Well, good morning, everyone. We are continuing our journey with Jesus.
As he resolutely set his face to Jerusalem, focused on the way there in order to die for the sins of humanity.
And so I want to begin today by quoting, as I have, in fact, a few times in the past,
quoting one of the greatest philosophical thinkers, one of the sharpest political minds,
one of the most gifted artists and possibly the most quoted individual of the past 100 years.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was born the son of a low-ranking Austrian police officer.
And he was destined for a life of obscurity until his hands wrapped around a barbell for the very first time when he was 14 years old.
By the time he was 18, he was living in London and travelling the world competing in bodybuilding championships.
When he was 18, at that time, his coach, a guy named Wag Bennett, asked the young Arnold,
Arnie, what is it that you want to do with your life?
And Wag said, I've never heard such a clear statement from such a young person.
He said, I want to be the richest and greatest bodybuilder of all time.
I want to live in the United States.
I want to be a movie actor, a movie director.
I want to own an apartment block and I want to be a politician.
His teammates said of him at that point,
whenever Arnold fixed his mind on something, he could never be dissuaded from it.
And whenever you beat him in any way in training,
he would look at you and say, you will never do that again.
He worked and worked and worked to be the best.
That is, the point that I'm trying to make from Arnold Schwarzenegger,
who I don't think is actually the most gifted of artists,
or the sharpest political minds, or the greatest philosophical thinkers,
the point that I want to make is someone so young sees the future and he just goes for it.
He sees life planned out for him.
He sees what he wants for the future to be.
And he works now day in and day out in order for that to be his future.
And so as we open up Luke 16,
Jesus tells a similar story about a manager who saw the future.
So grab your Bibles.
Luke 16.
And also the St. Paul's app has got an outline for today's talk in it.
This is a manager who knew what he needed,
what he needed to do now in order to ensure that his life in the future
was the way that he wanted it to be, that it was secure.
And he just went for it.
So first of all, first point is wise investing if you're looking at the St. Paul's app.
The manager like this in the first century Palestine managed the owner's estate
and also invested his money.
So he was sort of like a chief operation officer and a CFO as well.
This manager has been doing a poor job.
And so he gets a termination notice.
And so at this point he's in trouble.
See, when word gets around that this manager has not done a great job in managing,
he's not likely to get another manager's job.
He's been sitting too long in an office to start digging trenches for a living.
And he won't lower himself personally to start begging on the streets.
And there's no social services in first century Palestine.
And so this is a big question of how am I going to live?
How am I going to live?
How am I going to survive?
Is the question.
And so he makes a decision in that moment that will ensure that his future is secure and that it continues to pay benefits for him.
That's the key idea in this story.
But it's the details around the story that's somewhat distracting.
Here it is, verse 5.
Now the master's response in this is in verse 8.
Now the dishonesty bit is connected to his management experience.
It's connected to the first bit of the parable.
He's commended here by the manager.
Why would the manager commend him for this?
One of the best theories is that the manager had been, in his dishonesty,
had been adding his own fees to the master's investments.
Putting his own slice on top of it.
Now this could be the right reason why he's called dishonesty.
The manager, the master, sorry, was getting interest.
Sorry, the manager was getting interest on the investment.
As well as the master getting interest on the investment.
And so at this point, it's quite, the best plausible option is that the manager, when negotiating here,
is taking his own fees out of it.
And not only does he make these debtors happy,
but he also gives the master a great name around town.
Now whether that's exactly how it worked,
Jesus' point is the man is living his life,
he's using his wealth,
in this moment, his opportunities,
everything he has with an eye on the future.
And the master here commends the manager
because he acted shrewdly.
That is, you have made a really wise decision.
You've acted very cunningly.
But the second half of verse 8 is kind of hard to hear
because what Jesus is saying here,
this is to his disciples,
he's saying this is something that,
you guys don't do that well.
He's saying here,
this is something that Christians fail in.
It's a rebuke.
He says,
for the people of this world
are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind,
more shrewd in dealing with their own generation,
than are people of the light.
He's saying here,
you've got the Arnold Schwarzeneggers of this world
who know what they want to achieve,
they've got their investment portfolio that they want to get,
and they work for it.
They have their life focused on achieving that.
He's saying,
but the people of the kingdom are not so shrewd.
Which gets me to the second point
of what we think life is about
and we are God's investment managers.
The first thing we learn
is that we are all stewards of someone else's resources.
That's what Jesus is saying here,
is that we,
people of the kingdom,
are this manager.
We are stewards of someone else's resources.
We're not the master,
we're the managers.
The word manager here can be translated as steward.
This man is managing someone else's money.
And as a fund manager,
as a steward of someone else's resources,
you can't do whatever you want with those resources.
They're not yours.
See,
if we understand that there is a God,
we'll know that whatever we have
ultimately comes from him
and it's not ours.
Now,
that's pretty hard for us to hear
in our modern society
because we have such an attachment
to our wealth and our possessions.
It's mine.
I've worked hard.
I've done this.
And yet,
as a Christian,
there is a much broader theological picture,
context to put this into.
Christians believe
that God made everything
and that he sustains everything
and that every single human being
has life,
has skills,
has opportunities
that he has gifted us with.
And without those gifts,
we would not make any money at all.
Without the life he gives us day by day,
without the skills he gives us,
we'd have no ability to make money.
Now,
that is particularly hard.
What I've just said
is very hard for anyone
with a Western mindset
to grapple with.
Western individualism.
We just think
poor people in the world
need to pull their socks up
and try a bit harder.
The reality is
if we were born
in a particular time
in this world,
in particular places
in this world,
we would have no ability
to advance ourselves whatsoever.
It's a gift
that what you have now
in this time
and this day
is a gift.
It's a gift
to be healthy enough
to work.
and being born
in this time
and this place
and all its opportunities
is nothing more
than a gift.
We work with the life,
the circumstances,
the talents
that God has given us.
We are stewards
of it all.
Let me just
point you to a prayer.
A prayer
that the
fabulously
wealthy
and powerful
King David
prayed
in 1 Chronicles 29.
Everything
in heaven
and earth
is yours.
Wealth
and honour
come from you.
You are the ruler
of all things.
Who am I
and who are my people
that we should be able
to give as generously
as this?
Everything
comes from you
and we have given you
only what comes
from your hand.
All this abundance
that we have provided
for building
your temple
for your holy name
comes from your hand
and it all
belongs
to you.
As stewards
of God's
resources
what are
his
expectations
conditions
of how
we might
manage
his
resources.
It's a term
we keep using
here regularly
at St. Paul's
radical generosity.
That is
if we are not
being radically
generous
it's fraud.
It's robbery.
It's not just
a lack of
compassion
or it's not
just a lack
of integrity.
It's fraud
and robbery.
In fact Malachi
chapter 3
verse 8
says that's
exactly what
it is.
Will a mere
mortal rob
God
yet you
rob me
but you
ask well
how are we
robbing you?
In tithes
and offerings.
The people
of the Old
Testament
were told
that 10%
of their
income
needed to
be given
away
as a
starting
point.
That was
the starting
point.
The New
Testament
standards
are not
lower than
that.
Especially
when we
have a
greater
hope
when we
have a
greater
revelation
we have
a greater
grace
and we
have a
greater
benefit.
If we
think
that 10%
is an
awful lot
of money
then maybe
we're entirely
thinking about
this investment
idea from
the wrong
way.
The wrong
perspective.
Imagine
I'm an
investment
I'm a
wealthy
man
and
imagine
and
I
get
I sign
you on
to be
my
investment
manager
and I
say to
you
these are
the terms
you get
to keep
90%
of
everything
that's
produced
90%
of
everything
that's
produced
for
your
living
expenses
and you
just need
to give
me back
10%
each
year.
I mean
anyone
want to
sign up
to that
deal?
Anyone?
No one's
going to
knock back
those terms.
That is
how incredibly
generous
this God
is.
But if
we love
money more
as the
Pharisees
did
than God
himself
then frankly
those terms
won't be
enough.
We are
stewards of
money that
is not
ours.
And what
is the
goal of
our
stewardship?
Third
point,
investing in
France.
I think
this is the
amazing thing
here.
Verse 9
is the
goal Jesus
has in
mind with
our stewardship
of his
resources.
The goal
is ultimately
our
happiness,
our love,
our security.
The goal
is a
circle of
friends.
That's
incredible.
He says,
I tell you
use worldly
wealth to
gain friends
for yourselves.
He could
have said
use my
wealth to
gain friends
for me,
but he
says use
wealth to
gain friends
for yourselves
so that
when it's
gone you'll
be welcomed
into eternal
dwellings.
And the
point of
that is
that these
friends will
welcome you
into the
eternal
dwelling.
So this
manager here
puts aside
short-term
financial gain
for the
sake of
gaining
something
that was
long-term
more
valuable
and that
is
networks
and
friends.
Networks
and
friends.
Every
single
wise
investment,
as my
investment
manager tells
me,
and it
makes a lot
of sense,
is where
you put
your money
into something
that will
increase in
value.
I mean,
that's just
no-brainer,
right?
Increase in
value.
And the
point here
is put
your money
into something
that will
truly last,
really last.
Jesus gives
us a very
helpful perspective
here when
he says in
verse 9,
so that
when it
is gone,
when it
is gone,
in other
words,
there is no
investment in
this world
that will
last.
Not a
single investment
will last.
There is no
material thing,
there is no
asset,
there is no
place where
you put your
money that
will really,
really last.
And he's
calling his
disciples here
to put their
money into
something that
will literally
last forever.
Building up
a circle of
eternal friends.
And he puts
it in relational
terms.
Relational
terms.
Use your
money in
such a way
that you
make friends,
eternal friends
for yourself.
What I love
about the way
Jesus puts
it here,
he doesn't
just stay
on the
abstract
level.
Now,
I'm,
as a
forward-thinking
person,
logically
convinced by
the argument
for long-term
investment that
grows in
value forever.
I'm logically
convinced by
that.
But what
Jesus says
next is
what moves
my heart
and it
causes me
to open
my wallet
and I
hope it
does for
you.
You see
how Jesus
describes the
eternal dwelling
in verse
nine?
Friends.
That's it.
Friends.
Not clouds
and harps
and hymns.
Friends.
That's heaven.
Friends.
Use your
money now
to gain
friends who
will welcome
you into
eternal dwelling.
Let me just
quote one
commentator who
wrote on this
verse.
It's the main
point of the
parable.
Although these
things, your
property, ability,
time, belong to
this life only,
says Jesus,
yet what will
happen to you
then when you
pass into that
life will depend
on what you
were doing with
them here and
now.
And make sure
that your use
of them brings
you into a
fellowship of
friends which
will survive
beyond death.
See the point?
We look
in the
materialistic
west, we
look to
our money
to give us
security and
significance.
But genuine
security and
significance is
ultimately
relational, not
material.
It's relational,
not material.
In the end,
all we need is
love.
We feel
truly wealthy
when we are
loving people
and surrounded
by people who
love us back.
That's when you
feel truly
wealthy.
And the
older you get,
the more that
value increases.
That's when you
feel truly alive.
love.
And yet the
love that we
all need is
ultimately out
of reach in
this life.
We get a
taste of it
now, just a
taste of it, but
the best is yet
to come.
You see, the
thinking that
heaven is a
place of
harps and
crowns and
gold doesn't
move me in
the same
way as it
being a
place of
people,
relationships,
connection,
love.
A place of
friendships, deep
relationships, real
love.
A love where
there is no
barriers.
And it's a
place that you
can hope in
now and
invest for and
put your
investment into
it now.
the love
that we
have in
this world,
the taste
of the
relationship
we have in
this world
is a
foretaste
of what
will be,
but every
single
relationship
in this
world falls
short of
it.
Fall short
of it.
And it
makes heaven
such an
incredible
prospect.
So I just
want to throw
some barriers
to genuine
and real
love that
we have in
this world
now that
won't be
then.
For instance,
in this
world we
are not
often loved
for our
own sake.
It's actually
quite painful
when we
discover that
people are
not loving
us for
our own
sake,
but actually
using us
to get
something.
It's very
rare for
people,
for any
of us,
to love
another
person
completely,
totally for
their own
sake.
Most of
us love
love to
get something
out of
it.
And in
heaven,
we will
be loved
absolutely
and completely
and fully
for who
we are
without any
barriers.
Another
barrier is
the ability
to express
love without
hindrance.
Pride,
selfishness,
defensiveness,
pettiness,
coldness,
means that
we can
very rarely
express love
without any
hindrance.
It's like
so many
of us
describe it
as having
an ocean
of love
in the
heart
that can
only be
expressed
through a
straw.
It's there,
I just
can't get it
out.
I'm too
afraid to
actually
let it
all,
just in
case you
reject it.
we can't
get close
to expressing
our love
without
hindrance
but in
heaven
we will
love
without
any
form
of
impediment
or sin
or pride
or selfishness
or pettiness
or defensiveness
will be
gone.
We also
struggle
to find
a mutual
love
in this
world.
Is there
anything
more painful
than to
love someone
more than
they love
you back?
It is
very rare
for love
to be
mutual
all the
time.
I mean
all the
time.
In this
life
many of
the people
we love
them more
than they
love us
back
and there
is nothing
more painful.
But in
heaven
everyone
will love
everyone
else
mutually
and
fully.
There's
also the
barrier of
the
unhappiness
of those
you love.
Think about
this for a
moment.
This is for
the parents
in the
room.
Once you
start having
children
sorry guys
I know
you're
launching
into this
real soon.
Once you
start having
children
for the
rest of
your life
you are
never
happier
than the
unhappiness
of your
children
of your
unhappiest
child.
You are
never happier
than your
unhappiest
child.
We can
never be
happier
than the
people that
we love.
Their
heart
becomes
our
heart.
If you
love more
than five
people
in your
life
you will
always be
unhappy.
And that's
why C.S.
Lewis said
if you don't
want your
heart to be
broken
then stop
loving
people.
That's
the only
option.
Just
pull back
from everyone.
Of course
at that
point you
become such
a hard
person and
you are
frankly right
on your
way to
hell.
At that
point.
Love
is such
an incredible
source of
pain but
not in
heaven.
Everyone
will be
perfectly
happy and
filled with
a never
ceasing
joy.
But
ultimately
the
greatest
barrier
to
love
is
separation.
We
want a
love
that will
never be
separated
from the
people that
we love.
Ultimately
that's the
greatest
pain.
My
family is
going through
my extended
family is
going through
that right
now.
Some of
you will
be aware
of this.
Little
Teddy died
a couple
of days
ago.
And so
the separation
of that
love for
my
family,
the grief
that they're
feeling right
now,
a baby
less than
two weeks
old.
That's
the pain,
that's
separation.
We are
made to
desire the
kind of
relationships
and friendships
and love
that is in
the kingdom
of God.
We have
been designed
for what
Jesus says
heaven is
going to be
like.
knowing and
experiencing the
pain of
relations with
this world
is, it's
hard for us
to imagine
what heaven's
going to be
like.
And yet
that's the
problem of
loving this
world.
And
ultimately
it's the
separation
from those
that we
love.
It's one
of the
greatest
difficulties
about getting
older.
as you
get older
your circle
of friends
disappears.
My
grandmother
died at
102,
didn't have
a single
friend left.
All
gone.
Over the
course of
40 years
saw them
all die
off.
That's
the pain
of separation.
So what
would it be
like,
imagine,
what would it
be like to
be completely
sure of
the future
because of
what Jesus
Christ has
achieved for
us.
Imagine
that to
believe in
Jesus is
to be able
to live
with God
and to
live with
friends in
absolute
perfect love
forever
without any
barriers,
forever.
Just imagine
how that
would change
your perspective
of life
right now.
Would we
not use
our worldly
wealth now
knowing what
really lasts
ultimately is
love,
is people,
is relationships,
is friends,
and that
ultimately
as life
moves on
for me
and I
feel the
pain of
loss of
love in
this world
that I
have the
greatest love
to look
forward to,
the best
is yet
to come.
Use your
money now
to create
a fellowship
of eternal
friends.
When people
find hope
and love
and faith
in Jesus,
they will
be your
friends
forever.
I just
think it's
incredible
to imagine
that I
could be
in heaven
and I
could be
in heaven
for a
thousand
years
and people
are being
added into
that over
that course
of time
because somehow
it's been
connected to
my investment.
The radical
investment is
to put the
money that
you are a
steward of
into connecting
people with
their God
who will
love him
and love
you
forever.
Why would
we do
this?
Ultimately,
we are
recipients of
the wisest
of investments.
All of
this hope
and joy
is possible
because we
have
received
ultimate
love and
ultimate
friendship
in Jesus.
2 Corinthians
8,
the apostle
Paul is
encouraging the
church of
Corinth to
give generously
to a
great need
in the
same way
that other
churches had
done previously.
He doesn't
order them
to do it.
He doesn't
order them
to do it.
He shows
them how
they can do
it and he
shows them
love.
He says,
just think
about this
for a minute.
Jesus
Christ,
though he
was rich,
yet for
your sake
he became
poor so
that you
through his
poverty
might become
rich.
What he's
showing the
church of
Corinth there
and he's
showing us
is Jesus
is the
one friend.
He's the
master
but he
became the
one friend
who emptied
himself of
everything
to turn
his enemies
into his
friends.
For the
joy that
was set
before him
he endured
the cross.
We are
his joy.
Jesus
is the
true
steward.
As
recipients of
the ultimate
friendship we
get to live
with him
forever in
perfect love
and he's
calling us
to use
our time,
our talents,
our gifting,
our treasures,
all of it
is controlled
by that
knowledge.
And so
right now
today
you and
I are in
exactly the
same position
as this
shrewd
manager.
The books
were open
and he had
a chance
to act.
He had a
chance to
act.
So what's
your next
step?
What's your
next step?
Make your
eternal joy
complete and
invest in
eternal
friends.
Thanks.
Thank you.