Let's pray while we're standing.
Gracious God, we ask as we open up your word now,
you would pour out your spirit amongst us.
We pray that we would understand your word
and that you might give us through the power of your spirit
the courage to obey it,
to live our lives in accordance with it,
that we might more and more reflect your glory.
And we ask it for your sake.
Amen.
Please be seated.
I want to begin this morning
with the life of one of the greatest philosophical thinkers,
one of the sharpest political minds,
and one of the most quoted individuals of the past 100 years.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
was born the son of a low-ranking Austrian police officer
and destined to be a nobody
until his hands wrapped around a barbell for the very first time.
By the age of 18, he was travelling the world,
competing in bodybuilding championships.
At one point, as he was living in England,
his coach, Wag Bennett, asked him,
Arnie, what do you want to do with your life?
His response was astounding.
18 years of age.
I want to be the greatest
and the richest bodybuilder of all time.
I want to live in the United States.
I want to be an actor,
a movie director,
own an apartment block,
and dabble in politics.
He saw the future,
he saw what he wanted,
and he just went for it.
Just went for it.
Jesus told a similar story
about a man who saw the future,
saw what he needed to do,
and he just went for it.
It's that passage that was read out to us.
If you'd like to grab your Bibles
and open up to Luke 16,
it's a passage in the Bible
that on the surface
seems to be a bit of a problem for us.
Is Jesus actually saying
that it's okay to steal from your employer?
We know that can't be right.
Surely he wouldn't be saying that.
So let's have a look
and see what Jesus is actually saying
in Luke 16.
Fundamentally,
it has nothing to do with dodgy deals.
It has everything to do
in terms of acting now
in view of the future.
Acting now in view of the future.
So verse 1,
Jesus told his disciples
there was a rich man
whose manager was accused
of wasting his possessions.
So he called him in
and asked him,
what is this I hear about you?
Give an account of your management
because you cannot be manager any longer.
The manager said to himself,
well, what shall I do now?
My master is taking away my job.
I'm not strong enough to dig
and I'm ashamed to beg.
I know what I'll do.
So that when I lose my job here,
people will welcome me
into their houses.
You see,
the issue in first century Palestine
was that there was no unemployment benefits.
You had a choice.
You begged or you worked.
Clearly,
this manager wasn't going to get
another manager's job
after his poor handling
of his previous position.
And he says,
I'm too ashamed to go right
to the other end
of the social scale and beg.
And frankly,
I haven't got the muscles
to go and dig holes for a living.
And so the issue for this
manager was,
if I'm not going to beg
and I'm not going to work,
how am I going to eat?
That's the issue.
The issue that this man
was faced with
was a life and death decision.
And so in verse 4,
he sees what's going to happen
in the future
and he acts accordingly.
For that short period of time,
for this manager,
he still has his laptop
on the desk,
he still has
the company checkbook,
he still has
his name
on the plaque
at the front of the office,
and he can still act now
in view
of the future.
And he grabs
his opportunity.
He went for it
in verse 5,
so he called in
each one of his master's
debtors.
He asked the first,
how much do you owe
my master?
800 gallons
of olive oil,
he replied.
The manager told him,
take your bill,
sit down quickly
and make it 400.
Then he asked the second,
and how much do you owe?
1,000 bushels of wheat.
He replied.
He told him,
take your bill
and make it 800.
And in the process
of acting for the future,
he won the favour
and obligation
of his master's
debtors.
He calls in people
who owes his boss
money,
and he substantially
cuts the debt,
potentially just taking
off the top
his own commission.
He substantially
cuts the bills.
and the people
are naturally
pleased.
The really strange
thing is those,
the master's response,
the master says to him,
in effect,
well done.
Well done.
Verse 8,
the master commended
the dishonest manager
because he had acted
shrewdly.
It's incredible,
isn't it?
I mean,
he's just ripped him off.
And he says,
well done.
That was really clever
what you just did.
He didn't commend you
for being dishonest.
He commended him
for shrewdness.
So this parable
is not about
being dishonest.
It's about being
shrewd
and especially
shrewd
in regard
to the future.
He acted
because he knew
what the future held.
But it's a really
logical choice,
isn't it?
If you're going to die,
you want to make sure
you do things
so you don't die.
It's fairly logical.
But as we read
in the second half
of verse 8,
this logical
and shrewd action
is not a logical
and shrewd action
that the people
of God
often make.
Verse 8,
for the people
of this world
are more shrewd
in dealing
with their own kind
than are the people
of the light.
What he's saying
there is
that the non-Christian
knows what they
want to do
and they live
by their philosophy.
They live
day by day
as if God
doesn't exist.
But the Christian,
well,
they muck around
with their relationship
with God
all the time.
But the non-Christian,
they live by it.
Take, for instance,
Philip Adams.
He's a journalist,
a writer,
and an outspoken
atheist.
Philip Adams
believes that
when he dies,
he faces oblivion,
that is,
he faces nothingness,
and he said this,
when I die,
that is my lot.
I don't have
any form of afterlife,
any form of survival
of the ego.
To me,
the end of life
which is rushing
towards me
with increasing
velocity
is very real.
I once worked out
that the average person
was born
with approximately
600,000 hours
to live.
You spend
approximately
one-third
of those asleep,
another 20,000
to 50,000
hours sitting
on the toilet,
and when you
eliminate
all the wasted
hours,
there are not
many left
which are going
to be of any
use.
So if I have
50,000 to 60,000
good hours
left in me,
then that's all
that I can expect.
Therefore,
I don't waste
time on trivia
or irrelevancies
anymore.
I want to get
it right.
That is an
atheist
speaking
who has
no hope
for the future.
How much
more the
Christian
with a certain
hope of eternity
in the presence
of God
be wanting
to get
it
right.
But Jesus
says that we're
not shrewd
enough in acting
now in view
of what is
around the
corner,
and so this
parable is a
parable that
is meant to
focus our
attention to
live each
day with
the end
in mind.
In World
War II,
Germany
occupied
France,
but all
through 1942
and 1943,
the Allies
planned a
massive
counterattack.
General
Dwight Eisenhower
was selected
to command
the assault,
and so
during the
night of
Jude the
6th,
about 2,700
ships carrying
loading craft
and 176,000
soldiers crossed
the English
Channel.
At dawn,
battleships
opened up
on the
beaches.
They stormed
ashore in
the largest
seaborne
invasion in
history.
By the end
of D-Day,
all five
Allied landing
beaches were
secure.
Over the
next few
months,
more than
one million
Allied troops
poured into
France,
and they
cleared the
Germans out of
most of
northwestern
France.
The German
generals knew
that they were
defeated.
They didn't
have enough
troops or
enough fuel
to turn
back the
tide,
but Hitler
refused to
admit defeat.
By April
1945,
Soviet troops
had surrounded
Berlin,
and from
his underground
bunker,
Hitler ordered
German soldiers
to fight
on.
But on
April 30,
Hitler himself
committed
suicide.
Seven days
later,
the 7th of
May 1945,
the new
Chief of
Staff of
the German
Armed Forces
signed a
statement of
unconditional
surrender to
Eisenhower.
World War
II in
Europe had
ended.
The Allies
declared the
8th of May
1945 as
VE Day,
Victory in
Europe Day.
The decisive
day was the
6th of June
1944,
D-Day.
The final
Victory Day,
VE Day,
was the
8th of May
1945.
Friends,
the death
and resurrection
of Jesus
2,000 years
ago was
our D-Day.
It was the
decisive day.
That was the
day when Jesus
dealt with our
independence and
now we live
remembering D-Day.
We live in the
light of D-Day and
we are waiting for
the final reckoning,
waiting for our
independence and
all the independence
of this world to
finally be overrun.
We are living
through the last
days of cosmic
war and the
outcome is
certain.
The outcome
is certain.
D-Day has
happened.
The cross of
Christ is
heralded the
final victory.
The decisive
victory has
been won.
D-Day has
happened in the
death and
resurrection of
Jesus and we
wait for VE
Day to come.
Every person
will stand
before his
throne and give
an account on
that day.
How should we
live therefore?
We live each
moment as if
VE Day was
today.
We live each
moment as if
VE Day was
today.
That's what it
means to be
shrewd.
That's what it
means to be
shrewd.
But the
warning of
this parable
is that too
many Christians
are not
shrewd enough.
You can't
tell the
Christians from
the non-Christians
in their
priorities by
the way they
use their
time and
their money
and their
relationships.
In verse
9, Jesus
tells us one
way that we
can live as
if VE Day
were right
here, right
now.
I tell you,
use your
worldly wealth
to gain
friends for
yourselves.
So that when
it is gone,
you'll be
welcomed into
eternal dwellings.
Jesus isn't
saying you can
buy your way
into heaven.
We know that
for sure from
other places,
that it's only
through him,
through his
death and
resurrection.
What he is
saying is use
your possessions
now in view
of the future,
in view of
eternity.
Use everything
you have now to
please God and
not yourself.
What he is
saying here is
what he has
said consistently
through the
gospels is
build up
treasure in
heaven.
Build up
treasure in
heaven.
So let me
give you a
scenario.
The sort of
thing I think
Jesus is talking
about here,
opening scene.
You have
$200 that
you've saved
up and
there is an
MP3 player,
forgive me if
you're from a
different generation
on this one.
There's an
MP3 player that
you've had your
eye on for a
little while,
but you hear
someone struggling
to put themselves
through Bible
college,
you've got your
$200,
it's a hard
call,
you know it,
but you give
it to them to
help them get
through Bible
college.
Next scene,
you're dead.
Sorry about
fast forwarding
your life
there.
You're dead,
you're in
heaven,
and this guy
comes up to
you and says,
while I was
on earth,
I used to
live in
Chile,
and you know,
one day an
extraordinary
thing happened.
This guy came
up to me in
the street and
told me about
Jesus,
thank you,
thank you for
that,
and you think
this guy's gone
mad.
You've got no
idea what he's
talking about,
what he's
saying is that
that $200 that
you gave and
many others like
you allowed that
student to get
through Bible
college.
That person
worked in a
church,
discipled young
Christians,
one or two of
those people went
into Bible
college themselves,
and years,
generations later,
one of their
kids went as a
missionary to
Brazil and
evangelized some
people in
Brazil,
and the guy
who came up to
you in heaven
is a grandchild
of one of the
people who
brought Jesus
to Brazil,
but who ended
up working and
living and
ministering in
Chile instead.
If you can
follow that,
you're better
than me.
But the point
is your $200
has an enormous
impact not just
for now and
this generation,
but for
generations to
come because
you are building
treasure in
heaven.
When you give
to gospel
ministry, you
are making
an investment
for generations.
You are not
balancing the
budget of
St. Paul's.
It's an
investment for
generations to
come, building
treasure in
heaven for all
of eternity,
and it may
not seem like
you get an
immediate return
because you
can't stick ear
plugs in your
ears and get
your mind blown
out by music,
but the value
is priceless.
For all of
eternity, you
will never
regret what
you did
with that
$200.
Never
regret it.
And that
is, if that
is the
Christian
perspective on
life, if
D-Day is
happening, V-E-Day
is about to
come, and we
are to live in
the light of
V-E-Day, and
all of our
giving is an
internal
investment,
then why are
churches nearly
always under
resourced?
Why is it
the missionaries
have to return
home through
lack of funds?
Why do
Christian
organisations have
to waste so
much time and
energy on
fundraisers and
fairs and
Lamington
drives to
try and
raise money?
Why?
Because we've
forgotten the
gospel.
Because we've
forgotten the
gospel.
we've
forgotten that
V-E-Day is
just around the
corner.
We've forgotten
Jesus' words
builds up
treasure in
heaven, not
on earth.
Jesus' words
use worldly
wealth to
gain friends
with yourselves,
eternal
friends who
will rejoice
with you
around that
throne for
time and
eternity.
Jesus sums
up the idea
in verse 13,
no servant
can serve two
masters,
either he
will hate
the one
and love
the other
or he will
be devoted
to the one
and despise
the other.
You cannot
serve both
God and
money.
Strong
words,
but very
clear words.
Jesus didn't
say it wasn't
a good idea
to try and
serve two
masters.
He actually
says here that
it is impossible
to serve two
masters.
It is impossible
to serve both
God and
money.
your life is
focused in one
of two
directions,
God and
serving him
or serving
yourself and
what you want
in life.
You cannot
do both,
is what Jesus
says in this
passage.
So friends,
we stand at
the edge of
something big
for us as a
church and I
want to ask
you, what are
you going to
do?
What are you
going to do?
You and I
are in exactly
the same boat
as this shrewd
manager.
The books are
still open.
We still have a
chance to act
now in view
of eternity.
A chance to
make sure that
we are not
mastered by
money, but to
give it generously
because of the
impact of such
an investment
will be felt
for ages,
for all of
eternity.
It is the
greatest legacy
that you could
leave your
generation.
It's the
greatest legacy
that we could
leave the
generations to
follow us
at St.
Paul's and
the greatest
legacy we
could leave
our children's
generations.
Investment in
people's lives
with our
time, our
prayers, our
energy, our
encouragement, and
from this
passage, our
money.
In view of
the fact that
VE Day is
just around the
corner, I'm
calling you to
do what Jesus
is calling us
to do as his
disciples, give
it up.
Give it up for
the kingdom.
Stake everything
in this world on
the world that is
to come.
So today we
stand on the
edge of 11
year ministry
plan.
And the
bottom line of
this plan is
a call for
us to
strongly,
single-mindedly,
doggedly be
focused on the
kingdom of God
and the coming
VE Day when
Jesus will
return and he
will wind up
this whole show.
Today I'm
calling you to
act now in
view of
eternity.
I'm calling the
whole church to
make wise
investments.
God calls
us to
demand our
allegiance, he
demands our
time, our
energy, our
prayers, our
money, our
lives.
He helps us
see that for
all of us we
only all have a
few good hours
left.
We all only
have a few good
hours left.
people
who are
going to
go to the
church.
But because this
passage is specifically
about money
primarily, I want
to call you to put
your money behind the
ministry of the
gospel in this
church and from
this church.
We need money to
build disciples and
to reach the
nations.
Christians, I
was very
comforted to
discover this
week that the
good news is that
God has given us
all the money we
need to realise the
plans that he has
for this church.
The bad news is it's
in your pockets.
And so our giving
to gospel ministry
should never be
haphazard.
It needs to be
planned.
It needs to be
generous.
It needs to be
sacrificial.
And I want to say
a step further, it
also needs to be
open.
Over the last few
months I've been
preaching from here
that money is
never a financial
issue.
It is a spiritual
issue for the
church.
John Dunn said the
same thing when he
preached a couple of
months ago.
It is a spiritual
issue for us.
And because it's a
spiritual issue, it
is never to be off
limits for the senior
minister and the
leaders of this
church.
It is never to be
off limits.
And to that end, you
have all received an
envelope with
information, a card to
pledge your giving
for next year.
Between now and the
29th of November, which
is our commitment
Sunday, I want you to be
prayerful.
I want you to be
considerate about your
pledge for next year
and your one-off
donation to the
internal and external
projects we have.
In the week ahead or
weeks ahead, you're
going to hear more
from me about this,
where I'm going to
explain my thinking
behind it.
What I'm calling us to
do as a church is
something that is not
culturally acceptable,
even amongst churches,
religious, but I
believe it's strongly
biblical.
In fact, there is more
biblical evidence for
your giving to be
public than there is
for it to be private.
Your staff and parish
council will be setting
the pace in a couple of
weeks' time when we
meet and we pledge our
commitment for 2010.
We'll be calling the
church to follow our
example just over a week
later.
It's all new for us as
a church, but it's
also exciting.
It's an exciting time
for us as the people
of God will stop
keeping secret what is
at the heart of
Christian discipleship.
I look forward to
seeing what God will do
amongst us in the
coming weeks and months
and years.
I want to remind you
that our giving to
gospel ministry in this
place is not so that
we might balance the
budget.
It's to realise the
vision of the
nations coming under
the cosmic lordship of
Jesus and building
treasure in heaven.
So we stand on the
edge of a new day for
us as St.
Pauls and I'm
calling everyone here
gathered today to
give yourself
wholeheartedly to a
biblical vision,
to build up
treasure and to
act now in view
of the certain
VE day which
is just around the
corner.
Amen.