WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.960 then you're the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others. But God knows your hearts. 00:00:05.860 --> 00:00:10.560 What people value highly is detestable in God's sight. 00:00:11.820 --> 00:00:18.620 What does Jesus teach us about money? Let me begin with a letter I received, 00:00:18.620 --> 00:00:24.120 or an email I received from my pension scheme this week, because they were recommending 00:00:24.120 --> 00:00:34.880 a switch, a switch towards sustainable investment, to switch to organizations' concern for the 00:00:34.880 --> 00:00:41.900 environment and carbon reduction and good labor policies. And that's one of the things about 00:00:41.900 --> 00:00:46.900 living in the time that we do. It's good, isn't it, to be more aware, probably than ever, 00:00:47.620 --> 00:00:52.700 when it comes to buying and investing, is this company ethical? 00:00:54.119 --> 00:01:02.559 Are the goods that they are producing sustainable? How do they treat their employees at home and 00:01:02.559 --> 00:01:08.319 abroad? I wonder if it's ever been the case where maybe you've looked into, you've been presented 00:01:08.319 --> 00:01:13.640 with certain facts or different alternatives. Maybe you've stopped buying from a certain shop, 00:01:14.340 --> 00:01:22.739 or you've switched products, maybe for your laundry or such things, for either ethical or ecological 00:01:22.739 --> 00:01:31.060 reasons. It's good. I think we understand that how we manage our money, how we use our money, 00:01:31.739 --> 00:01:39.299 matters. It really matters, especially as we continue in this cost of living crisis. We all are called to 00:01:39.299 --> 00:01:46.280 be wise and to make good choices. Now, today, isn't it interesting that we discover that Jesus cares 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:55.439 how we use our money, that Jesus cares about the value that we place on money. Jesus teaches about 00:01:55.439 --> 00:02:02.200 money matters. He's going to show us what does wise money management look like for a follower of Jesus. 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:08.840 And to help to do that, He gives us one of the more surprising, indeed, one of the more shocking and 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:14.960 confusing parables. Of course, we are confronted with a guy who is plainly acknowledged to be dishonest. 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:20.480 He cheats. He then cooks the books, but he gets praised. He gets commended. So, we need to think 00:02:20.480 --> 00:02:28.120 about that. And Jesus then helps us to reflect on what value should you and I place on our money. 00:02:28.500 --> 00:02:34.520 And to do that, He presents a contrast between His way and the foolish money-loving Pharisees. 00:02:34.520 --> 00:02:39.060 How do they stack up compared to the wisdom of Jesus? How do we? 00:02:40.760 --> 00:02:46.860 So, let's get into this idea of managing money wisely according to Jesus, which we see really in the 00:02:46.860 --> 00:02:55.939 first 12 verses. But let's begin thinking about this story. It's a really surprising story where we're all 00:02:55.939 --> 00:03:02.920 nice and straightforward. The audience, verse 1, Jesus told His disciples this parable. 00:03:02.919 --> 00:03:11.139 But then we need to recognize, verse 14, there's another audience. The Pharisees who loved money 00:03:11.139 --> 00:03:16.560 heard all this. Okay, so as Jesus teaches, we remember there's a big crowd around. He's aware 00:03:16.560 --> 00:03:21.799 of His friends. He wants to teach His followers, here's how to use your money wisely. But He's also 00:03:21.799 --> 00:03:30.060 aware of enemies who take a very different view. Who's the main character in our story? It's not the 00:03:30.060 --> 00:03:38.159 big boss. It's not the manager. It's the… it's not the rich man, rather. It's the manager or the steward 00:03:38.159 --> 00:03:46.439 who we are intended to focus on. Perhaps it might be helpful to picture an estate manager. You know 00:03:46.439 --> 00:03:52.740 these grand estates where there's lots of property and there's lots of land and fields? Well, picture the 00:03:52.740 --> 00:03:59.379 estate manager whose job is to care for the land, to care for the properties, to look after the 00:03:59.379 --> 00:04:07.280 tenancies. Okay, in his life a moment of crisis comes. Verse 2 and 3, what is this? I hear about 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:13.540 you. Give an account of your management because you cannot be manager any longer. So he gets that call 00:04:13.540 --> 00:04:20.560 that nobody wants to hear. Come to my office. He knows that the wasting of possessions has been found 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:28.000 out. He knows he's about to lose his job, so what will he do? He senses his urgent needs. I want to 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:33.879 avoid hard labor. I'm not built for that. But I also want to avoid having to beg. I don't want to be 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:39.120 homeless. So what's he going to do? So that's his crisis. And then there comes this light bulb moment, 00:04:39.279 --> 00:04:46.699 this aha moment in verse 4. I know what I'll do. So when I lose my job here, people will welcome me. 00:04:46.699 --> 00:04:54.199 He's figured out how to face the crisis. And he wants to face the crisis by making sure that he 00:04:54.199 --> 00:05:01.319 finds a welcome. And that's going to be important. And that leads to the actions that he takes. And 00:05:01.319 --> 00:05:12.759 this is where we see him rewriting the accounts of the rich man. So he calls in various tenants, 00:05:12.759 --> 00:05:21.920 and he slashes their debts. So of course, they're going to be delighted. Save all of those 00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:26.699 bills on olive oil and wheat, you're going to be pleased. 00:05:30.099 --> 00:05:36.879 And then we get to the climax of the story, the bit that so easily confuses and surprises us. 00:05:36.879 --> 00:05:43.680 Jesus says at the end of the story, the master commended the dishonest manager because he'd acted 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:52.300 shrewdly. Think about that. He gets a well done. He's been dishonest. And now he's cost his master 00:05:52.300 --> 00:06:00.219 two times over. So we need to think, what is it about this man that causes him to get this well done? 00:06:00.220 --> 00:06:06.320 Because this is not a general rule to apply. We know that. And Jesus would never encourage anybody 00:06:06.320 --> 00:06:17.680 to be dishonest or to steal or to cheat. It's a very limited commendation. He is commended because 00:06:17.680 --> 00:06:27.240 he had acted shrewdly. He is commended because he wisely saw that the end was coming, 00:06:27.240 --> 00:06:32.720 and he made a plan to provide for himself. That's what he's commended for. 00:06:34.079 --> 00:06:39.579 The master approves the plan of this guy who's been wasting his possessions, 00:06:40.579 --> 00:06:46.720 a plan that would gain a future welcome by his scheme that he comes up with. 00:06:47.960 --> 00:06:52.920 If you were here last week, we met a younger brother, another person who wasted his possessions 00:06:52.920 --> 00:07:00.600 and received a welcome by grace. I think Jesus wants us to hear some of those same echoes in this 00:07:00.600 --> 00:07:05.900 story. Well, that's the story. And helpfully, I think, for us, Jesus also gives an explanation 00:07:05.900 --> 00:07:13.000 in the second half of verse 8. For…see that word there? Here's the explanation. For the people of 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:18.259 this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 00:07:20.139 --> 00:07:26.920 What is Jesus saying? There's two groups of people, and he's inviting his followers, who he calls the 00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:31.139 people of the light, to learn a lesson actually from those who aren't his followers. And that might 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:38.079 surprise us. All wisdom is God's wisdom. And so, the idea here is that Jesus is saying, look at the 00:07:38.079 --> 00:07:44.579 wise in the wise in the world, when they understand that their time of opportunity is short, when their 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:54.019 strength is limited, when their wealth is limited, so that they act decisively and plan wisely for their 00:07:54.019 --> 00:08:04.159 futures. Learn from that, Jesus says, to his disciples. I think there is a broader lesson that goes even 00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:14.880 beyond money for all of us. This parable is about knowing there is a time of dismissal and making 00:08:14.880 --> 00:08:22.120 preparation. The Bible is really clear that there is a point where we will all die, we will all be dismissed 00:08:22.120 --> 00:08:29.820 from this life. So, the most important thing for each one of us is to make sure that we are ready for that 00:08:29.819 --> 00:08:39.159 moment. To be ready means to trust in Jesus, to receive his grace and forgiveness, because the welcome that's 00:08:39.159 --> 00:08:49.080 offered is an eternal home with God himself. Well, having given us the explanation, Jesus then wants to apply 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:56.539 the truth for us. See verse 9, I tell you, so he's told the story, now he's going to apply the story, use worldly 00:08:56.539 --> 00:09:03.679 wealth to gain friends for yourselves so that when it is gone, you'll be welcomed into eternal dwelling. 00:09:05.059 --> 00:09:15.599 He's saying to his followers, use your money wisely for spiritual purposes, investing to serve the kingdom 00:09:15.599 --> 00:09:26.179 of God so as to be welcomed by God into an eternal home. That's a money management policy from Jesus. 00:09:27.459 --> 00:09:34.139 Reminding us, Jesus is to be Lord of all of our lives, including our habits of spending and saving. 00:09:36.139 --> 00:09:40.639 Jesus is saying to us, make use of the resources that you're given in this life, 00:09:41.019 --> 00:09:45.620 your wealth, your home, your possessions, for the sake of the kingdom of God. 00:09:47.559 --> 00:09:52.620 He applies it a second way in verses 10 to 12. We read verse 10 again, 00:09:52.620 --> 00:09:58.480 whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:04.759 very little will also be dishonest with much. He's talking about how we steward our money, 00:10:04.820 --> 00:10:10.600 how we use our money and resources. He says, use what God gives you in a trustworthy way. 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:18.019 And here Jesus is thinking, I think of using it for him, for his kingdom, using it to bless and serve 00:10:18.019 --> 00:10:26.659 other people, to honour the Lord Jesus with our money, with a focus on receiving eternal treasure 00:10:26.659 --> 00:10:34.059 in the end. That's wise money management according to Jesus. Now let's just think for a few minutes, 00:10:34.139 --> 00:10:41.199 what do you and I need if we are to put this money management, this priority into practice? 00:10:41.200 --> 00:10:46.360 Because if we step back for a moment, it's very different from all the messages that we hear 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:50.460 from surrounding culture. And perhaps it might be different from the way that we live. We 00:10:50.460 --> 00:10:56.700 automatically perhaps follow the flow. So I think the first thing that we need to hear is a call to 00:10:56.700 --> 00:11:04.360 wisdom. How we handle our money requires wisdom. We have bills to pay. We have responsibilities. 00:11:04.360 --> 00:11:12.159 We have many pressures. We have many opportunities. There is the urgency as well for Christians of 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:19.980 the reality of Christian mission and the work of God's church. And so a call for us to pray for wisdom 00:11:19.980 --> 00:11:28.840 in all of life, including how we use our money. To talk with others. What does it look like to follow 00:11:28.840 --> 00:11:35.320 Jesus and to be wise in how we steward our finances? What are the principles? What are the practices? 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:45.139 I think it's a call to wisdom. It's certainly a call to good stewardship. Psalm 24 reminds us, 00:11:45.259 --> 00:11:53.900 the earth is the Lord's and all that it contains. So our starting point is that everything that we have 00:11:53.899 --> 00:12:03.980 comes from God and belongs to God. It's not our own. We are not our own. So we steward for God, for His 00:12:03.980 --> 00:12:11.399 glory. If you read the Old Testament, what did good stewardship look like? They had the principle of 00:12:11.399 --> 00:12:20.439 tithing. You know, as an act of worship, they would bring 10% of their crops or their animals. 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:28.800 In light of God's provision and kindness to them, they responded with worship by giving the tithe. 00:12:29.800 --> 00:12:37.980 In the New Testament era, it has been argued that God has been even more generous to us in giving us 00:12:37.980 --> 00:12:49.180 Jesus. Therefore, generosity should be the overriding dynamic. We read Paul's message to the Corinthians. 00:12:49.179 --> 00:12:57.279 He talked about giving regularly and generously and cheerfully, giving ourselves first to the Lord. 00:12:58.539 --> 00:13:06.620 It's a responsible part of church membership, stewarding our finances. And again, if that's 00:13:06.620 --> 00:13:11.519 something that you've never thought about before, you want to discuss with me or one of the elders, 00:13:11.620 --> 00:13:18.159 we're really glad to talk to you about that. So it's a call to wisdom and a call to stewardship. 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:26.480 But it also calls us, doesn't it, to think about how this works itself out in our day-to-day 00:13:26.480 --> 00:13:34.059 decision-making. Think about our relationships. Jesus says, I tell you, use worldly wealth 00:13:34.059 --> 00:13:40.699 to gain friends for yourselves. Here Jesus, I think, is reminding us that it takes time, 00:13:40.700 --> 00:13:50.700 it takes money, often to build a relationship, to share life with somebody, whether that's a family 00:13:50.700 --> 00:13:58.640 member or a friend, takes investment of ourselves, our energy, our time, our money. And especially 00:13:58.640 --> 00:14:03.759 when we think about investing for the sake of the kingdom of God, to get to a stage in a relationship 00:14:03.759 --> 00:14:12.399 where perhaps we open our Bibles together and we can talk about God together, where Jesus and the 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:17.240 gospel is spoken about. It takes time, it takes money, it takes effort. And so Jesus is saying, 00:14:17.319 --> 00:14:29.860 be wise in our relationships. Invest in eternity, in our marriages. Invest in quality time so that we 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:35.139 can seek to build one another up in our faith, if we're believers. In the context of Christian 00:14:35.139 --> 00:14:41.240 friendship, with all the other things going on, make sure to sacrifice time, to spend time together 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:48.600 with others in different activities, maybe in sharing food or a coffee, so that we can be built 00:14:48.600 --> 00:14:53.920 up together so we can help one another on the journey of faith. When we think about the people 00:14:53.919 --> 00:14:58.919 in our lives who we care for who aren't yet Christians, again, Jesus would say, invest deliberately 00:14:58.919 --> 00:15:04.399 in those friendships. And that takes money, and that takes time, and that takes effort to show 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:10.079 hospitality, to buy the ticket for the event so you're spending time, so we can have conversation, 00:15:11.079 --> 00:15:18.179 because we love them. We want them to receive a welcome from God through coming to know Jesus. 00:15:18.179 --> 00:15:26.099 So it has implications for our relationships. It also has implications when we think about 00:15:26.099 --> 00:15:33.620 the church and mission. We think about wise money management. We had a really great deacon's court 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:41.959 discussion on Monday where we committed to further support for our mission support fund. 00:15:41.960 --> 00:15:48.920 So we already give to Galashiels, and we want to give more. We already give to the Rianos in 00:15:48.920 --> 00:15:55.280 Columbia, and we're committed to give. And there's a new church plant beginning down in Leith, Hope Church 00:15:55.280 --> 00:16:03.540 Leith. And we've committed to give, to support those works, because we believe that Jesus wants His church 00:16:03.540 --> 00:16:11.600 and His people to invest in eternity, to put money to work where the gospel is being shared. 00:16:12.780 --> 00:16:20.240 So Jesus would ask His followers to invest in the local church and in His global church. 00:16:21.139 --> 00:16:25.360 And again, if that's something that you've not really thought through before, I may encourage you 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:30.480 to pray about that, to think about if you're a member here, think about how you might use your 00:16:30.480 --> 00:16:35.940 money to support our ministries here. Perhaps to think about how you might get involved in supporting that 00:16:35.940 --> 00:16:41.879 mission support fund of church planting and mentoring over in Columbia. Perhaps there are other 00:16:41.879 --> 00:16:49.559 missions that you think about, pray for. Think about how we can invest for the sake of eternity. 00:16:49.559 --> 00:16:57.819 But in all of that, we think about sacrifice, and we give, and we give for the sake of others and for 00:16:57.819 --> 00:17:01.399 God's kingdom. We recognize that's hard, don't we? It's not our natural instinct, perhaps. 00:17:01.399 --> 00:17:09.660 How will we find help to apply this wise money management to recognize my money's not for me, 00:17:09.740 --> 00:17:16.519 it's for God and for others? I think it's where we need to remember Jesus and His work for us, 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:23.480 the good news of the gospel. What price does Jesus pay for us and for our salvation? 00:17:23.480 --> 00:17:33.539 Though He was rich. For our sake He became poor. Jesus gave up everything, gladly leaving the glory of 00:17:33.539 --> 00:17:42.900 heaven to live a life of absolute humble service here on this earth, ultimately giving His life to 00:17:42.900 --> 00:17:50.380 die on the cross for sin and for sinners, so that we through His poverty might become spiritually rich, 00:17:50.380 --> 00:17:58.840 rich towards God. That He pays the price to forgive our sin, to remove our guilt, 00:17:59.520 --> 00:18:08.040 so that we freely, by faith, can enjoy eternal life, life with God now and the promise of life with God 00:18:08.040 --> 00:18:18.240 forever. As we remember the treasure in heaven, as we remember that by His grace, just like the younger 00:18:18.240 --> 00:18:26.599 son last week, those who make a mess of things, those who could be accused of being wasters, 00:18:27.380 --> 00:18:34.920 by God's grace through Jesus are welcome. As we think about that, as it hits our hearts, 00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:40.720 we understand the gospel is our great treasure, and that's a great treasure to share. 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:46.140 That's where we find the help to invest so others can enjoy eternity with God. 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:54.579 That's where the urgent call on our wallet then comes from, not from stuff, ultimately from the 00:18:54.579 --> 00:19:01.500 gospel. So we're called to invest in the kingdom of God. So thinking about managing money wisely, 00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:10.420 Jesus then turns our attention to valuing money wisely in verses 13 to 15, much more briefly here. 00:19:10.500 --> 00:19:17.680 Let me read verse 13 for us again. No one can serve two masters. Either you'll hate the one and love the 00:19:17.680 --> 00:19:23.319 other, or you'll be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. 00:19:23.319 --> 00:19:32.559 I read this week an interview with a chap called Walden Wheel, or Waldeen Wall, sorry, hard name to say. 00:19:33.079 --> 00:19:39.799 For 40 years, this guy was a tax consultant, financial planner, portfolio manager. So financially, 00:19:39.939 --> 00:19:45.139 a guy who absolutely knew his stuff. And he said he did. Financially, he was really smart. 00:19:46.179 --> 00:19:50.619 But then he sort of started talking about his life, and especially having met Jesus, 00:19:50.619 --> 00:19:55.119 becoming a follower of Jesus, that began to change his values. But then a few years later, 00:19:55.159 --> 00:20:00.599 he said, Jesus came to the point where he turned my financial world upside down. A really interesting 00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:10.199 story. It took him years to realize that even though he was a Christian, the filter through which 00:20:10.199 --> 00:20:16.939 all of his life was flowing was not Jesus. It was still money. How he thought about finances 00:20:16.940 --> 00:20:24.299 was not spiritual, but earthly. He was living in the financial sector and very much influenced by 00:20:24.299 --> 00:20:28.980 surrounding culture and being part of maybe the most affluent society that's ever lived 00:20:28.980 --> 00:20:37.519 on the face of the planet. And it was amazing to hear him say, I was grateful 00:20:37.519 --> 00:20:48.500 for the 2008 market crash. Because he said it did two things for him. He said it exposed the idolatry of 00:20:48.500 --> 00:20:55.579 money that he hadn't been fully aware of, and it broke the controlling power of money. When you lose 00:20:55.579 --> 00:21:01.379 everything and all you have is Jesus, and that's enough, then all of a sudden the power is gone. 00:21:01.380 --> 00:21:11.680 No one can serve two masters. You cannot serve both God and money. 00:21:15.420 --> 00:21:22.880 What is it that our heart loves the most? Where does our trust lie? 00:21:22.880 --> 00:21:32.120 To the degree that our heart loves and trusts money, that's the degree to which we're going to 00:21:32.120 --> 00:21:38.780 find Jesus' words cut very close to the bone. We see it with the Pharisees, don't we? The Pharisees 00:21:38.780 --> 00:21:45.260 who loved money heard all this and they were sneering at Jesus. They want nothing to do with Jesus and 00:21:45.260 --> 00:21:52.160 his message. They have a very convenient and comfortable view of Christianity, or faith rather, 00:21:52.160 --> 00:22:01.300 that put religion in a box. Okay, so God wants my worship on a Saturday for them, for us maybe a 00:22:01.300 --> 00:22:08.200 Sunday. He cares what I do in the place of worship, but they decided that God didn't care what they did 00:22:08.200 --> 00:22:16.600 with their wallet. Trying to live this double life. Jesus challenged them. He said, you justify yourself, 00:22:16.599 --> 00:22:26.659 but God knows your hearts. He knows that you've chosen to value money above God. And so Jesus uses 00:22:26.659 --> 00:22:32.959 again that love and hate language of a fundamental preference and priority. We're either going to 00:22:32.959 --> 00:22:43.879 love God, and relatively speaking, hate money, or love money, hate God. We're going to be devoted to God, 00:22:43.880 --> 00:22:50.880 and we'll despise the stranglehold of money, or we'll be devoted to finding and gaining more money and 00:22:50.880 --> 00:22:58.500 finding hope there. We'll find ourselves despising God. What Jesus says really challenges us, I think, 00:22:58.520 --> 00:23:04.160 and it challenges our culture, where if we think about sort of the world of advertising, think about 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:08.880 what we hear perhaps in our organizations and companies. Much of life is geared around getting 00:23:08.880 --> 00:23:17.360 and spending money. The priority is often self-improvement, personal security, greater personal 00:23:17.360 --> 00:23:28.000 happiness. It doesn't sound like Jesus. Jesus reminds us we all serve what we worship. 00:23:28.000 --> 00:23:38.740 And Waldean Wall discovered that when we worship money, a few things happen. Our hope is wrapped up in 00:23:38.740 --> 00:23:46.619 what money can buy and what money can do. We invest and we save because we think we'll find security 00:23:46.619 --> 00:23:55.460 in our pension scheme, our investment plans. We'll depend on money and not God to meet our needs or to be 00:23:55.460 --> 00:24:10.220 our joy. When we choose to worship money and not God. To value money wisely means don't serve money. 00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:21.420 Don't make money our master. It will control. It will steal our joy. It will steal our worship. Rather, 00:24:21.420 --> 00:24:30.680 Jesus has said to us, make money serve your joy. When your joy is the joy of knowing and loving and 00:24:30.680 --> 00:24:38.420 serving Jesus. Our heart needs to be right with God through faith in Jesus, to have love for Him and 00:24:38.420 --> 00:24:45.680 for the gospel. And then money can serve our joy gladly. We can have joy in blessing others and seeing the 00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:55.000 good news spreading. Jesus would say to us, money can be a good servant, but it's always a terrible master. 00:24:57.180 --> 00:25:07.380 We have to value God most of all. And when we lose the idol of money to follow Jesus, it's not loss, 00:25:07.380 --> 00:25:14.040 it's gain. Because what do we gain? We gain God. We gain eternal life. 00:25:17.100 --> 00:25:23.320 This is a call to learn from Jesus how to think about money. I did a quick experiment on Friday. 00:25:24.040 --> 00:25:31.440 I did a Google search. How to invest money. Do you know the number of hits by God? 38 million. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:39.100 There is no shortage of advice out there. So many experts, so many ideas, money saving tips, 00:25:39.480 --> 00:25:43.100 spending practices. Which expert will we listen to? 00:25:45.120 --> 00:25:49.620 Well, if we know who Jesus is, the Son of God, the Creator, the Savior of the world, it's an easy choice. 00:25:50.779 --> 00:25:56.539 We listen to Jesus. He is the one who brings greatest gain. He is the one who gives himself so we can have 00:25:56.539 --> 00:26:05.480 life with God. He invested everything into being our Savior. A life of obedient, humble sacrifice and 00:26:05.480 --> 00:26:12.879 death on a cross so that by faith we might have eternal joy. A treasure that will never disappear. 00:26:13.920 --> 00:26:19.799 The joy of following him as our Master and Lord. And the joy of using what God has given 00:26:19.799 --> 00:26:26.659 to invest in the lives of others, to help others, to serve others, to see the kingdom grow. 00:26:29.919 --> 00:26:38.079 Let's learn from Jesus how to use our money, how to value our money for him and for his kingdom. Amen. 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:47.419 Let's pray. Lord our God, we thank you for this teaching from Jesus. 00:26:47.420 --> 00:26:57.300 We thank you because we recognize that we need it. We need the wisdom of the Lord Jesus for all areas 00:26:57.300 --> 00:27:02.140 of our lives, including our finances. And so we pray that you would help us to reflect 00:27:02.140 --> 00:27:08.420 on how we spend and invest. You'd help us to reflect on...