:36:21 that those
00:36:21 --> 00:36:21 words,
00:36:21 --> 00:36:22 that it's
00:36:22 --> 00:36:22 impossible for
00:36:22 --> 00:36:23 the rich to
00:36:23 --> 00:36:24 enter the
00:36:24 --> 00:36:24 kingdom of
00:36:24 --> 00:36:24 God,
00:36:24 --> 00:36:25 is us.
00:36:27 --> 00:36:28 And it's
00:36:28 --> 00:36:29 everyone who
00:36:29 --> 00:36:30 would walk
00:36:30 --> 00:36:30 in our
00:36:30 --> 00:36:31 doors.
00:36:34 --> 00:36:34 And yet,
00:36:35 --> 00:36:35 Jesus, you
00:36:35 --> 00:36:36 had mercy on
00:36:36 --> 00:36:36 us.
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 There's
00:36:40 --> 00:36:40 nothing that
00:36:40 --> 00:36:41 we have done
00:36:41 --> 00:36:42 or can do,
00:36:42 --> 00:36:42 can earn
00:36:42 --> 00:36:43 salvation,
00:36:44 --> 00:36:45 and we just
00:36:45 --> 00:36:45 want to thank
00:36:45 --> 00:36:46 you, Jesus,
00:36:46 --> 00:36:46 for your
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 abundant
00:36:47 --> 00:36:47 generosity,
00:36:48 --> 00:36:49 your radical
00:36:49 --> 00:36:50 generosity to
00:36:50 --> 00:36:50 us.
00:36:51 --> 00:36:52 that you
00:36:52 --> 00:36:52 did the
00:36:52 --> 00:36:53 impossible
00:36:53 --> 00:36:55 and made
00:36:55 --> 00:36:55 us yours,
00:36:56 --> 00:36:57 your friends.
00:36:58 --> 00:36:59 Thank you for
00:36:59 --> 00:37:00 giving everything
00:37:00 --> 00:37:01 for us.
00:37:03 --> 00:37:03 And so we'd
00:37:03 --> 00:37:04 ask that you
00:37:04 --> 00:37:05 would so fill
00:37:05 --> 00:37:05 our hearts with
00:37:05 --> 00:37:06 your love and
00:37:06 --> 00:37:07 your friendship,
00:37:08 --> 00:37:09 that we would
00:37:09 --> 00:37:11 overflow with
00:37:11 --> 00:37:12 radical generosity
00:37:12 --> 00:37:13 with all that
00:37:13 --> 00:37:14 you've given us.
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 and we ask
00:37:15 --> 00:37:16 that you might
00:37:16 --> 00:37:17 be glorified
00:37:17 --> 00:37:18 and that we
00:37:18 --> 00:37:19 might be
00:37:19 --> 00:37:20 welcomed by
00:37:20 --> 00:37:21 friends in
00:37:21 --> 00:37:22 eternal dwelling
00:37:22 --> 00:37:23 with you.
00:37:23 --> 00:37:24 Amen.