INVEST - Out Live Your Life 1

There is a lot of truth in the old cliché you can't take it with you in your life and the things that are distant die with you and Dr. David Jeremiah makes the case for investing your life in pursuit that have eternal significance. Continuing the series is a supportive message list outlive your life friends. We have to have an outlook on life that basically says our best days are not behind us there before us our greatest moments could be only a step away and it doesn't matter who you are or what your age is or what your situation. Maybe God promises in his word to strengthen and fulfill us and partner with us to see great things accomplished in our lifetime and I believe that with all my heart and I hope you do too.

Some of you are discouraged because what has happened in these past days can be very discouraging.

But we have to determine by the grace of God that were going to keep moving forward were not going to live in the past were not going to get stuck in the negatives going forward to make a difference and did you know that it's possible when you have that mentality that you can live your life so that after you're gone. Your life is still influencing others talk about that today as we talk about invest outlive your life. So far we've talked about dreaming and praying and choosing and focusing and risking and pursuing and believing in today.

It's investing outlive your life. Well, I can't wait to share with you how you can outlive your life.

So let's get started not far from my home is a little black and white shop called seas candies. They have amazing displays of chocolates over 200 of these stores.California and a few other states, along with hundreds of kiosks in airports and walls started back in the 1920s.

What a Canadian couple named Charles and Florence see moved to California.

Charles's widowed mother Mary came along to toting a handful of treasured candy recipes see family opened their first candy store in Los Angeles in November 1921 missing family sold its business a few years ago and guess who bought it know the owner wasn't named Hershey or Nestlé. It was Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate Buffett paid 25 million for seas candies and since then the return for his investment has taught more than $1.3 billion. Buffett has called seas, one of the top investments he ever made well with respect to Warren Buffett, the sweetest investments in the world don't come in assorted boxes of nuts and choose knowing stock portfolios, nor in Wall Street transactions. The best expenditure you ever make is the legacy of a well invested life.

The Bible talks about investing for both time and eternity providing a legacy that will outlive us on earth and eternal returns. That will never fade in heaven. So no matter how well you invest on earth. If you're not involved in the long-term investments of eternity you're pouring all of your resources into short-term venture. Someone once said that the real measure of our wealth is how much we would be worth if we lost all of our money. Let me give you an incredible example of that in the story of Austin Carlisle. When Austin Carlisle was 15, his parents divorced and he felt ripped apart.

He went to live with his mother, but within two years.

She died from an aneurysm caused by the Marfan syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. Austin threw up his hands and he cursed God, he turned to music and he said I had all this rage. A lot of this rage was toward God and I could yell into a mic and get all that rage at all that hate out. So that's what I did start a band called, of mice and men took off like a rocket hit the charts day after day week after week.

Austin raked in the money. Sadly, he also inherited his mom's genetic disorder and to begin facing incredible pain alcohol and drug use took over his life. One day after a show he climbed on the roof of his touring bus and he called his father and he said what am I missing my band is building the success but I feel so empty and so hurt and so lost his father asked him a simple question. Where is God in your life. That question set Austin into the Bible and he prayed and he said God I want to come back even as he made a spiritual turn around his health continued to deteriorate, causing him to give up life on the road and he put all his belongings into a storage facility and move to Costa Rica so we could be near to his father. The rent on a storage facility, was paid by monthly drafts. To his credit card when the card expired without his knowledge storage facility cleaned out his unit sold all his belongings and he was left with only three suitcases of belongings recently. Austin sat down with author Doug Bender and he said I still don't have anything.

I don't have a job. I don't know what's next. I don't know what guys planning, but I have so much joy so much peace so much happiness now that I've had in my whole life God showed me that everything I need is in him order to move forward toward God's plan for the next phase of your life. You gotta have a dream you need to pray. You need to set the right priorities. You need to focus on the right goal. Take the right kinds of risks you need to pursue your dreams with enthusiasm and believe in those dreams with optimism. In addition to all of that, you will need the kind of wealth that will survive loss and the kind of investments that will never become insolvent. That's the power of investing in an eternal legacy to do that you have to determine which assets are eternal.

In essence, things that will never cease to exist moving forward means pouring yourself into those assets. Here are the top three of those pursuits number one invest in God's word. Psalm 119 verse 89 says your word Lord is eternal, it stands firm in the heavens. Many people that you and I no long for more education but it's a pricey venture. One of the most critical issues for our economy today stating that the cost of education has skyrocketed and the amount of student that some young people bear is daunting, but it's not just young people is not even primarily young people at all you know the fastest growing group of college loan debtors, it's Americans over the age of 60 is not that retirees have all student debts from your own. Some of them may, nor are many of them going back to school. Some of them do notice the reason simple senior adults are borrowing money so their children and grandchildren can afford an education in all 2.8 million Americans over the age of 60 are contending with student that I don't advise you on student debt. Because everyone's case is different, but I have one thing to say. Education is important that the most important school is absolutely free is called the school of the Bible think of God offering free scholarships to anyone who wants to study his word.

The wisest people on earth are those who are students of God's word all you need is a willingness to open its pages every day.

Pray for insight and learn how to study it and the time you spend in God's word is an investment that's both eternal and internal wisdom. Peter said all flesh is grass and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.

The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word by which the gospel was preached to you, and Jesus said in Matthew chapter 24 heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will by no means pass away. You see the Bible is God's wisdom and God's truth will never cease. And since we hold in our hands and eternal book, we better invest ourselves in how we do that well here's a couple of thoughts.

First of all study his word.

Paul said, be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. What if you were asked to teach a course in how to study the Bible. Have you developed your habits well enough to show somebody else how to do it or have you and your Bible sort of drifted apart. Believe me you can do a lot with the Bible. A pencil or pen in 15 minutes start in one of the Gospels started one of the epistles and read consecutively every day, marking the things you notice and appreciate start with as little as five minutes a day but do it every day. Read Mark and Clay. I have a feeling the five minutes will begin to grow. Before you know it you will be in the Bible for an hour. The Bible you see gives us eternal information from heaven, so that we know from heaven how to live life on earth, and there's no better investment on earth than the time you spend every day soaking in the truth of the Bible would invest a lot of time today on our electronic devices, social media, computer games, what would happen if you devoted a portion of that time to serious Bible study. It will build you into a person with the essential skills that you need to face these days. Whatever they bring forth so just something you probably already know, study the Bible and then secondly spread the Bible spread the word of God. There's another way we invest in God's word. When we spread it whenever you give away a Bible or a New Testament or whatever you support someone who does your investing in eternity.

Have you heard of Jack Murphy. He was one of the most notorious jewel themes in American history. He was a gifted man on many levels.

As a musician. He was an actor.

He was an artist. He was a surfer. He was born in Oceanside California and his family moved to Pittsburgh where he played violin with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and also one of tennis scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh. Unknown to everyone. He was also a cat burglar on October 29, 1964 he pulled off one of the greatest heights in American history stealing 24 precious gems from J.P. Morgan's prized collection at the American Museum of natural history in New York three days later Murphy and his accomplices were arrested and the story goes from bad to worse, and Murphy ended up sentenced to 2244 years in prison is a longtime one day some men came to minister to the prisoners and football stars Bill Glass and Roger Staubach shared the gospel with Murph. The surf as he was known and he was intrigued.

Later, a Christian worker who faithfully visited the prison followed up with a personal message from Scripture and Murphy gave his life to Christ. Murphy was eventually released and in the years since he's visited hundreds of prisons with the message of the gospel story was written up as a part of a book called God's prison gang story doesn't end there. In California, a man named Mike Larson grew up in an abusive home which led to a very unstable life. He became enslaved to raging drug abuse and lost every job in every meaningful relationship. One day he broke into a doctor's house looking for drugs and he was arrested and thrown in the prison.

While Mike was in solitary confinement in a prison guard handed him a book called God's prison game featuring stories of prisoners who came to Christ while behind bars and Mike read Jack Murphy story. He decided to leave his life of crime forever. When he was released. Mike decided to get a tattoo artist drawing the tattoo invited Mike to church with him and urged Mike to join his motorcycle gang but there was an unusual requirement.

You have to bring along a biker vest with a notepad and pen and a pocket Bible why would Mike lost his Bible. He tried to hide the fact he didn't have one, but it bothered him so much that one day he literally yelled out to God to give him a Bible.

Later that day Mike drove to a pizza restaurant where a man got out of his car came over and actually gave him a Bible on that very day.

Just like that and then the guy drove away and that led Mike to give his heart totally Jesus Christ today.

Mike is a California pastor leading his church to invest itself in winning others to Jesus Christ. For a moment and review what I just told you think of the chain reaction from famous athletes to a diamond thief to a prison guard to a tattoo motor to a nameless man, a golden chain that still forging new links every day. When we share the Scriptures were like advisors helping people make the greatest investment in their lives.

Matthew 13 puts it this way, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has any buys that field and the apostle Paul said, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may win Christ, can you think of a better way to invest your life than by studying and spreading God's wisdom and his word. So ask God how you can be a part of it. I have a friend who ordered 50 pocket New Testament and wherever he goes on a trip he keep some of them in his carry-on luggage and he gives them to fellow travelers. He gives them to rideshare drivers and hotel bellhop's and others and hardly anyone ever refuses it. I don't think I've ever had anyone ever refused a little copy of the Scripture that I wanted to give them only heaven will reveal the results of the internal investment of sharing the word of God Turning Point every day we share the word of God on the radio, on television to social media in books and magazines and everything we do. We have one purpose and that's the share this incredible book missing eternal wisdom of the Bible with people all over the world and I'll tell you what we've been doing it now for such a long time. Some of the dividends are coming back every day we get a letter we get an email. Sometimes a phone call from people who say I was listening to your program.

I was watching your television program and the Lord got a hold of my heart and I became a Christian. And now those people who become Christians will tell others about Christ.

But here's the ultimate reality. One day we will all be in heaven and they will be in heaven because the word of God was shared with them on earth so invested in God's word. That's the place she began the second thing invest in God's work. Let's invest our time and our abilities in his work on earth you see the work of God is eternal will still be serving him in heaven's price will never go bankrupt. His servants will be laid off were to serve him as best we can.

Until her last breath, and then will pick up where we left off and keep serving him in heaven forever. God's work will never go out of business will always have a job in the kingdom of God. So let's begin now, right where we are.

Here's two specific ways you can invest in God's work. First of all develop a personal ministry.

Life is defined by serving Jesus as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve you. How many ways you can serve. There's at least 7.6 billion because that's the estimated population of earth, and every person has a need. Think of your time. Think of your abilities and ask yourself what can you do for the Lord Jesus said no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be low to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money at the same time. Jesus invested his life in service and he wants that to be the same thing that we do in Romans seven. Read so my dear brothers and sisters.

This is the point you died to the power of the law when you died with Christ and now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead as a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God Patrick Morley wrote about his friend Olan who has a lucrative business leasing commercial real estate for decades on has also led a Monday noon Bible study in downtown Orlando on has been instrumental in helping several new churches get started. One day someone asked him what you going to the ministry.

He said I am in the ministry God has called me business and telling that simple story. Morley observed we don't need to be in an occupational ministry to serve God. A few are called to occupational ministry, but 99% of us will minister through our jobs, our families are church involvements and community activities.

God's plan is for every believer to have a personal ministry. You know what the word ministry means. It means service as a place you on this earth for a few fleeting decades so you can serve yourself.

That's where most people are our world today. They live every day for themselves. But God has placed us who are believers on this earth so that we can serve him and in order to serve him.

You have to serve others and brings you to the people that he wants you to serve me put you in the right situation and you have the privilege of sharing the joy of Jesus Christ with them.

So you see your primary task here is to invest yourself in the personal ministry God has for you. This everything you've ever experienced in your life, good and bad has prepared you for what's ahead. God has a unique area of service just for you and that service as part of his plan for you as you move forward. That's what Bill Brantley of Pensacola discovered he's been riding a bicycle since he was four years old. He estimates that he's put 100,000 miles on his 26 inch boyhood bike and he learned how to fix it. Whenever the chain broke the screws came loose and time to learn how to take bicycles apart repaired them, replace them, put them back together.

He became a bicycle doctor and he's now seven years old and his personal ministry is bicycles. This local church has a ministry to the homeless, and one day Bill brought a couple of restored bicycles to the church, wondering if someone might need one and soon everyone was bringing their old bicycles to him as a donation now. Bill spends hours in his garage every day.

Repairing old bicycles and getting them in good shape and every bicycle goes to someone who is in need and it's distributed by the people in his church. Bill and his wife Patsy often hear the recipient say something like this but I can get back and forth to my work every day. I love my bike. I'm so thankful I so appreciate what you did for me. Now that's just a silly little simple illustration, but just look around at your life what he wants us to do is to find out what were gifted to do and then leverage that to the kingdom of God. Try to make all of this so very difficult. I think one of the most using questions that gets discussed by Christians is how to move the will of God and what they want to know is how to know the will of God for my life and what God's interested in is how to do the will of God today and you want to put enough to base together in the will of God. You will be in the will of God for your life. We should concentrate more on asking God to show us what to do today so that we don't get lost down the cul-de-sac someplace. What were trying to find the ultimate answer to what is God's purpose for my whole life. Think you can know both but I think you need to concentrate on your daily walk. Tomorrow will finish up what we started today on outliving your life.

On Friday we began my most poignant message in the series called finish done done so be sure to be with us for the rest of this week and I will see you right here next time on Turning Point. For more information on the Jeremiah's current teaching series, visit our website.

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