SPEAKER_00: Well, we started this series with a question last week about what it would look like if you could intentionally convert your temporary resources into eternal investments.
SPEAKER_00: And I think you can.
SPEAKER_00: That's the idea of an eternity portfolio, that we, as followers of Jesus, are called to steward to invest the temporary resources that God has given us in the here and now and invest them in areas that bring eternal gain.
SPEAKER_00: And I think when we understand that, that that's what we are called to do with our life, it changes our view of generosity.
SPEAKER_00: It changes our view of giving as a whole.
SPEAKER_00: And if you missed last week's message, I would encourage you to go back and watch it.
SPEAKER_00: But just really quickly, what we talked about last week was this question: how much is enough?
SPEAKER_00: How much is enough?
SPEAKER_00: Not how much is it uh is enough for me to give, like what's the bare minimum I can give and not have God be mad at me?
SPEAKER_00: But how much is enough for me, for my family to live on, to be satisfied, to be comfortable?
SPEAKER_00: And I think whether you've ever thought about that question or not, most Americans have the same answer.
SPEAKER_00: And that is how much is enough?
SPEAKER_00: A little bit more.
SPEAKER_00: That's our answer, right?
SPEAKER_00: A little bit more.
SPEAKER_00: But the truth is, if we want to be generous people that Jesus has called us to be, the answer to how much is enough can't always be more.
SPEAKER_00: That can't be the answer.
SPEAKER_00: See, I think a lot of people in their minds want to be generous, they desire to be a generous person, but they think that they have to become rich or wealthy before they can be generous.
SPEAKER_00: That's just not true.
SPEAKER_00: Being generous has nothing to do with you being wealthy.
SPEAKER_00: Being generous is all about you being content.
SPEAKER_00: Before you can be generous and invest in eternity, you have to find contentment where you are now with what you have now.
SPEAKER_00: So, how much is enough?
SPEAKER_00: That's a great question for us to think about.
SPEAKER_00: Today, we're gonna go on to another question, really a follow-up question to that idea of how much is enough.
SPEAKER_00: And this question is well, what do I do with the rest?
SPEAKER_00: Once we are content, once we have figured out this is enough, I don't need to keep growing my lifestyle.
SPEAKER_00: This is enough.
SPEAKER_00: Then we can ask, okay, well, what do I do with the rest of this?
SPEAKER_00: What do I do with what's left over?
SPEAKER_00: What do I do with the margin?
SPEAKER_00: And in case you haven't picked up on the answer yet, it's pretty simple.
SPEAKER_00: The idea we want to push you towards is you need to invest it.
SPEAKER_00: God has not called you to be a container that just keeps and keeps and keeps and hoards and hoards and hoards.
SPEAKER_00: You are not called to be a container, you're called to be a conduit to let the blessings he gives you flow through you.
SPEAKER_00: Think of it like this: you're not called to be a pond where everything you have grows stale and stagnant.
SPEAKER_00: You're called to be a river that is always flowing, never ending.
SPEAKER_00: So when we learn to be content and when we create margin in our life and in our finances, we then can invest that margin for an eternal reward.
SPEAKER_00: And so where we're gonna go in the scriptures is back to a passage we started looking at last week, and that is in 1 Timothy chapter 6.
SPEAKER_00: So if you got your Bibles, go with me back to 1 Timothy chapter 6, and we're gonna start back reading in verse 17.
SPEAKER_00: 1 Timothy 6, verse 17 to 19, or Paul's instruction to his protege in the faith, Timothy.
SPEAKER_00: And in this instruction, he teaches us a lot about wealth and generosity.
SPEAKER_00: This is what he says starting in verse 17.
SPEAKER_00: Paul rights, instruct those who are rich, and in case you missed it last week, we are rich.
SPEAKER_00: Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy.
SPEAKER_00: Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share, storing up for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of what is truly life.
SPEAKER_00: Now, last week, again, what we touched on that idea of we are rich, but we are not to set our hope on riches.
SPEAKER_00: If we have a house uh that we live in, two cars in the driveway, a pantry and refrigerator full, we are rich, and yet those riches can create an illusion of comfort and security that don't exist.
SPEAKER_00: We have to learn to put our trust in Jesus and receive from him those things that those things that we often use wealth to get.
SPEAKER_00: But then he goes on and says, okay, yes, you're not to be arrogant, not to trust wealth, but he goes on and says, but you're to instruct those who are rich to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous or willing to share, storing up for themselves treasures as a good foundation for the coming age.
SPEAKER_00: So when we look at this text, there's a couple more things I want us to see that I think are pretty plain and really speak to that question of what do we do with the rest?
SPEAKER_00: What do we do with the margin?
SPEAKER_00: The first thing I think that I want you to see here is that Paul is clear to Timothy that we can invest our temporary resources into eternal investments.
SPEAKER_00: That's exactly what he says, right?
SPEAKER_00: Storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the coming age.
SPEAKER_00: Now, that idea, storing up treasure for themselves for the coming age, to be clear, Paul is not saying that we can buy our salvation.
SPEAKER_00: He's not saying that we can store up these good works and it's going to earn us a right standing before God.
SPEAKER_00: That's not the case.
SPEAKER_00: A right standing before God only comes through grace, through faith, by the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross on our behalf.
SPEAKER_00: What he is saying is not that we can earn this standing before God, but what he is saying is that by living generously in this age, by living generously in this present moment, we can create a store of future eternal treasure for ourselves in the age to come.
SPEAKER_00: We can use the temporary resources we have in this life in such a way that it stores up treasure for us in the life that is to come.
SPEAKER_00: That is very clear to me.
SPEAKER_00: But I want to make sure we understand this properly.
SPEAKER_00: Don't miss this.
SPEAKER_00: Paul is not saying that we should store up for ourselves treasure in eternity out of a sense of selfishness or greed.
SPEAKER_00: It's not that we want to live cheaply now so that we can have a bigger mansion in heaven.
SPEAKER_00: That's not the idea here.
SPEAKER_00: The idea is that when we step into eternity, if we use what we have wisely now, then we will be able to have treasure, not to waste on ourselves, but to lay at the feet of Jesus as an offering.
SPEAKER_00: The Bible clearly teaches that we will have treasures and crowns that we can lay down at the feet of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And we can store that treasure up for ourselves now so that when we see him, we won't be empty-handed.
SPEAKER_00: We can give to him the treasure that he is due.
SPEAKER_00: So Paul says that we can store up treasure for ourselves now, by the way we live, by the investments we make.
SPEAKER_00: And then secondly, Paul doesn't just tell us that these investments are possible, he tells us how we invest in eternity.
SPEAKER_00: Look at what he says.
SPEAKER_00: He says, to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share.
SPEAKER_00: So in my mind, Paul is telling us here that there are three currencies we can use to invest in eternity.
SPEAKER_00: And these three currencies, uh, I've heard time and time again, it's almost cliche, but it fits so well.
SPEAKER_00: The three currencies are time, talents, and treasure.
SPEAKER_00: And I think we see that here in the text.
SPEAKER_00: We see time.
SPEAKER_00: Paul says, do what is good.
SPEAKER_00: To me, that is making the most of our time.
SPEAKER_00: That is using our time well.
SPEAKER_00: That is spending our time on what matters.
SPEAKER_00: Let's not do what is unimportant.
SPEAKER_00: Let's not do what is simply pleasurable.
SPEAKER_00: Let's do good.
SPEAKER_00: Spend our time on what matters.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus says that we must work while it is still day, for night is coming when no man can work.
SPEAKER_00: Do good.
SPEAKER_00: Spend your time, invest your time wisely.
SPEAKER_00: Secondly, talents.
SPEAKER_00: He says, do what is good and be rich in good works.
SPEAKER_00: I think the idea here is that you and I have been given talents and we've been given giftings.
SPEAKER_00: We are to use those talents and those gifts for the good of our neighbor.
SPEAKER_00: God doesn't just call us and bless us with gifts or talents to use them for ourselves, but to use them for the good of our neighbor and the glory of the name of Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So we invest our time, we invest our talents, and then he says we invest our treasure.
SPEAKER_00: And he says it very simply: be generous and willing to share.
SPEAKER_00: So look at me.
SPEAKER_00: Your generosity has to touch your wallets, right?
SPEAKER_00: It's being generous with our time, yes.
SPEAKER_00: Being generous with our talents, yes, but also being generous with our treasure.
SPEAKER_00: We have to be generous and willing to share the material blessings that God has sent our way.
SPEAKER_00: And what I've noticed in life is that many who find it easy to be generous with their time and talents may have a hard time being generous with their treasure.
SPEAKER_00: Or those who are very generous with their treasure may have a hard time being generous with their time.
SPEAKER_00: And so what I want us to understand is this a life of generosity is not about picking where we want to be generous, but about being generous in all of life.
SPEAKER_00: We are called to be generous with our time, with our talents, with our treasure.
SPEAKER_00: Those are the three currencies, temporary resources that we have now that we can invest now in order to store up an eternal reward.
SPEAKER_00: Our time, our talents, our treasure.
SPEAKER_00: And now I think that there's a third implied lesson here.
SPEAKER_00: Not just that we store up for ourselves treasure, not just how we store up ourselves, store up treasure for ourselves, but who we invest in.
SPEAKER_00: Where do we invest that time, that talent, that treasure?
SPEAKER_00: So when we talk about where do we invest, we're not talking about 401ks, stocks, bonds, that sort of thing.
SPEAKER_00: Like that, those are all good, but that's not the point, obviously.
SPEAKER_00: If we are going to invest in eternity, we have to ask ourselves well, what is eternal?
SPEAKER_00: If I want to invest in eternity, then what is eternal?
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, God is eternal.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus is eternal.
SPEAKER_00: What we do for him will not fade.
SPEAKER_00: But beyond that, here's what I want you to think about.
SPEAKER_00: People are eternal.
SPEAKER_00: Now that seems weird, right?
SPEAKER_00: Because the Bible clearly says it is appointed to man once to die.
SPEAKER_00: But then comes the judgment.
SPEAKER_00: That means there is more after death.
SPEAKER_00: Think about it like this everybody lives forever somewhere.
SPEAKER_00: Some live with God forever in heaven, some live separated from God in a place called hell.
SPEAKER_00: Everybody lives forever somewhere.
SPEAKER_00: So when we want to invest in eternity, we invest in service to King Jesus and in the lives of people who will live forever somewhere.
SPEAKER_00: So, how do we invest in people?
SPEAKER_00: How do we invest in people?
SPEAKER_00: I think there's three areas that we can invest in people.
SPEAKER_00: Number one, we can invest in helping meet their physical needs.
SPEAKER_00: You look throughout scripture, I think we see that commanded over and over.
SPEAKER_00: We care for the poor, we care for the needy, we care for those who are hurting, those who need us, we can meet their physical needs.
SPEAKER_00: But we also want to invest in their spiritual formation as they grow closer to Jesus and look more like Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And we want to invest in mission so that those who don't know Jesus might come to know Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: So I think those are the three areas that if we're going to invest in eternity and invest in people, let's invest our time, talents, and treasures in people through their physical needs, their spiritual formation, and the mission of helping those who don't know Jesus come to know him as Savior.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe to put it simply in the language of the orchard, we love God by the way that we love people.
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: We're investing in eternity by loving God through loving people.
SPEAKER_00: Now, here's the elephant in the room.
SPEAKER_00: If this is true that we are to invest in people, then why in the world would I ask you to give to the local church?
SPEAKER_00: Right?
SPEAKER_00: We've all heard that, we've all thought that.
SPEAKER_00: Like if I'm giving my money to God, why does that have to go through the church?
SPEAKER_00: If I'm investing in people, why should I give to the church?
SPEAKER_00: And here's the answer, as best as I can explain it to you.
SPEAKER_00: I want to ask you to give to the local church because I believe giving to the local church is a good investment in eternity, and it's a good investment in people.
SPEAKER_00: In the local church, those three areas of investing in people, in their physical needs, their spiritual formation, and the mission, the local church is where those three areas meet.
SPEAKER_00: Those three areas combine.
SPEAKER_00: The local church meets physical needs of people in the community.
SPEAKER_00: We meet the needs of spiritual formation through the people that walk through our doors, and we go on mission and support missions so that more people may come to know him.
SPEAKER_00: So I think the local church is a good investment for eternity.
SPEAKER_00: It's a good investment for today, it's a good investment for tomorrow, and it's a good investment for eternity.
SPEAKER_00: So let me maybe just give you a good example, a specific example that will put this in context.
SPEAKER_00: So the orchard today is just around 19, almost 20 years old.
SPEAKER_00: And to date, we have given$1.8 million to physical needs, spiritual formation, and mission.
SPEAKER_00: That is the money that has come into the church that has flowed out of the church.
SPEAKER_00: Not money that has been spent on personnel or on facilities or on administration, but money that has gone to physical needs, spiritual formation, and mission.
SPEAKER_00: This money has flowed through the church to be invested in people inside and outside of our walls.
SPEAKER_00: $7.8 million.
SPEAKER_00: Where did that start?
SPEAKER_00: You know where that started?
SPEAKER_00: With a jar of coins.
SPEAKER_00: It started with a single jar of coins from a kids' Sunday school class in Perry, Florida.
SPEAKER_00: As Pastor Eddie had resigned from the pastor to First Baptist Perry to come and start the orchard, the first offering that he ever received was from a kids' Sunday school class that had filled up a jar of coins, brought it to him, and said, We want to be the first to give to your church.
SPEAKER_00: Now, in the grand scheme of things, did that jar of coins go a long way into meeting the financial needs of the church?
SPEAKER_00: Not really.
SPEAKER_00: But it was an investment that was given in faith.
SPEAKER_00: It was an investment that was given out of love.
SPEAKER_00: It was an investment into eternity.
SPEAKER_00: The orchard started with a glass jar full of coins.
SPEAKER_00: And today, if we look at that impact that the orchard has had financially through$7.8 million into physical needs, spiritual formation, and miss and missions, that one glass jar has turned into about 176,000 jars.
SPEAKER_00: That's multiplication.
SPEAKER_00: That is return on investment.
SPEAKER_00: As a matter of fact, if you were to look at the rate of return, assuming let's say there were$50 of pennies, dimes, nickels, quarters in that glass jar, the rate of return over that initial investment is 15 million percent.
SPEAKER_00: The local church is a good investment.
SPEAKER_00: You may think that what you have isn't enough.
SPEAKER_00: You may think that what you have is too small to matter.
SPEAKER_00: It's just not true.
SPEAKER_00: What is given in faith and is invested in eternity always matters, always brings a reward.
SPEAKER_00: So to recap, we need to figure out how much is enough and become content.
SPEAKER_00: Once we become content, we can invest the rest.
SPEAKER_00: We invest our time, our talents, and our treasure into people, meeting their physical needs, investing in their spiritual formation and mission so that more may know him.
SPEAKER_00: And I believe that our local church, but beyond that, the local church is where those three areas meet.
SPEAKER_00: And it's a great investment into eternity.
SPEAKER_00: Does that mean that you don't need to invest other places?
SPEAKER_00: No, brother, sister, diversify.
SPEAKER_00: Invest where God leads.
SPEAKER_00: But I want to encourage you to start today building your eternity portfolio so that when you see Jesus, you'll have a treasure waiting to lay at his feet.
SPEAKER_00: Let me pray for you.
SPEAKER_00: God, thank you for the time that you've given us today to look to your word and to talk more about generosity and building up an eternal reward through the way we invest and live today.
SPEAKER_00: And so, God, I pray that you would help each of us to think about this with a pure heart and with clear minds so that we can live lives now that would be pleasing to you and store up for ourselves treasure in heaven so that one day we can lay it all at your feet.
SPEAKER_00: In the name of Jesus we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.