Making The Temporary Echo In Eternity

In the opening scene of "Gladiator" Russell Crowe's character is preparing his men for a great battle. One line that he uses to inspire these men to fight for their empire & possibly give their lives for their empire is this, "What we do in life echoes in eternity." The truth in that statement is powerful. What we do here & now matters. The choices we make matter. It's easy for those of us who follow Jesus to see the truth in this statement. However, we do have a habit of compartmentalizing our lives so that we think some things really matter but other things aren't really that big a deal. We typically look at the things that "really" matter & call them spiritual. Those other things are worldly & aren't really that big a deal. The only problem is that Jesus blows a hole in that way of thinking. In Luke 16, Jesus instructs His people to use their worldly wealth for eternity. In 1st Timothy 6, Paul instructs Christ followers to "be rich in good deeds & generosity in order to lay up a firm foundation in the coming age (eternity)." So even the things we might consider "worldly" matter. What we do with our "worldly wealth" matters. Where we invest that stuff matters.

"Followers Of Christ Must Find Ways To Use 

 Our Temporary Things For Eternal Impact."

We all have a little bit of time in this world, & we all have a little bit of opportunity with the resources we have to impact eternity. We smile & feel all warm & fuzzy when we read stories of people "paying it forward" at Starbucks & buying coffee for their fellow man. Why don't we get just as excited about the idea that we can leverage our temporary blessings to be an eternal blessing? Why don't we feel all warm & fuzzy when we hear about a ministry that we have the opportunity to support? Is it because we don't see that payoff? Think about it this way: when you invest in eternity, why would you expect to see the fruit of that invest outside of eternity? Sure, God could bless you for your faithful investment in eternity by giving you an extra financial blessing, but He's under no obligation to. To assume that He does is simply our trying to manipulate Him. We're investing in eternity. Therefore we can assume we won't see the fruit of it until we enter into eternity. Someday you will stand before your Heavenly Father & perhaps He'll show you how your faithfulness to invest in His Kingdom paid off by taking the Gospel to someone who responded in faith & was eternally transformed. That's a priceless payoff. Your investment in eternity can change someone's eternity. 

How can you start leveraging your temporary things for eternal impact? Can you open your home up for a small group or youth ministry to use? Can you donate to & volunteer in a local church's ministry that not only feeds & clothes people, but offers them the hope of the Gospel? Is there a ministry or missions organization that you can invest in financially that will take the Gospel to the ends of the earth so that those who haven't heard the hope that they can have in Jesus? Your temporary stuff matters. It can have an eternal impact, but you have to invest it in eternity.

Why We Have To Talk About Money

At Zebulon Baptist Church, we're currently in the middle of a series on stewardship, finances, & generosity. Talking about stewardship, especially the financial aspect of it, is always an awkward conversation, but we've got to have it. In fact when you think about it, some of the most awkward conversations you've ever had were also some of the most important. As pastors, ministry leaders, & just as brothers & sisters in Christ, we have to talk about money. We just have to.

"Stewardship Is Bigger Than Just Our Finances, 

But It Often Hinges On Our Finances."

Scripture makes it crystal clear that we're stewards of our entire life, not just our physical, material blessings. We're stewards of this world, our bodies, our relationships, our opportunities, & yes, our stuff. God isn't trying to take your stuff; He's trying to win your heart. However, how we honor God with our stuff often reflects whether He really has our hearts. In order to fight to keep our hearts surrendered to our Heavenly Father, we have to fight the urge to trust in & chase after the things of this world. We have to talk about money because...

• Money makes promises it can't keep
• Financial problems tear families apart
• When you love or chase after stuff, there's never enough
• Your life is bigger than your bank account
• Eternal things are more valuable than temporary toys

These are all things we know are true, but we often live as if these truths don't apply to us. We think we can somehow be the exception, but along the way we surrender our hearts to our stuff. As we seek to grow in faithful stewardship, our first priority is to surrender our lives & hearts to Jesus. However, we literally can't afford to disconnect that from the day to day practical implications of what it means to completely & totally surrender your life to Jesus. Surrender means total, unconditional submission.

Stewardship is bigger than our finances, but it often hinges on our finances. That means we have to be intentional in guarding our hearts from the pull of this world. We do that by being rich in good deeds & generosity toward God & others. How can you combat the greed that lurks in all of our hearts by generously blessing those around you & investing in God's Kingdom?

It's A Trap!

The average American is trapped. In fact, the average Christ follower in America is trapped. It's an epidemic. It touches just about every family. It's an obstacle that every church has to deal with. Most everyone you will meet today is caught in this trap. What trap has sprung on us & has so many of us caught in its snare? 

Check your pocket or purse. That's probably where you keep your own personal trap. Look out in your garage, pull out your phone, take a quick look at your closet because you may have some more traps in there too. The trap that so many of us are caught in is the trap of serving our money & our stuff. The average American is carrying a debt of $15,000 just on their credit cards. And when you look at the total consumer debt in America & spread it out over our entire population, we all owe close to $37,000, even our children! Obviously we have a problem. We're caught. We're caught in the trap of chasing after & serving our money, our things, our toys, & it's not just messing up our national economy; it's destroying families.

So what do we do about it? How can we escape the trap or avoid it altogether? After all, our economy is designed to trap us. Businesses produce products that we didn't know we needed until we saw it. Then we can't imagine how we survived one day without that product. We'll take a perfectly good product we've had less than a year so that we can "upgrade" to the newer model. The system seems to be working against us. So what do we do?

Jesus has a lot to say about all sorts of areas of life, but especially money. If He wasn't teaching specifically about it, He was using it as a vehicle to teach a bigger truth. Jesus knew something. He knew that money gets our attention, & anything that gets our attention can get our hearts. So He didn't shy away from the topic. Instead, some of His most important teaching centered on money. In Matthew 6 Jesus warns us about which riches we're storing up, which kingdom we're building. We can invest in & build God's Kingdom, or we can invest in & build our own. Jesus warns us because when we build our kingdom, it's temporary. Someone can take it away, we can lose it, but when we invest in God's Kingdom, it's eternal & secure. Jesus goes on to point out that when you serve your stuff, worry is the automatic by-product. His whole warning is summed up when He says, "You cannot serve God & money."

Our money, our stuff is God's chief rival for our hearts & our devotion. When we serve our stuff, we find worry, tension, & an endless list of "What Ifs" that keep us chasing that next dollar or that next toy. When we serve our Savior, we find peace, joy, & contentment that is bigger than our circumstances. Jesus says, "Seek first God's Kingdom..."

"We Set Our Hearts Free From The Trap Of Serving Riches 

By Serving The One Who Richly Provides."

So what's that look like in real life? Here's a simple way to trust God over your stuff: start giving away some of your stuff. When we hoard or consume everything that we have, we're exposing the greed in our hearts, & we're steadily walking down the path toward trusting in & serving our riches. And by the way, this is true no matter your income or tax bracket. However, when we give, especially when we invest in God's Kingdom, we're putting something else at the top of our list. We're placing ourselves underneath something else. We're also moving toward a greater sense of dependence on our Father who provides for us, & in the process we discover ever greater depths of His faithfulness to us.

So how can you begin to invest in & build God's Kingdom rather than your own? How can you reprioritize your financial decisions to reflect trust in & service to your Heavenly Father & Your Savior?