Life of Paul Part 35-The Principle of Investment-Handling Money God's Way

Good morning everybody want to think of Bible and open it with.

Also, the letter that Paul wrote the church at Philippi. We call it the book of Philippians chapter 4 really come in there just a couple minutes but first I want to tell you the true story of a man named Melvin Milligan Milligan lived in Passaic, New Jersey, and in June early June 2000 get the year now he was driving home from work and he decided he was thirsty, and do you want to stop, get a Coke so we stopped for a Coke at a little convenience store and Montvale, New Jersey, and he was walking in the store he noticed in the window and advertisement for the $46 million jackpot that we on the big game lottery so we thought out what the heck I'll buy some tickets we bought 51 dollar tickets didn't even have any favorite numbers because he never plays the lottery so we just said let the computer pick up the computer victim and he got home. Didn't even think anymore about assuming his junk drawer and three year never even occurred to them that you have in June 2001 June 7 to be exact. Mr. Milliken and his wife were sitting together watching the evening news. When the newscaster was interviewing a state lottery official who said that the single winning ticket for the $46 million drawing of a year before had never been quite and whoever had it had 36 hours left the claimant otherwise. The one year statute would run out and the ticket would be declared null and void. Somebody was going to lose $46 million now as part of the newscast. They showed a picture of the convenience store in Montvale, New Jersey, where the winning ticket admin bought this is true, and Mr. Milliken turned to his wife and said you know I think about a year ago I bought some tickets at the convenience store to the lottery and she said well honey I think you better get up, go look for so we did took a while to find him. He found them in the bottom of the drawer that junk drawer and he stuck him in his pocket and bury leisurely strolled on up to the deli in town and I began sticking them in the computer and go to war, Ms. Sandy, would you believe it. The second ticket in was the one single winner of $46 million to claim the prize with less than 24 hours left before they were going to declare his ticket completely null and void.

Not if you want $46 million what would you do with $46 million.

Well I got a couple of possibilities for you to consider with $46 million. You could buy 12 one minute ads on the Super Bowl with $46 million, you can cruise around the world.

92 times on the Queen Elizabeth to sing in the penthouse with private veranda for $46 million you can feed all the animals in the national zoo for 90 years with $46 million. You could buy 184 brand-new Ferraris with $46 million you could pay all .1% of the national debt now that Carrie and here's my favorite, with $46 million.

You could buy a courtside seat for the Lakers and sit right next to Jack Nicholson for the next 800 here. Well now nobody in their right mind would do that with 46 William dollars what would we do, we would invest students write pay I got another option you could pay off the McLean Bible church building program with $46 million but you will have about 10 or 12 million well and what would you do with that.

Will you would invest it and you'd inducted at the highest possible rate of return.

You could get your hands on and everybody would look at you and say you were wonderfully smart and shrewd person now. Today were going to talk about. As part of our little series handling money.

God's way were going to talk about the most incredible investment opportunity that is ever been offered any human beings in the entire history of the world. It's offered us by God and we want to make sure everybody here understands it so that we can take advantage of it, it's better than if you had bought $10,000 worth of Walmart at its IPO. By the way, do you know if you would about $10,000 Walmart 1990 at the initial public offering today that same stock would be worth $5 million. This is better than that is able to better be good. And the best part about it is everybody here can get it on its open everyone of us. There are no commissions no loading fees, no minimum balances. It's wide open so let's talk about that.

But first, let me review just a little bit where a short series entitled handling money.

God's way. The way we got into this series is were doing the life of the apostle Paul. And as we were tracing his life to the book of acts. He's been in the city of Philippi now and in the city of Philippi, the most generous, the most liberal, most open hearted and openhanded church in all the New Testament of all the churches. Paul started developed. They gave to an unbelievable degree to the work of God and so we said hey, this would be a good moment to stop before Paul leaves Philippi moves on and talk about this nonmajor deal. The deal I made you talk about money for couple weeks but I am not going to ask you for a sense and the deal still goes because friends the purpose of this series is not to get more money for McLean Bible church.

The purpose of this series is to educate you and me as to how to handle our resources biblically so that we can mature as followers of Jesus Christ and so we learned last week that the apostle Paul was in jail in Rome in the Philippian church send him another offering one of the many and in response he wrote back a thank you note the book of Philippians is really just a big thank you note for the money they sent and in chapter 4 Paul comments on their giving and gives us all the principles we need to set up a biblical system of resource management.

Last week we looked at principal number one. The principle of contentment. If you missed last week at the tape get the CD I don't have time to review it today.

We want to go on the principle number two the principal of investment. Let's look at beginning of verse 14, yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Paul writes he's talking about the money.

They said earlier on. He is said I'm content I'm trusting God to take care of me but nonetheless I appreciate the money you sent verse 15 moreover, as you Philippians no. In the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel message when I set out for Macedonia.

When I left Philippi were about to leave with him in our study of his life in just a couple weeks you sent me aid money again and again when I was in the when I set out for Macedonia. Not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving. Except you only they would only charge.

Can you believe this. Of all the churches he started his own church again to his ministry.

Then he says for even when I was in Thessalonica the next city.

He went to you sent me aid again and again. And now you've done it, and I'm in Rome you done it again for me that you know it's clear here that the apostle Paul was very excited about the generosity of this church, but you know money is a funny thing friends. It's very easy for us to misunderstand other people's motives when it comes to money, and I'm sure there would've been some Philippians. Who would've said all yeah will no wonder he is excited about our giving because we give both cars Jesus saying that because he wants more money.

So to counter that very quickly.

Look what Paul said in verse 17 he says not that I am looking for a gift. The reason I'm really excited about your generosity is not because I'm trying to get more and more your money will Paul why are you excited for what makes you so thrilled and happy about a church be in this generous is going to tell us. Verse 17, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account now. The new American Standard translates this, but I seek the prophets that increases to your account. The old King James translates this, I seek the fruit that up pounds to your account, but to really get the sense of what Paul saying here we need to go back and look at the Greek words themselves in the end of verse 17 and when we do, we find that every single one of those words is a bookkeeping word a financial word an accounting term, and here's how the verse really translates literally.

Paul says what I'm really excited about is the interest that will excessively accrue into your bank account. I am excited about the interest that will excessively accrue into your bank account now in the other end of verse 17 we find this principle about monetary giving to the work of God. The principle of investment and there are two very important truths we find here. Truth number one is found centered around this word that there is interest, it's going to work, accrue to our bank account. The truth is, the Bible teaches that the day you and I gave our lives to Jesus Christ God that very day opened up a heavenly bank account for each one of us in the pearly gates Savings and Loan that you have your account I have my account and the Bible teaches.

Furthermore, that every time we use money here on earth in a way that honors God. Every time we give to the work of God. Whenever we use money to help homeless people, orphans, refugees, disaster victims, people he needed anyway and we help them in the name of the Lord. The Bible tells us that we are making deposits into our heavenly bank account. We are transferring funds into our heavenly bank accounts and the Bible talks about this throughout the New Testament as storing up treasure in heaven is a lot you sure you not read too much into this verse will listen to these other verses Matthew chapter 9 verse 21 Jesus told the rich young ruler go and sell all you have and give it to the poor invested in the work of the Lord, and you shall have treasure in heaven. Jesus said, Luke chapter 12 verse 33 would we give to the Lord. We provide ourselves with purses that will not wear out treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted. Matthew six in the sermon on the Mount, Jesus said do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But rather store up for yourselves. Here comes treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal what truth number one that we find here we find throughout the New Testament that every believer in Jesus Christ has a heavenly bank account that we make deposits into that bank account. Whenever we use money here on earth in a way that honors Jesus Christ and that is followers of Christ.

When you get to heaven when I get to heaven. I count my account. Your account will be waiting for you there. Some of us are going to have a lot in our account when we get there. And some of us will our accounts, going to be on a respirator. When we get there but you know the worst part about this whole thing is that when we get there we don't like the balances in our account we got nobody to blame but us. I will make deposits into your account, you'll make deposits in the my account just why hate goals not play golf but I hate it and I say why.

When you make a bad shot is nobody to blame but you did you play a team sport. You can say what she did that he did this and they did that over there and I would mess up 40 little blame and golf ball. T the club. That's why such a stinky game because when you hit a bad shot only person to blame as you well.

We get to heaven.

And we don't like the amount in our town.

Guess what girlfriend is nobody look at you.

You only want to decide how much went in there is Avalon. This makes me feel really uncomfortable because you know what I don't have that much money I mean, I go to possibly put as much money in my bank account.

Heaven is some millionaire Christian or some multimillionaire Christina got all this money were friends. Remember, God doesn't do accounting that way. Remember the story of the woman with the two little coins at the temple and Jesus said hey you see all these people came and gave thousands and thousands of dollars.

This woman gave more in my opinion that all of them because she gave everything she had, and they gave out of their wealth really didn't cost about Fred. Let me tell you something, God is not going to line these accounts often handout rewards for these accounts based upon the dollar amount that goes in. He's going to look at what you had to give what I had to give and what we gave to the work of God, proportionately, relatively, to what we had and he's going to account completely differently than we account down here on earth. Some of the people going to get the greatest reward you will be surprised when you get to heaven who some of those people are going to be for me not to give him a lot of dollars. They may have been some poor widow who gave 10 bucks a week, but you know what God looks to see what we have and then what we give.

And that's how he figures his arsenal to be intimidated in the slightest. What somebody else has God not going to account for them, for you will based on what they have is an account for you on what you have space along what you really saying here you really say in the get in the heaven depends on what we how we spend our money down here on earth. No know the Bible teaches that if we trust what Jesus did for us on the cross. We have a guaranteed place in heaven when we die and it doesn't matter if we never give one sent to the work of God here on earth that doesn't make one bit of difference is getting into heaven don't have to do with what we do what we don't do what we give what we don't give. It's based on Jesus Christ shedding his blood on the cross to buy our way into heaven if you're here today and you never trusted Jesus Christ to the real and personal way and maybe you're given to the work of God coming to church, singing in the choir working in the flower garden in front of the church doing everything else you can to help you think that's going to help open the door to heaven. Let me just remind you none of that makes any difference get in heaven. Those are all wonderful things to do, but God don't let anybody in the heaven because what we do what we don't do it because of our trust in Christ. Now for those of us who trusted Christ. How we handle our money however does make a difference because as I said a moment ago God is going to dispense various levels of rewards when we get to heaven based at least in part on the balance in our heavenly bank account. When we get there is also I understand this is a pie-in-the-sky by-and-by sort of thing. No, that's part of it. Remember I said there are two truths here. That's the first one second what is this look at the verse, Paul says, reading the Greek again literally, but I am excited about the interest that excessively accrues to your account. The second truth here is that when we give to the work of God. God pays interest on the money that we invest were not just giving it away. We are investing in and the interested God pays on this is exorbitantly high. The Greek says, and it's paid right here on earth not just in heaven you go. Wait a minute, wait a minute. You sure you're right about that.

All I am. Listen Proverbs 3 verse nine honor the Lord from your well okay now here comes the earthly interest and then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your back will brim over Malachi chapter 3 verse nine. Bring the whole offering into the storehouse and cast me now in this is the Lord put me to the test and see here comes the earthly interest see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you. A blessing that you won't even have room to store your life to move all right now Jesus himself.

Luke chapter 6 said deals not look at the earthly interest it comes back and it will be given back to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running all over, will be poured into your lap Jesus and talk about heaven here friends he's talking about right here on earth and look what he says. He says for what the measuring cup that you use to measure out to the work of God, God will use that same measuring cup to measure back to you. We measure out in our giving to the work of God with a symbol God is going to measure back to us with a symbol if we measure out to the work of God in our giving with a dump truck.

God's going to back his heavenly dump truck in our backyard and don't more blessing on us and we know what to do with the only person who decides what measure comes back is us. We decide about what measure we measure out with.

That's what Jesus said the princes of the language of major financial return excessive interest on every sent you and I invest in the work of God in fact did you know the Bible actually tells us the rate of interest God pays. Did you know that you don't know your Douglas in Matthew 19 verse 29 Jesus said, everyone who is outhouses or brothers or sisters or mother or father feels for my sake.

Anybody was given up or giving in anything for my sake, shall receive 100 times as much here on earth. All hundred times as much, as we give 100 times as much, as we put in as we invested people looking giving when it comes to us giving to the work of God and they say they call it giving it is not giving it is investing with a rate of return all hundred times what we give. That is a rate of return of 10,000%. Listen to me.

Merrill Lynch would sell their full potential thousand percent return and Ameritrade would give you that will talking bear on television to 10,000% return, return on anything is that a lot of this is really true what you're saying in a person would be stupid to turn down an investment opportunity like this. You're right.

You're absolutely right. If they knew it existed and that's the whole point of the message this morning is to make sure that you know and not that I remind myself that this investment opportunity an unprecedented investment opportunity is offered to every single follower of Jesus Christ, and all we gotta do is take advantage of is a long way and it went well that's enough about as much as I can take quote so you know I gotta tell you, I've been given to the work of God, and I have never ever seen 10,000% return on my money. I've never seen me give a dollar and I get $10,000 back in the mail will print. See the problem with this, thinking is that it fails to realize that God has all kinds of ways of making good on his 10,000% problem. I mean we get a raise or promotion. We go will you that's because I worked hard to meet our portfolios in good shape and we say will you that's because I had a good broker that told me to sell everything in 1999 health been good and we go will yeah but you know that's because I work out three days a week. I watch my cholesterol. I watch my diet. Our children have been well we sit with you about. I watch what they eat, not given vitamins and everything make sure they get enough sleep. Our cars been running fine.

We go will yell about that because I change oil every 3000 miles and I keep up on the preventive maintenance you know we survived the Beltway and we go well yeah but that's because I drive defensively on very carefully not use my side mirrors our children are walking with the Lord has a grown up and we go well yeah but you know that's because I have family devotions when we were younger. Listen folks, lots of followers of Jesus Christ the Lord and then they say I don't see any 10,000%. But those same people live well they eat well. They ride well they dress well they vacation well their income as well. Their children as well their health as well. We need to realize that God fulfills his 10,000% agreement with us in lots of ways other than sending us a check in the mail with the postmark cabin and the return address Jehovah God, I mean we walk around and say I can't figure out why God is not doing for me what he promised me he was going to do and God's up in heaven going.

I can't figure out why you can't see all I'm doing for you.

Forgive the personal reference here, but you know, my wife and I Brenda seen God fulfill this principle of investment in our lives in spades over the last almost 28 years we've been married when I came to Christ. 32 years ago. Everything I owned was in a knapsack on mother literally tried to talk around the country.

My dog and half of the knapsack along them adult I want, took his bowl out his food down his brush out only the NASA well that's how I started and you know when I went to seminary I worked at Giant Food enemy $50 a week. There was a single guy and I gave God $10 a week because when I first came to Christ. The man led me to Christ taught me this principle of investing and I made a commitment to God when I first became a believer I was going to give to God as generously as I possibly could.

The rest of my life. I gave God. $10 not $10 and a lot of money when you only making 50 is pretty good percentage thought I was pleasing God. Brenda and I got married and we talked about this and we agreed as a married couple that we were going to make this pattern is a married couple were going to give to God as generously as we possibly could.

Every year for the last 27 years. Thank God faithfully. We tried to keep this commitment.

You know during all those years I've lived on a minister salary never had another job during all those years.

25 of those years. My wife is been a stay-at-home mom would live on one income all those years.

I look around the day and I say good Google mocha what God is done for me. I mean friends Brendan are both healthy. We have three healthy boys were all dedicated followers of Christ to say and yeah you got a severely disabled little girl to your right but I just want to tell you that little girl is been the greatest blessing in my life the last 10 years.

I wouldn't trade her for anything she's made me a better man a better husband a better father, better pastor a better leader.

That girl was a blessing from God. We have a wonderful home that we live in. We have the privilege of serving this wonderful church here and people you know the biggest miracle always of people actually like me at this chart I can't believe that that's really amazing. They do but anyway I thought if you know my my dad came to Christ, God, my mom came to Christ she died. My only living sibling is an active follower of Christ today.

I've had the chance to go to Israel 17 times, I baptize all three of my boys in the Jordan River today. I have five cars for goodness, and I was walking when I met Jesus carry my knapsack and I look around at all of this stuff some of that money can buy some of that money will never be able to buy and I say is God my debtor does God know me anything not on your life not on your life.

If I saved up every single penny I've ever given God invested in the best investment going on this earth. I could never have done for myself what God is done and that's just with the material things. Think of all the other things he's done that you getting by with money let me tell you the neatest part of this. It's not about me.

God makes his deal with anybody will take him up on his just a question of whether or not you take him up on it. If you're willing to invest aggressively. God is willing to return aggressively so the deals open to you. You will never give God my friend will never have.

God will never be your debtor is just a matter how aggressively you want to invest. That's why is your pastoral, not the least bit ashamed to stand up here and challenge you to give to God liberally to challenge you to give the God generously because I know I'm doing you a favor.

I know that in response to your giving God is going out tediously reward you in this life and that one day when you get to heaven and you stand before God and some little CPA angel with green visor and bifocals redo the account balance that you God in heaven. You go to turn around and you're going to say thank God for long, thank God for McCoy church I went have anything in his account of these people had encouraged me to do it and told me to do its thing God for those people is a lawn you know what are you telling me that I should sell my vacation home and so my potent liquidate my stocks and my properties and give all that money. The work of God is that what you're telling me for not telling you anything your money to manage you whatever you want to with Giovanni. I'm just simply telling you that God is offering you and me, the greatest investment opportunity that ever been offered 10,000%. If we were sitting around the pool one day and some guy was talking to you and telling you some lady maybe about a guaranteed investment return 20% and there was no risk at all. You fall all over yourself get to the bank. Get everything you could out if you really believe there was no risk and you get 20% of the latest Gallup poll shows that the average Christian in America gives less than 2% of their income a year to the work of God that would you call that an aggressive investment strategy. Well I don't know where you are and you know what friends is not among business where you are you going to have your account and I got my tail. All I can tell you is, God is offering you an unprecedented investment opportunity. No loading charges no commissions no brokerage fees no capital gains tax. About that. It's all yours to keep what interest you get. And I just want you to take advantage of what you do with it is up to you but I told you about it and I urge you to take advantage of it. Remember friends. The only thing we take with us to heaven is the money we transferred down here. The rest of the state and I don't know if it's possible to have regrets in heaven, but if it is let me tell you the regret that more of us are going to have than any other regret and that is simply that we didn't transfer more. I want to be one of those people that what you do with this is up to you.

May God help us take heart spring for you know talking about money is a very sensitive topic and I understand people sensitivity with church and money churches have taken advantage of people churches have manipulated people and that's wrong by the same token, we can avoid talking about money because money is central issue in life. It's a central issue in having a biblical worldview and so I I pray that you would really remind people what my true motive is here today. It's not to get more money from clean Bible church really isn't. It's to help each one of us here develop a political system of resource management so that we cannot only have a maximum blessing from God.

Down here, but really be in a position that we don't regret we get to heaven, or take what we talked about today. Use it in our lives if we need to make changes in our spending habits you convince us of that in give us the courage to make up with your help and I pray these things in Jesus name, amen